175-202/302 Discourse

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Objectives:

Students who complete this subject should be able to:

• understand the central theoretical concepts underlying the analysis of talk in various social contexts from a discourse analytic perspective;

• understand and use discourse analysis methodology for analysing talk in social contexts.

Content:

This subject will look at language as a social and interactional phenomenon. It will, in particular, take a discourse level perspective on the analysis of conversation. Topics that will be covered include pragmatics and the analysis of conversation, the ethnography of communication, conversational analysis, and genre analysis. The subject will also examine a number of other perspectives on discourse including schema theory, frame theory and script theory. Finally, the subject will examine conversation within and across cultures. Students will have the opportunity to examine samples of real life conversational interactions employing the approaches to analysis presented in the subject.

Assessment:

Prescribed Texts:

• Coolthard M, An Introduction to Discourse Analysis, Longman, London 1985.