Course content
The overarching aim of the theme The Dynamics of Multilingualism is to address the need for a multidisciplinary approach in relation to the global challenge of increased mobility and multilingualism. The theme deals with language in motion and people’s ability (or lack thereof) to construct new identities and communities through language under current global conditions. Students will work with and apply different theoretical frameworks, including poststructuralist and postcolonial approaches, phenomenology, hermeneutics, discourse analysis, Bourdieu’s field theory, linguistic ethnography and linguistic landscapes in multidisciplinary contexts.
The course “Diasporas” is the second course of the second year within the theme and deals with a subject developing from the topics discussed in the course “Dislocations”. “Diasporas” covers both traditional and new (e.g. academic) diasporas, the emergence of creoles and World Englishes. Within the course, students will explore different issues through empirical analysis of data related to various language phenomena.
Learning outcomes
In order to pass the course, students are expected to be able to demonstrate:
- demonstrate the ability to engage in an interdisciplinary dialogue and peer review around the analysis of authentic language material
- creatively apply the theoretical frameworks discussed in the course in order to formulate specific research questions relating to language and globalisation in their respective disciplines
- carry out or continue an independent research project within a subject area related to the overarching theme of the dynamics of multilingualism (“Encounters” or “Affinities”) in a theoretically and methodologically insightful manner
Practical information
The following compulsory components will be included: completion of all oral and written tasks ahead of each seminar; a research presentation at a doctoral student conference at the end of term; seminar participation.
Period: Spring semester 2021
Course dates (preliminary): The seminars will run on Thursday afternoons, 1-4 pm, between 11 February and late April
Language of instruction: English
Course director: Caroline Kerfoot and Maria Kuteeva.
Theme coordinator: Maria Kuteeva
Course title in Swedish: Flerspråkighetens dynamik: diasporor
The course is offered by the Department of English in collaboration with the Department of Swedish and Multilingualism, Centre for Research on Bilingualism.
The course is part of the theme The Dynamics of Multilingualism
