Course content

Culture is created by human beings and is shaped by and communicated through social practices and verbal interaction. Gender and ethnicity are core cultural categories which can shed light on these processes. The course provides an introduction to different ways of understanding ethnicity and gender, with emphasis on social constructionism and discourse theory. It illustrates connections between institutional and interactional aspects of communication, and provides practice in analyzing language in different contexts and genres.

Learning outcome

The students should be able to work independently with contextual analyses of language communication both in personal interaction/communication and in the media. Furthermore, the students should be able to identify and interpret gender and ethnisity as dimensions in the creation of meaning.

Learning methods and activities

Lectures and group instruction.

Compulsory assigments/activities must be submitted and approved before the student is permitted to take the written examination. The submitted material should be 4-10 pages long (A4 pages, 1,5 spacing).

In some semesters the students will be provided with a textbook the day before the examination. The students must bring the textbook with them to the written examination. During the examination the students will be asked to answer one out of three exercises/problems/questions, with the possibility of using experiences/findings from their compulsory assignments.

In some particular cases the department can consent to a written home examination following a substantiated application to the Department.

Compulsory assignments

• Attendance in at least 3 workshops (analyses)
• 2 approved submissions of which at least 1 is related to the workshop

Recommended previous knowledge

Basic courses in Language and Communication Studies or Media Studies, or a background in Interdisciplinary studies of Culture.

Required previous knowledge

None.

Course materials

Will be announced at the beginning of the semester.

Credit reductions