Language, Culture and Society

Year
0
Academic year
2019-2020
Code
01011535
Subject Area
Área Científica do Menor
Language of Instruction
Portuguese
Other Languages of Instruction
English
Mode of Delivery
Face-to-face
Duration
SEMESTRIAL
ECTS Credits
6.0
Type
Elective
Level
1st Cycle Studies

Recommended Prerequisites

Not applicable.

Teaching Methods

Oral presentations, lectures, language analysis from naturally occurring instances of use, class debates and group work. Assessment according to the Rules of Assessment of the 1st cycle of studies.

Learning Outcomes

Based on the study of language, culture, society and social interaction, this course introduces sociocultural approaches to human language activity, by focusing primarily on the uses of English in the world. By the end of the course students will have
a) Reviewed basic ideas and learned how to think critically about sociolinguistic, linguistic anthropological, as well as discursive articulations between language, culture and society;
b) Learned how to identify some English-based aspects of linguistic structure and use in the light of social, cultural, as well as historical processes and contexts;
c) Developed tools to analyse the linguistic construction of cultural and social identities;
d) Developed basic tools of observation, collection, as well as analysis of authentic instances of everyday language use, anchoring local language-related details to broader sociocultural, as well as historical contexts.

Work Placement(s)

No

Syllabus

In what ways does language make us human, cultural and social beings? This course will introduce basic debates linking language, culture, society and social interaction, such as the influence of language in our perception of the world; the emergence of new languages; learning, acquisition and socialization into appropriate uses of language; language choice in multilingual contexts; linguistic constructions of personal, collective and group identities. Based on the study of English (but going beyond this language), linguistic, sociolinguistic, as well as linguistic anthropological topics will be introduced, such as language and ideology, linguistic performance of identities (gender, sexuality, ethnicity and race, social class); language contact, multilingual and multicultural communication; communicative practice in institutions (schools, work, market, the street); standardization, normativity, linguistic varieties; languages, technologies and the internet.

Head Lecturer(s)

Maria Clara Bicudo de Azeredo Keating

Assessment Methods

Continuous evaluation
Other: 25.0%
Mini Tests: 25.0%
Frequency: 50.0%

Final evaluation
Exam: 100.0%

Bibliography

Duranti, A., ed. (2004) A Companion to Linguistic Anthropology. London: Blackwell Publishing.
Ahearn, L. M. (2012) Living Language: An Introduction to Linguistic Anthropology. Oxford: Wiley & Blackwell.
Duranti, A. (1997) Linguistic Anthropology. Cambridge Textbooks in Linguistics. Cambridge: CUP.
Thomas, L., Wareing, S., Singh, I., Peccei, J. S., Thornbow, J., Jones, J. (2004) Language, Society and Power: An Introduction. (2nd edition). London and New York: Routledge.
Graddol, D., Leith, D., Swann, J. (1996) English: history, diversity and change. The Open University. London and New York: Routledge.
Maybin, J., Swann, J. (2010) The Routledge Companion to English Language Studies. London: Routledge.