Tag(s)
RA, PA, HI
Admission Requirements
Similarly tagged 200-level and 300-level courses. Students that do not meet this prerequisite should contact the instructor regarding the required competencies before course allocation.
This course is complementary to the course on The Power of Words (taught in Block 2). However, it is possible to participate in Language and Persuasion without having attended The Power of Words.
Description
The aim of this course is to make students critically aware of the persuasive power of language in media and politics. How do politicians make strategic use of language to sell their policies? How can linguistic analysis reveal hidden ideologies in news texts? The starting point for this course is the insight that the way in which an object or event is portrayed in language is never neutral: linguistic choices generate rhetorical effects. It therefore makes a difference whether people who oppose a political leader are characterized as freedom fighters or as rebels, or whether the European Union is characterized as a family or as a bottomless pit.
In this class we will investigate the rhetorical consequences of linguistic choices in the domains of media and politics by studying insights from critical discourse analysis, stylistics and modern persuasion research. The theoretical insights will be put into practice by analysing actual texts.
Course Objectives
Knowledge of the aims and methods of (critical) discourse analysis
Knowledge of the most important stylistic features that are analyzed within Critical Discourse Analysis
Broad familiarity with stylistic means that contribute to the persuasiveness of texts
Ability to use methods of (critical) discourse analysis in the analysis of actual texts
Ability to recognize the rhetorical effects of stylistic devices in actual texts
Mode of Instruction
In each class we will discuss parts of books and articles. Active participation is paramount. The reading work has to be prepared by uploading weekly web postings; during class all students are expected to engage in discussions. We will apply the theoretical insights to actual texts. Each week a number of students will be asked to prepare and lead parts of the group discussions about the assigned literature.
Assessment
Assessment: In-class participation
Percentage: 10%
Deadline: Ongoing Weeks 1 – 7
Assessment: Weekly web-postings (300 words)
Percentage: 25%
Deadline: Ongoing Weeks 1 – 7
Assessment: Group presentations (2 per student)
Percentage: 25%
Deadline: Ongoing Weeks 1 – 7
Assessment: Final research essay (3000 words)
Percentage: 40%
Deadline: Week 8
Literature
The literature for each class will be placed on Blackboard. Students are required to print the compulsory literature themselves, and bring to class. In the case that material cannot appear on Blackboard due to copyright restrictions, a web link will be placed. Again, students will then need to retrieve and print the compulsory literature themselves.
Contact Information
Drs. Maarten van Leeuwen, m.van.leeuwen@hum.leidenuniv.nl
Weekly Overview
Week 1: Introduction / (critical) discourse analysis
Week 2: (critical) discourse analysis in practice / hiding and taking for granted: nominalisation and presupposition
Week 3: Strategic use of active and passive voice / language and identity
Week 4: Transitivity analysis / Language and advertising
Week 5: (Critical) discourse analysis and argumentation / Humour, language and power
Week 6: Political bias and informalization in the news / Criticisms of CDA
Week 7: Presentations by students
Week 8: Reading week (no classroom hours)
Preparation for first session
Homework for the first session will be published on blackboard, a week before the course starts.