Languages
Language, Identity and Nation
Module code: R9028
Level 5
15 credits in spring semester
Teaching method: Lecture, Seminar
Assessment modes: Coursework
On this module, you’ll explore the reciprocal relationship between speakers of various languages and the societies, nations and states in which they live.
The module falls into two sections. The first takes a sociolinguistic approach and you’ll examine the relationship between:
- ethnicity
- class
- gender
- sexuality
- other variables.
You’ll consider the way in which they shape language communities and the enclaves within them – how language interacts with these markers of identity defining and refining them.
The second section explores the socio-political factors that employ language in the process of nation building and imagining. You’ll look at theories of nationalism and examine the relationship between culture and national identity in the case of:
- anti-Ottoman Arab nationalism
- the linguistic basis of Arab ethnic identity.
Module learning outcomes
- Demonstrate an ability to critically analyse the role of language in society over time, with reference to some established methods of linguistic research.
- Demonstrate knowledge and understanding of certain theories about the relationship between thought and language in various global speech communities.
- Critically understand and evaluate the relevance of theories of nationalism and the role language and culture play in nationalist discourse and the creation of national identity in different historical, cultural and political contexts.
- Acquire new interdisciplinary competencies, to enable comparative critical analysis of the ways in which language, identity and nationalism interact in different contexts, and apply the knowledge gained more widely into the student’s own area of specialism.