SPN3910

Spanish for special purposes

M Cordella

8 points - 2 hours per week - Second semester - Clayton - Prerequisite SPN 2020 or SPN 2080

Objectives On completion students should have gained knowledge on how socio-cultural reality affects linguistic behaviour and communicative rules in the Hispanic world. Students will have to show in their research project a profound theoretical knowledge by relating (comparing, contrasting, arguing) their own findings with previous studies done in their field of research.

Synopsis This subject explores four areas of Hispanic discourse (the media, medicine, politics and law). The effects of power/control, gender/ sexism, age and ageism will be examined as modulators of discourse and communication in the different contexts and in a number of Spanish speaking countries. The focus in lectures will be on giving the theoretical bases to understand how tradition, socio-cultural characteristics and political ideologies in Hispanic societies permeate and condition interactions among individuals. Tutorial work will concentrate on the analysis of Hispanic discourse following a variety of methodological and theoretical framework approaches to investigate (1) the media (television, printed and web material) (2) hospitals and medical consultation (3) political discourse ranging from dictatorial to democratic discourse through the history of the Hispanic world and (4) the courtroom.

Assessment Research essay: 40% - Class exercises and participation: 25% - Test: 25% - Oral presentation: 10%

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