Language Majors Seminar
Term 2
W, 2:00 – 4:00 p.m.
The seminar will focus on viewpoint as a conceptual mechanism and show its role in guiding the choices speakers and writers make in language and communication. In the first part of the course, we will study a range of linguistic forms: grammatical constructions (such as negation), function words (possessive determiners, demonstrative determiners), verbs of cognition (think, know, guess, doubt, etc.), and narrative discourse (especially the use of referential expressions and constructions representing characters’ discourse). In the second part, we will consider various visual and multimodal forms of communication, such as internet discourse, advertising campaigns, political discourse, street art, etc. Participants will read and discuss a number of articles illustrating and analyzing viewpoint phenomena. In class, we will analyze many relevant examples, to develop analytical skills needed for the coursework. Students will also be asked to perform in-class presentations. The final assignment will be a term paper; this task will include collection of appropriate data and an analysis of viewpoint expressions.
