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DRPS : Course Catalogue : School of Philosophy,

Psychology and Language Sciences : Language Sciences
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Undergraduate Course: Discourse Home
Analysis (LASC10114) Introduction
Course Outline Glossary
School School of Philosophy, College College of Arts, Search DPTs and Courses
Psychology and Humanities and Social
Regulations
Language Sciences Sciences
Credit SCQF Level 10 (Year 3 Availability Available to all Regulations
level Undergraduate) students Degree Programmes
(Normal
year Introduction
taken)
Browse DPTs
SCQF 20 ECTS 10
Credits Credits Courses

Summary Discourse analysis is the study of language in use. In this Introduction

course, the students will learn empirical methods for
studying naturally-occurring language data in various social,
Humanities and Social Science
institutional and technological contexts. Science and Engineering
Course Discourse analysis looks at how people use language in real-
description life contexts. In this course, we will explore how discourse
Medicine and Veterinary Medicine
or language in use can be studied empirically. We are going Other Information
to focus, in particular, on two types of naturally-occurring
discourse: spoken (e.g. small talk, professional interaction, Combined Course Timetable
media interviews, etc.) and computer-mediated (e.g. text
and multimedia messaging, social media postings, etc). The Prospectuses
course will cover three main components: Important Information
1. What is discourse and discourse analysis: introducing key
concepts in discourse analysis such as written vs. spoken
discourse, small d and big D discourse, cohesion, turn-
taking, etc.;
2. What are the main approaches to discourse analysis: e.g.
Conversation Analysis, Interactional Sociolinguistics,
Computer-mediated Discourse Analysis, Critical and
Multimodal Discourse Analysis, Corpus-assisted Discourse
Analysis;
3. How to design and carry out a discourse analysis project:
the ethical and practical considerations of collecting
spoken, text messaging and social media data in different
contexts, transcribing spoken and multimodal data,
analyzing naturally-occurring discourse data adopting one
of the main DA approaches.
 The course is highly hands-on. The students will learn to
apply linguistic skills they have learned in this and other
courses to examine real-life questions.

Entry Requirements (not applicable to Visiting Students)

Pre- Students MUST have Co-requisites
requisites passed: LEL2A:
Linguistic Theory and
the Structure of
English (LASC08017)
Prohibited Other None
Combinations requirements

Information for Visiting Students

Pre- Visiting students should have at least 3 Linguistics/Language
requisites Sciences courses at grade B or above (or be predicted to
obtain this). We will only consider University/College level
courses.
High Yes
Demand
Course?

Course Delivery Information

Academic year 2020/21, Available to Quota: 0

all students (SV1)
Course Start Semester 2
Timetable Timetable
Learning and Total Hours: 200 ( Lecture Hours 9, Seminar/Tutorial
Teaching Hours 18, Programme Level Learning and Teaching Hours
activities 4, Directed Learning and Independent Learning Hours 169
(Further )
Info)
Assessment Written Exam 0 %, Coursework 100 %, Practical Exam 0 %
(Further
Info)
Additional Data Analysis of 1500 words, worth 40%
Information Project of 2500 words, worth 60%
(Assessment)
Feedback Mid-semester survey of students
No Exam Information

Learning Outcomes
On completion of this course, the student will be able to:

1. Explain key concepts and theories of discourse and key

approaches to discourse analysis
2. Collect and transcribe spoken and computer-mediated discourse
data
3. Analyze spoken and computer-mediated discourse using one of
the key DA approaches and linguistic analytical skills acquired in
other courses (such as phonology, syntax and/or pragmatics)
4. Observe and describe the structures and patterns of discourse
5. Interpret discursive patterns using appropriate discourse concepts
and theories

Reading List
 Cameron, D. (2001). Working with spoken discourse. London: Sage.
Cameron, D., & Panovic, I. (2014). Working with written discourse.
London: Sage Jewitt, C., Bezemer, J., & O'Halloran, K. (2016).
Introducing multimodality. London: Routledge.
Page, R., Barton, D., Unger, J. W., & Zappavigna, M. (2014). Researching
language and social media: A student guide. Routledge.

Additional Information
Graduate 1. Analytical & Critical thinking
Attributes 2. Independent Research: Conduct research and enquiry into
and Skills language in use through research design, the collection and
analysis of qualitative data, synthesising and reporting
research finding.
3. Written Communication: be able to communicate complex
ideas and arguments in writing using language and visual
resources (such as images, tables and figures).
4. Ethics and social responsibility: applying ethical principles
in research practices.
5. Team working: effectively perform within team
environments including the ability to recognise and capitalise
on individuals' different thinking, experience and skills.
Keywords Not entered

Contacts
Course Dr Sumin Zhao Course Miss Chloe Anderson
organiser Tel: (0131 6)51 5513 secretary Tel: (0131 6)50 9870
Email: Email:
Sumin.zhao@ed.ac.uk chloe.anderson@ed.ac.uk

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