Postgraduate Course: Special Topics in Sociolinguistics (LASC11001)

Course Outline
School	School of Philosophy, Psychology and Language Sciences	College	College of Humanities and Social Science
Credit level (Normal year taken)	SCQF Level 11 (Postgraduate)	Availability	Available to all students
SCQF Credits	20	ECTS Credits	10
Summary	This course covers topics and methods for the advanced study of variationist sociolinguistics. Through advanced readings and an independent research project proposal, students will examine the theories and practices associated with data collection and data analysis in sociolinguistics. This option complements and develops ideas and materials that were introduced in the core courses in sociolinguistics and text analysis. The course will include readings and discussion of some of the principles, issues and problems that underlie special topics such as language and identity, sociophonetics, and methodological issues in fieldwork and quantitative data analysis. The course develops foundational issues in sociolinguistics through a survey of cutting edge research in the field. Each year the focus will be on a different special topic that is highly relevant to the on-going research of the course organisers and likely participants. Feedback Events: One-on-one 30-minutes meetings with each student regarding the assessment
Course description	Not entered

Information for Visiting Students
Pre-requisites	None

Course Delivery Information

Academic year 2015/16, Available to all students (SV1)		Quota: None
Course Start	Semester 2
Timetable	Timetable
Learning and Teaching activities (Further Info)	Total Hours: 200 ( Lecture Hours 20, Feedback/Feedforward Hours 10, Programme Level Learning and Teaching Hours 4, Directed Learning and Independent Learning Hours 166 )
Assessment (Further Info)	Written Exam 0 %, Coursework 100 %, Practical Exam 0 %
Additional Information (Assessment)	Two assignments: 2000 words (40%) and 3000 words (60%) Assignment 1: 2000 words (40%). Mock peer review of a relevant article Maximum Word Count: 2000 words Assignment Deadline: Monday 23rd February 2015, 12 noon Return Date: 17th March 2015 Assignment 2: 3000 words (60%). Mock peer review of a second article combined with a project proposal Maximum Word count: 3000 words Assignment Deadline: Monday 6th April 2015, 12 noon Return Date: 28th April 2015
Feedback	Not entered
No Exam Information

Learning Outcomes
Knowledge and understanding of: - optimal data-collection methods and goals; - what benefits and costs are associated with experiential modes of data collection, such as ethnography; - what benefits and costs are associated with experimental modes of data collection, such as elicitation tasks; - how we can measure success of a given method of data collection