MA in Sociocultural Linguistics

What you'll study

On this programme you will complete two core modules, two option modules and one dissertation.

Core modules Module title Credits. Core Issues in English Language & Linguistics Core Issues in English Language & Linguistics 30 credits

This module , one of the two core units for the MA in Sociocultural Linguistics, will introduce you to the main areas of study within modern linguistics, including theoretical and methodological aspects. The module aims to make clear the wider aims of linguistic research, as well as to enable you to apply theoretical notions to specific datasets and develop your own skills of linguistic analysis.

Topics include introduction to phonetics and phonology (speech sounds), morphology (word structure), syntax (sentence structure), semantics (word and sentence meaning) and pragmatics (the use and interpretation of meaning) as well basic issues and facts of language change and language variation.

30 credits. Language in its Sociocultural Context Language in its Sociocultural Context 30 credits

This module combines a sociolinguistic with a discourse analytic approach in order to explore the socio-cultural contextualisation of language and meaning from two angles: language use and language representation. This dual focus will be evident throughout the module; topics such as language and gender, language and ethnicity or language and the media will be examined in relation to the socio-cultural (and situational) contexts in which speakers use language as well as in relation to different representations of specific socio-cultural groups in the media and other (written) texts.

For example, we will investigate both how women speak and how women are spoken about, and we will discuss if and how the former relates to the latter and vice-versa. Other topics that will be addressed in this module include the political correctness debate, sexist language, cross-cultural approaches to politeness, attitudes to non-standard English and the linguistic construction of identity.

30 credits. Option modules

You may choose two linguistic options or one linguistic option and one option from other MA programmes within the College, where specifically approved by the Programme Co-ordinator.

Module title Credits. Analysing Discourse & Identity in Spoken Interaction Analysing Discourse & Identity in Spoken Interaction 30 credits

This module will introduce students to the analysis of discourse and identity in spoken interaction. The module will allow students to develop in-depth, critical understanding of approaches, concepts and debates in spoken discourse analysis.
Students will explore the relationship between discourse and identity from a range of different perspectives in their own projects by collecting, transcribing and analysing a sample of spoken language of their choice. Students will also get the opportunity to discuss their work in seminars.

A range of methodological frameworks and analytic concepts will be explored, including ethnographic approaches to language analysis, interactional sociolinguistics, conversational analysis, membership categorisation analysis, performativity and narrative analysis. Seminar discussions will seek to establish what each of these approaches has to offer to the analysis of discourse practices and identity constructions of speakers in naturally occurring talk. For example, we will discuss if analysts should or can avoid to bring a priori assumptions about the relevance of macro identity categories such as gender and social class to their data.

30 credits. English in a Multilingual World English in a Multilingual World 30 credits

The overall aim of this module is to explore the development of the English language, its variation and change, in relation to linguistic and social issues of language contact and multilingualism. Students will have the opportunity to study the spread of English and the rise to its current status as a global language, discuss the establishment of (English) language standards and (standard) varieties world-wide, the emergence of English as a Lingua Franca and other language contact phenomena. The focus will be on the challenges and opportunities open to multilingual societies and to consider the impact of English in multilingual settings. An understanding of Global Englishes and aspects of multilingualism gives students the necessary conceptual and theoretical tools to understand English practices in a multilingual world and to conduct their own research within an area they find of interest.

30 credits. Intercultural Discourse & Communication Intercultural Discourse & Communication 30 credits

The module introduces students to a range of empirical studies and debates in a cross-disciplinary field that has become known as intercultural or cross-cultural communication. One of the questions researchers ask in this field is if speaking styles vary from culture to culture. For example, do some groups of speakers accept and encourage more overlap and simultaneous talk than others, or do understandings of directness and politeness vary culturally. Students will study inter/cross-cultural communication in everyday interaction but also in institutional settings, examining talk in business and educational settings such as the multilingual/multi-ethnic classroom. The module also explores the relevance of cultural stereotypes and cultural representations, for example, in media and tourism contexts.

Throughout the module students will need to consider the term ‘culture’ critically, comparing popular definitions of ‘culture’ as homogenous and static with postmodern models that highlight the heterogeneity and fluidity of ‘culture’. Students will become familiar with a range of methodological approaches to the study of language, culture and interaction. These tend to include the ethnography of speaking, interactional sociolinguistics, discourse analysis, intercultural pragmatics and politeness theory. The module will not only ask students to study language/discourse and culture in a range of different English-speaking countries and settings, but it will also invite students to consider a variety of ‘other’ linguistic and cultural contexts.

30 credits. Language & Ideology in Written Discourse Language & Ideology in Written Discourse 30 credits

This module aims to introduce students to contemporary approaches and frameworks of analysis of written texts. The module explores the analytic techniques and principles of written discourse analysis and gives students space to apply these techniques to a wide selection of texts (texts from the contemporary media, advertisements, textbooks, political and administrative texts, texts in translation, etc.). The module leads students to a discussion of how linguistic analysis can illuminate wider social issues, for example issues of power and ideology, issues of representation and identity. Students acquire knowledge of different levels of linguistic analysis, and learn to examine written texts at the micro-level, and to link the micro to the macro. The use of a variety of texts is intended to lead students to debates about language use and social issues in different areas of human activity: media representation, translation, education, etc.

30 credits. English as a Lingua Franca and Language Teaching English as a Lingua Franca and Language Teaching 30 credits

What is English as a Lingua Franca (ELF)? What are ELF implications for language teaching? How can teachers address the plurality of English in their teaching?

English as a lingua franca, and research into the plurality of English, is a vibrant field of investigation and this module aims to bridge the gap between the socio-cultural research on ELF and language teaching/teacher education.

You will start with exploring the dynamic, co-constructed and intercultural nature of ELF, focusing on pragmatic and multilingual aspects, before concentrating on pedagogic implications. Throughout the module, the emphasis is on the plurality of English, the fluidity and intercultural nature of ELF communication. These raise questions for pedagogical applications for the language classroom, which are addressed in relation to various aspects, such as multilingual resources, materials, assessment, a reconceptualization of the notion of communicative competence and ultimately a change of mindset for an ELF-informed pedagogy. The module intends to relate research on ELF (and theoretical questions ELF raises) to the practical concerns of teachers and teacher educators, and relate existing ELF findings to pedagogical practices within a critical pedagogy perspective.

This module is open to students interested in ELF and its applications for the classroom and to language teachers who would like to address ELF and the plurality of English in their pedagogy.

30 credits.

You may also choose one non-linguistics module, either from our own department (English and Comparative Literature) or from another department. Please note that availability of options across the College varies, but typically you can choose from the following selection.

Please note that your choice of option module from another department needs to be discussed with the Programme Co-ordinator of the MA Sociocultural Linguistics in advance.

English and Comparative Literature options: Module title Credits. Studies in Comparative Literature & Criticism Studies in Comparative Literature & Criticism 30 credits

This core module for the ‘Comparative Literature & Criticism’ pathway of the MA in Comparative Literary Studies will introduce you to the main concepts of comparative literary theory and practice and its principal debates, complementing these with textual analyses and the opportunity to engage in comparative readings. We will examine key aspects of the development of the discipline of “comparative literature”, and study the theoretical frameworks elaborated to describe the ways texts relate to, derive from, or influence other texts (such as influence, imitation and intertextuality, translation, and reception). Historical relationships and how these are constructed will be examined, focussing on the idea of tradition, the concept of the canon and its revisions, as well as the importance of literary history in our understanding of literature.

The literary texts and films studied will enable you to study “in action” central concepts of comparative critical practice, focussing for instance on genre; topoi; thematic approaches; textual rewritings; “translations” of texts to different genres (e.g. poetry to prose) or media (e.g. written text to film).

The module will ask questions such as: what happens to a text and its meaning when it is adapted to or referenced in a new geographical, historical, or social context? What does this mean for the concept of meaning itself? What is the relationship between genre, theme and story? Between a historically situated national identity and the crossing of linguistic, cultural and historical boundaries?

Teaching Mode: 3-hour seminar, including lecture-type input from the tutor.

30 credits. Theories of Literature & Culture Theories of Literature & Culture 30 credits

This core module for the pathway in ‘Modern Literary Theory’ surveys key currents in literary and cultural theory from the turn of the twentieth century to the present day. Beginning with the examination of shifting ideas and theories of the ‘literary’ in the module of the discipline’s development, it goes on to explore ten key thinkers and tendencies, starting with Nietzsche. These will include Freud, Heidegger, Merleau-Ponty, Benjamin and Adorno, Structuralism, Blanchot, Derrida, Gender and Postcolonial Theory. Although the question of the relationship of theory to literary and cultural criticism is a central one, the module will enable you to focus on theoretical concepts in their own right. You will also be asked to consider the theoretical implications of the particular formal and stylistic choices made by the thinkers covered.

30 credits. Modern Literary Movements Modern Literary Movements 30 credits

This core module for the pathway in ‘Modern Literature’ surveys the most internationally significant trends, influences, and movements in European and American literature of the twentieth century (and potentially beyond), including the impacts of Bergson and Nietzsche, the ‘prophetic’ role of the modern poet, challenges to Realism, the schools of Expressionism, Surrealism, and Absurdism, the modernist disruption of literary conventions, aspects of writing on the Holocaust, and the emergence of poststructuralism, OULIPO and postmodernism. These developments are studied through the analysis of major representative texts either in English (e.g. Joyce’s Ulysses ) or in English translation (e.g. Gide’s L’Immoraliste ) within their relevant cultural contexts. We will read works by James Joyce, W.B. Yeats, André Gide, Thomas Mann, Marcel Proust, Samuel Beckett, W.G. Sebald, Italo Calvino, Bertolt Brecht, W.H. Auden, Walter Benjamin, William Faulkner, Primo Levi, Albert Camus, Jean-Paul Sartre and Virginia Woolf.

Teaching Mode: Weekly lecture followed by 2-hour seminar.

30 credits. Literature of the Caribbean & its Diasporas Literature of the Caribbean & its Diasporas 30 credits

This core module for the pathway in Literature of the Caribbean & its Diasporas intensively surveys Caribbean and diaspora literatures to highlight significant movements relative to the social, political and historical contexts impacting upon these new literatures. We are interested to trace the developments within the forms of literary and artistic expression examined, to show how literary texts, forms and genres veered between consolidation and experimentation from beginnings marked by the slave narrative, a preoccupation with history and memory and a close affinity with the aural/ oral, and to further explore some of the determining forces which underpinned the transformations of the literatures. We seek to trace the influence, and textual embodiment of intellectual and cultural developments in the region’s literature and that of its diaspora including the impacts of Colonialism, post-Colonialism, Negritude, and Globalisation. These developments are studied through the analysis of representative texts either in English (e.g. Walcott’s Omeros) or in English translation (e.g. Condé’s Windward Heights)

Teaching Mode: 3-hour seminar, including lecture-type input from the tutor.

30 credits. American Literature & Culture: Critical and Theoretical Concepts American Literature & Culture: Critical and Theoretical Concepts 30 credits

Nineteenth and twentieth century American literature sought to define the nation in the face of the fragmenting effects of modernity and postmodernity. The version of America that emerges from this literature – and in fact what makes this literature representative of that version of nation – depends very much on how it is read. Via competing readings of canonical American texts, this core module for the ‘American Literature & Culture’ pathway investigates how American critical and theoretical conceptions shape American literature, producing different “Americas”. Not only engaging you in a rigorous study of particular phases and applications of American literary criticism and theory, the module also consolidates your knowledge of nineteenth- and twentieth-century American literature. An incisive knowledge of these literary and critical-theoretical histories provides a vital platform if you are embarking on the postgraduate pathway in twentieth and twenty-first century American literature and culture.

Teaching Mode: 3-hour seminar, including lecture-type input from the tutor.

30 credits. The Contemporary American Novel in the Era of Climate Change The Contemporary American Novel in the Era of Climate Change 30 credits

In the era in which human activity, particularly fossil-fuel use and its effects, has become the main determinant in shaping the environment – an era which has been labelled the ‘Anthropocene’ – a growing body of literary work has emerged that seeks to explore the inextricability of social and natural damage and devastation.

This module considers the engagement of contemporary American fiction with a range of environmental crises, from climate change to pollution to ecological collapse. Generally speaking, the module asks what cognitive, interpretive and aesthetic resources are offered by the contemporary American novel in understanding such crises and catastrophes and in what ways has fiction evolved and adapted to capture this subject matter.

More particularly, the module asks how fiction might generate affective and politically transformative forms of public knowledge in the face of widespread dissociation of the consequences of a fossil-fuelled modernity, and, relatedly, how fiction might understand the social causes of natural disasters; how literature can chart or remember the geopolitical histories of energy supply and resource capitalism – histories that might include war, terrorism and pollution – that are normally forgotten at the point of Western consumption; how literature can encompass both the global scale and local impact of climate change and environmental degradation, as well as forge a sense of (eco)cosmopolitan solidarity between variously affected societies; how narrative can adapt to the subject matter of the ‘slow violence’ of pollution, contamination and man-made ‘natural’ disasters, and to the precarious and at-risk subjectivities produced by such violence; what kind of politics and ethics arise from such representations and how might literature engage with questions of environmental justice; and, in terms of worse-case scenarios, how literature imagines apocalyptic and post-apocalyptic scenarios of a world of spent resources and barely sustainable life.

30 credits. Interculturality, Text, Poetics Interculturality, Text,