Admission requirements
This course is meant for students from the BA Linguistics. If the course is full, these students have priority
over students from other programmes.
Basic knowledge of linguistics is necessary in order to be able to follow the course.
Description
This course takes a multi-angled perspective on the subject of language (use) in the city. Cities have very
specific social dynamics, which set them apart from the countryside. First, they seem to function as a focal
point for linguistic innovations; in the second place, they tend to attract people from very different
geographical, cultural and linguistic backgrounds, leading to a unique blend of language uses that is much
less generally found in non-urban environments.
In this course, we will study these dynamics from a whole variety of perspectives: from urban
dialectology, to variationist sociolinguistics, to multilingual repertoires to urban youth speech styles. This
will be done by lectures, group assignments, and a final paper. Examples will come from cities from all
over the world, including the Netherlands.
Course objectives
Knowledge of the main methods and theories concerning the subject of the course.
Critical insight into the problems, challenges and possibilities of these methods and theories.
Academic skills: group work; oral presentation; paper.
Timetable
Visit MyTimetable.
Mode of instruction
- Seminar with compulsory presence.
The seminar consists (a) of lectures (presence compulsary, exaggerated absence can lead to exclusion
from the grading or to extra ssignments), (b) of a number of group assignments followed by an oral group
presentation and sometimes a written report, (c) a final individual paper + oral presentation.
Assessment method
Assessment
The course is assessed by means of: (a) A number of group assignments with group presentation and, sometimes, written reports (b) A final paper (individual) about a subject of choice by the student with an oral presentation of the preliminary results in class.
Weighing
All of the assessment are compulsory and should be marked at least 6. The group assignments count for 40% of the final grade, the paper presentation for 10% of the final grade and the final paper for 50% of the final grade.
Resit
If a student fails presentation(s) or cannot present for good reasons (e.g. illness), there will be a possibility to do it once more. There is a possibility to do a resit for the paper.
Inspection and feedback
How and when an exam review will take place will be disclosed together with the publication of the exam results at the latest. If a student requests a review within 30 days after publication of the exam results, an exam review will have to be organized.
Reading list
The booktitles and / or syllabi to be used in the course, where it can be purchased and how this literature
should be studied beforehand.
Registration
Enrolment through uSis is mandatory.
General information about uSis is available on this website
Registration Studeren à la carte and Contractonderwijs
not applicable
Contact
For questions related to the content of the course, please contact the lecturer, you can find their contact information by clicking on their name in the sidebar.
For questions regarding enrollment please contact the Education Administration Office Reuvensplaats
E-mail address Education Administration Office Reuvensplaats: osz-oa-reuvensplaats@hum.leidenuniv.nl
For questions regarding your studyprogress contact the Coordinator of Studies
Remarks
not applicable