Topics in Linguistics

Course goals

After successful completion of this course, students will be able to:

• describe the main perspectives and approaches of the linguistic domains covered in the course, as well as how they relate to one another
• apply methodological approaches from different domains to answer linguistic questions
• synthesize information into logical, well-organized arguments
• verbally summarize research in a concise manner than is understandable to a broad audience

Content

It's hard to imagine a world without human language. As an integral aspect of the human mind, culture, relationships, communication, technology, child development, and education (among others), the study of language is a highly interdisciplinary science that has been investigated from a number of different fields using a variety of different methods and perspectives. This course will introduce students to some of these linguistic approaches (both theories and methods), and give them an opportunity to write short review papers delving more deeply into topics of their choosing. Throughout the course, students will practice summarizing articles, synthesizing information, making connections, and developing written arguments.

 

Additional information

Students of the BA-programme Celtic Languages and Culture can only take this course in even years.