Unit convenor and teaching staff |
Unit convenor and teaching staff
Unit Convenor
David Butt
Contact via david.butt@mq.edu.au
Other Staff
Annabelle Lukin
Contact via annabelle.lukin@mq.edu.au
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Credit points |
Credit points
3
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Prerequisites |
Prerequisites
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Corequisites |
Corequisites
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Co-badged status |
Co-badged status
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Unit description |
Unit description
This unit investigates language through issues the major linguists have asked over the last century. These questions begin with: what counts as a sign and how sign systems begin in a community, but organise the brain of the individual. We track the emergence of language in the child and variations of language which are a consequence of new pressures to act, talk, and think throughout our social networks. The unit also examines the variation of languages across 'language families', and the extent to which linguistic tools can be applied in diverse areas of cultural analysis – from electronic channels to verbal art. We consider the power of language by looking at the relationship of language to the ideologies of everyday experience, as well as those that are actively produced and maintained by powerful groups with vested interests.
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Information about important academic dates including deadlines for withdrawing from units are available at https://www.mq.edu.au/study/calendar-of-dates
On successful completion of this unit, you will be able to:
Name | Weighting | Due |
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Short Essay | 15% | Monday Week 5 |
Tutorial participation & blog | 20% | Ongoing |
Module study | 40% | Week 12 |
Examination | 25% | Exam period |
Due: Monday Week 5
Weighting: 15%
This task will be a short essay (500 words) on the first module topic of Ling109
Due: Ongoing
Weighting: 20%
You are required to read and do a task in preparation for each tutorial. You are also required to put up a minimum of 6 posts on the tutorial blog, based on your tutorial preparation throughout the semester. The first three posts are due by the end of the mid-semester break. The second three must be posted by the end of week 13. Your mark will be based on your blog posts, tutorial preparation, and tutorial contributions.
Due: Week 12
Weighting: 40%
Data collection, analysis and interpretation (1500 words), based on a topic from one of the modules
Due: Exam period
Weighting: 25%
As exam worth 25% of your mark will be held in the exam period.
Class work: one 1-hour lecture + one 1-hour tutorial per week
Independent work: four hours per week, to include reading time, some writing and some fieldwork. All readings are available on e-reserve.
Students are expected to attend lectures and tutorials, do preparatory reading, undertake small group work, and complete a tutorial task each week. Tutorials begin in week 2. Tutorials are for working with language data and analysis, and discussing how your ideas relate to those of your colleagues and other people who’ve studied and written about language, communication and culture. In each tutorial, you will work on issues that were discussed in the previous week’s lectures. Tutorial preparation is assessed (see tutorial participation and blog in assessment activities).
Technologies: iLearn
UNIT SCHEDULE
Week |
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Lecture topic |
1
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MODULE 1: Signs and social networks |
Signs in speech and writing |
2
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How do you mean? Signs and sign systems. |
3
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Social networks and social networking |
4
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MODULE 2: Language as political instrument
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Reading the media
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5
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Language and ideologies
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6
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Language and politics
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7
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MODULE 3: Language, culture and education |
Language and schooling: how culture shapes learning |
8
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Language and culture: language construing reality |
9
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The language brain |
10
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MODULE 4: A World of Language Variation |
Language, context and text |
11
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Register, dialect, code |
12
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A world of languages |
13
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Course review and exam preparation |
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