units

APG5704

Faculty of Arts

18 September 2017 22 December 2024
Monash University

Postgraduate - Unit

This unit entry is for students who completed this unit in 2014 only. For students planning to study the unit, please refer to the unit indexes in the the current edition of the Handbook. If you have any queries contact the managing faculty for your course or area of study.

print version

12 points, SCA Band 1, 0.250 EFTSL

Refer to the specific census and withdrawal dates for the semester(s) in which this unit is offered, or view unit timetables.

LevelPostgraduate
FacultyFaculty of Arts
Organisational UnitLinguistics
OfferedClayton First semester 2014 (Off-campus)
Coordinator(s)Dr Louisa Willoughby

Notes

Previously coded ALM5370

Synopsis

The unit introduces students to a range of theoretical and methodological approaches to the analysis of discourse. Drawing on both spoken and written texts, we explore how speakers create coherence and cohesion in texts, as well as stylistic differences across genres. Students become familiar with methodologies such as conversation analysis, critical discourse analysis and interactional sociolinguistics and apply these skills in transcribing and analysing real world texts. They also explore the conventions of discourse in workplace, educational, media and political settings and the ways in which language can be used to manipulate, persuade or empower the hearer/ reader.

Outcomes

On successful completion of this unit, a student will be able to:

  1. summarize key theoretical and methodological approaches and to discourse analysis,
  2. comment on the significances of pauses, laughter and prosodic cues in structuring turn-taking and given meaning to spoken language
  3. analyse texts for coherence and cohesion and comment on their genre-specific features
  4. analyse how the language used in a text serves to persuade the reader and reflects a particular ideology
  5. apply insights from this unit to their own professional context

Assessment

Written Work (9,000 words in total): 100%

Chief examiner(s)

Dr Louisa Willoughby