Sem: Adv Discourse Analysis

3 Credits · Level: Graduate

This seminar offers training in advanced discourse analysis, with a focus on apologies, thanks, and related speech acts in a cross-cultural perspective. The goal is to analyze naturally occurring conversational discourse in any context and any language of interest to students. The class will survey literature on apologies and thanks in relation to each other, and to other speech acts that can function in similar ways in a range of languages and cultures. In addition, the class will address major discourse analytic topics, theories, and methods, such as interactional sociolinguistics, intertextuality, framing, and power & solidarity. Another goal is to hone students’ skills in writing academic research papers. Toward that end, each student will conduct an independent research project that will be workshopped in the class and lead to a potentially publishable paper.