The marketization of higher education in China: a comparative multimodal genre analysis between top-public and international universities

Abstract With the growing marketization of higher education in China, the About-us webpage of universities has become an important venue for academic institutions to display both introductory information and self-promotional content to attract prospective students. This study draws on multimodal genre analysis to examine and compare the generic structure of the About-us webpages of two academic associations: C9 universities (nine public, top-tier universities) and Sino-foreign cooperative (or international) universities. We analyze how these two groups of universities structure their webpages differently across three layers: layout, rhetorical, and navigational features. The findings suggest that both groups employ rhetorical moves, such as providing an overview of the university and establishing academic credentials. However, C9 universities narrate their histories and political affiliation, while Sino-foreign universities elaborate on their international-oriented education through the massive use of multimodal resources. This study contributes to the framework of multimodal genre analysis, demonstrating how Chinese academic institutions strategically mobilize linguistic and visual resources to engage with Chinese sociopolitical discourses.