Undergraduate 

English Language & Linguistics MA

ENGLISH LANGUAGE & LINGUISTICS 1A: Language, Meaning, and Power ENGLANG1001

  • Academic Session: 2024-25
  • School: School of Critical Studies
  • Credits: 20
  • Level: Level 1 (SCQF level 7)
  • Typically Offered: Semester 1
  • Available to Visiting Students: Yes
  • Collaborative Online International Learning: No

Short Description

How do we create meaning from the air we breathe and from marks on a page? How has language been exploited now and throughout history for effect, self-expression, and story-telling? In English Language & Linguistics we study the most intricate, powerful, and beautiful parts of our most valuable human asset - language.

In three strands this course explores in detail how newspapers, adverts, and politicians all try to persuade us; how linguistic meaning and structure are key to making ourselves understood; and how the 1500-year history of English tells us about who we are and where we came from.

Timetable

Lectures: three times weekly over 10 weeks, as scheduled on MyCampus; students have a choice of in-person or asynchronous online lectures. Students choosing the asynchronous option may be asked to attend an in-person induction meeting in week 0. The asynchronous option may not be open to all students.

 

Weekly one hour seminar (choice of times) as scheduled on MyCampus. 

Excluded Courses

None

Co-requisites

None

Assessment

Online set exercise x2 - 50%

Examination (1-hr duration) - 50%

Main Assessment In: December

Course Aims

This course aims to:

■ enable students to gain an understanding of how language works, with particular reference to the contexts and structures of English

■ develop a critical awareness of how language is used and especially how it is used to persuade people and create points of view

■ develop skills in the use of basic tools describing and discussing language

■ enable students to gain knowledge of the history of the English language in its literary and social contexts

Intended Learning Outcomes of Course

By the end of this course students will be able to:

■ identify grammatical systems and structures of English

■ discuss the construction of linguistic meaning

■ analyse the main characteristics of the historical stages and development of English

■ recognize, explain and apply key terms and concepts for analysing linguistic texts particularly those which are used to persuade and construct points of view

Minimum Requirement for Award of Credits

Students must submit at least 75% by weight of the components (including examinations) of the course's summative assessment.