ENGLISH 306G
Critical Discourse Analysis
Winter 2022
Dr. Andrew McMurry
HH 265, Office hours: TBA
ext. 32121 amcmurry@uwaterloo.ca
Course description:
This course will provide students with an introduction to the theories, methods, and materials of critical discourse analysis. CDA takes the view that all discourses reproduce and recirculate dominant social and political formations, that, in essence, everyday language practices and hegemonic ideologies are deeply interwoven. Case studies in this course will be derived from a variety of sources, including politics, business, environmental discourse, literature, media, television, film, and video games.
Texts:
How to Do Critical Discourse Analysis, David Machin and Andrea Mayr Other readings and lecture materials will be posted to our Learn website
Assignments:
30%: Midterm test on key concepts and terminology with some application.
20%: Field study and presentation—the field study is an exploration, using CDA approaches, of some discourse that you have tracked over the term. The write-up should be about 1400 words, and the presentation of your results should take no more than 10 minutes.
30%: Final exam—this will be a take-home consisting primarily of a few analytical questions.
20%: Mini assignments—short response papers/quizzes/in-class exercises, and posts on Learn site (no late submissions).Schedule (the updated schedule with student presentations and oral exam dates and times will be posted on Learn):
|
Date |
Topics |
Readings/Activities |
|---|---|---|
|
Jan 5 |
Introduction |
|
|
Jan 10 |
Basic concepts |
Ch 1 |
|
Jan 12 |
Words |
Ch 2 |
|
Jan 17 |
Images |
Ch 2 |
|
Jan 19 |
Verbs |
Ch 3 |
|
Jan 24 |
People |
Ch 4 |
|
Jan 26 |
People |
Ch 4 |
|
Jan 31 |
Action |
Ch 5 |
|
Feb 2 |
Action |
Ch 5 |
|
Feb 7 |
Nominalization |
Ch 6 |
|
Feb 9 |
Truth |
Ch 8 |
|
Feb 14 |
Rhetoric |
Ch. 9 |
|
Feb 16 |
Midterm test |
|
|
Feb 21 |
Reading week |
No class |
|
Feb 23 |
Reading week |
No class |
|
Feb 28 |
Consumerism |
|
|
Mar 2 |
Political discourse |
“Trumpolect” (Learn) |
|
Mar 7 |
Gender relations |
|
|
Mar 9 |
Environment |
“Ecocriticism and Discourse” (Learn) |
|
Mar 14 |
Literature |
|
|
Mar 16 |
Video games |
|
|
Mar 21 |
Presentations |
field study due (lateness = 5% per day from raw grade) |
|
Mar 23 |
Presentations |
|
|
Mar 28 |
Presentations |
|
|
Mar 30 |
Presentations |
|
|
Apr 4 |
Catch-up/Exam preview |
The Fine Print:
Academic Integrity: In order to maintain a culture of academic integrity, members of the University of Waterloo are expected to promote honesty, trust, fairness, respect and responsibility.
Discipline: A student is expected to know what constitutes academic integrity, to avoid committing academic offences, and to take responsibility for his/ her actions. A student who is unsure whether an action constitutes an offence, or who needs help in learning how to avoid offences (e.g., plagiarism, cheating) or about “rules” for group work/collaboration should seek guidance from the course professor, academic advisor, or the Undergraduate Associate Dean. When misconduct has been found to have occurred, disciplinary penalties will be imposed under Policy 71 – Student Discipline. For information on categories of offenses and types of penalties, students should refer to Policy 71 - Student Discipline.
Grievance: A student who believes that a decision affecting some aspect of his/her university life has been unfair or unreasonable may have grounds for initiating a grievance. Read Policy 70 - Student Petitions and Grievances, Section 4.
Appeals: A student may appeal the finding and/or penalty in a decision made under Policy 70 - Student Petitions and Grievances (other than regarding a petition) or Policy 71 - Student Discipline if a ground for an appeal can be established. Read Policy 72 - Student Appeals.
Other sources of information for students:
Academic Integrity website (Arts) Academic Integrity Office (UWaterloo) Accommodation for Students with Disabilities
Note for students with disabilities: The AccessAbility Services office, located on the first floor of the Needles Hall extension, collaborates with all academic departments to arrange appropriate accommodations for students with disabilities without compromising the academic integrity of the curriculum. If you require academic accommodations to lessen the impact of your disability, please register with the AS office at the beginning of each academic term.
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