EGH419 Language and public life

Aims/Description: Language mediates all aspects of our lives. It helps shape our social identity, relations with others, and the institutions we engage with. It can be an instrument of power and of community. This module will introduce you to current research which explores how language mediates public life and is an object of discussion within it. You will be introduced to a range of analytical frameworks for exploring the role of language as an instrument of social power, identity, and control. The module will explore these questions by critically analysing how language is used in a range of social settings within public life and will also draw on current techniques for investigating how language is debated, discussed, and monitored in public life. It will do so by looking at a range of social settings in which language is used and discussed (for instance, education, the media, politics and policy). You will: (i) learn about the principles which underpin the analytical frameworks used, (ii) discuss the findings and implications of research which has used those frameworks, (iii) gain hands-on experience of working with some of those frameworks, by working with samples of data gathered from contemporary social contexts. Data will be provided for you to analyse, though there may be the opportunity for you to work with your own data where appropriate.

Staff Contact: MULDERRIG JANE M

Teaching Methods: Seminars, Independent Study

Assessment: Course work

Information on the department responsible for this unit (English):

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Teaching timetable

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Teaching methods and assessment displayed on this page are indicative for 2025-26.