ET217: Approaches to Analysing Discourse
Overview
Why are some texts easy to read and others not so easy? What makes a piece of writing persuasive? What can you learn about a person from the way they speak? In this module you will learn how to analyse both written and spoken texts in detail. You will become familiar with a wide range of discourse-analytical frameworks and techniques, applying them to spoken, written and electronic data, You will be introduced to a range of approaches to theorising the links between discourse and society so that you can understand and discuss how society influences discourse and vice versa.
Learning Outcomes
Upon successful completion of this module, you will be able to:
- Be familiar with a wide range of discourse-analytical frameworks and techniques.
- Be able to apply these to a range of discourse data.
- Understand a range of approaches to theorising the reciprocal links between discourse and society.
- Be able to use these to discuss the social context and function of specific examples of discourse data.
Learning Experience
Lecture
Core content will be presented during weekly 2-hour lectures.
Seminar
We will meet in a weekly 1-hour small-group seminar to practice and apply course concepts.
Assessment
| Analysis and discussion of written text | 50% | |
| Analysis and discussion of spoken text | 50% |
Preparatory Reading
- Baker, P. & Egbert, J. (2016). Triangulating methodological approaches in corpus linguistics. London: Routledge.