Researching Language

This subject is not offered in 2014.

120 hours

For the purposes of considering request for Reasonable Adjustments under the Disability Standards for Education (Cwth 2005), and Student Support and Engagement Policy, academic requirements for this subject are articulated in the Subject Overview, Learning Outcomes, Assessment and Generic Skills sections of this entry.

It is University policy to take all reasonable steps to minimise the impact of disability upon academic study, and reasonable adjustments will be made to enhance a student's participation in the University's programs. Students who feel their disability may impact on meeting the requirements of this subject are encouraged to discuss this matter with a Faculty Student Adviser and Student Equity and Disability Support: http://services.unimelb.edu.au/disability

This subject has twin aims: to help students to prepare for confirmation of candidature on the topic they have chosen; and to introduce a range of fundamental theories of the nature of language and approaches to the analysis of its structure and use. Cognitive and social/cultural perspectives on language will be explored and contrasted. The subject will introduce historical and contemporary debates about the nature of language, including the emergence of structuralism in the work of Saussure, Jakobson, Boas and Sapir, the ongoing debate between formal and functionalist schools, and current discussions of the disciplinary character of linguistics. Theories of the use of language in context, in theories of pragmatics and in debates over appropriate methods for the analysis of discourse, will also be considered. These and other issues and approaches will be in turn be related by class members to issues arising in the conceptualization of their PhD projects.

Successful completion of the Research Workshop will enable students to have an enhanced awareness of the range of contemporary scholarship in the discipline or interdisciplinary area. In the assessment, students will be expected to demonstrate the ability to critically evaluate the contemporary research literature that is relevant to the thesis topic. The Research Workshop will also enable students to formulate and present the research proposal for confirmation.

• one 2,500-word literature review positioning essay. Due at the end of first semester (50%)
• one 2,500-word research essay. Due during mid-second semester (50%)

This subject is not available as a breadth subject.