Language and Identity

This subject has the following teaching availabilities in 2012:

On campus

3 contact hours/week, 5.5 additional hours/week. Total of 8.5 hours per week.

None

None

None

Students who have completed 175-212 Language and Identity are not allowed to enrol in this subject.

For the purposes of considering request for Reasonable Adjustments under the disability Standards for Education (Cwth 2005), and Students Experiencing Academic Disadvantage Policy, academic requirements for this subject are articulated in the Subject Description, Subject Objectives, Generic Skills and Assessment Requirements of this entry.The University is dedicated to provide support to those with special requirements. Further details on the disability support scheme can be found at the Disability Liaison Unit website: http://www.services.unimelb.edu.au/disability/

This subject introduces students to the ways in which language indexes and constructs identities in social contexts. It introduces students to a range of theoretical approaches, and the distinctive research methodologies associated with each. These include language socialization. studies of language in social interaction using the techniques of Conversation Analysis and discourse analysis (including critical discourse analysis). and poststructuralist approaches to language and subjectivity. Topics covered will include gender-related language use, language and racism, language and sexuality, the negotiation and deployment of identities in face-to-face interaction, and the way language and discourse construct and maintain a sense of "otherness". On completion of the subject, students should be able to recognise ways in which language and discourse construct particular social identities of relevance to themselves, and critically analyse ways of thinking about the complex phenomenon of language and identity.

• think in theoretical terms about possible relationships between language and identity.
• analyse and critically evaluate the strengths and weaknesses of a variety of approaches to investigating such relationships.
• recognise and explain possible relationships between language and the construction of a particular social identity relevant to themselves or their own interests.

Two 2000-word essays, 50% each (one due mid-semester, one due at the end of the semester).

This subject has the following hurdle requirements:

• Regular participation in tutorials is required with a minimum of 75% attendance.
• All pieces of written work must be submitted to pass this subject.

Assessment submitted late without an approved extension will be penalised at 10% per day and in-class tasks missed without approval will not be marked.

A reader will be available.

• Benwell, Betham and Elizabeth Stokoe (2006). Discourse and Identity. Edinburgh: Edinburgh

This subject potentially can be taken as a breadth subject component for the following courses:

• Bachelor of Biomedicine
• Bachelor of Commerce
• Bachelor of Environments
• Bachelor of Music
• Bachelor of Science
• Bachelor of Engineering

You should visit learn more about breadth subjects and read the breadth requirements for your degree, and should discuss your choice with your student adviser, before deciding on your subjects.

• communicate intelligibly and economically their understanding of debates within this area.
• understand the social and cultural context of the construction of identities in and through language.