ASOK15212U Discourse and Politics
MA course in sociological theory (MSc Curriculum 2005)
MA Theory and Methodology (MSc Curriculum 2015)
Course package (MSc 2015): Knowledge, organisation and politics
Sociologists differ on what discourse is, yet there is virtually no institution or social practice that is considered out of bounds of discursive analysis. In this class we will critically investigate how discourse is constructed in media, among policy makers and in academic settings. Knowledge about how discourse impacts politics is crucial for informed citizens, policy makers, and intellectuals who wish to influence the construction of decision-making in institutions. This Masters-level course engages students with critical sociological theories and methods for analyzing public debate and political discourse in an interdisciplinary perspective. Students will discover a wide array of theories on discourse and politics including the schools of thought by Alexander, Foucault, and work on Critical Discourse Analysis, and visual analysis. Our readings include current media debates in Europe and the United States, and student presentations and written assignments will critically compare public debate in different national contexts or regions. We trace how journalists, bloggers, or non-profit organizations try to challenge dominant discourse, and we investigate how cultural codes, familiar stories and specific stereotypes shape the boundaries of discourse and public participation. Students will learn to analyze discourse using a variety of different methods including ethnography for the study of face-to-face publics, and comparative analysis to study media and transnational public spaces, online and offline. Students are encouraged to develop their own research projects and will present their discourse analysis in class.
The overall aim of the course is for students to acquire and demonstrate the knowledge, skills and competencies forming the basics of the MA specialization in Knowledge, organization and politics. Students demonstrate these abilities through participation, presentations, exercises, and written assignments, including a written essay (portfolio format).
Knowledge:
Through presentations, exercises and written assignments, students should be able to show that they have
- gained a broadly based understanding of and an overview over the interdisciplinary sociological research literature within the thematic field of discourse and politics
- acquired the ability to thoroughly compare and contrast key analytical and theoretical perspectives based on the readings that we discuss in class.
Skills:
More specifically, the student acquires and demonstrates the ability to
- apply central concepts from the literature within independently chosen, empirically and methodologically informed inquiries into the way discourse operates in specific national, institutional, cultural and political contexts.
This involves to
- develop adequate empirical case studies and critical analytical questions, assessed in written form and to be presented in class,
- perform a critical analysis of these case studies through the lens of relevant analytical perspectives as well as
- to reflect methodologically on their own knowledge production during the case study work.
Finally, students should also be able to
- assess and discuss the practical and broader theoretical implications of their analysis for key actors, issues, and problems within and across different national and cultural contexts and fields of discourse and politics analyzed.
Competencies:
In carrying out the presentations, exercises and written assignments, students demonstrate that they have acquired competencies that allow them to think and write independently. They demonstrate that they are able to identify, design studies of, and analyze case studies and research on discourse and politics in different institutional, political and cultural contexts.
Readings are comprised of peer-reviewed journal articles, book chapters, activist publications, and occassional newspaper clippings. Students are responsible for approximately 6-700 pages of reading for 7,5 ECTS and 800 pages for 10 ECTS.
WORKLOAD
The number of lecture hours are the same for both 7,5 and 10 ECTS courses.
10 ECTS:
Lectures: 28
Course preparation:130
Exercises: 67
Exam Preparation: 50
Total: 275
- Category
- Hours
- Course Preparation
- 97
- Exam
- 11
- Exercises
- 70
- Lectures
- 28
- Total
- 206
Registration deadline for courses is June 1 for Autumn semester and December 1 for Spring semester.
Registration deadline for Summer school is June 1.
When registered you will be signed up for exam.
Exchange students must sign up by filling in an application form
which you find
here:
course registration
Meritstuderende:
klik her
- Credit
- 7,5 ECTS
- Type of assessment
- PortfolioIndividual or group. A portfolio assignment is defined as a series of short assignments during the course that address one or more set questions and feedback is offered during the course. All of the assignments are submitted together for assessment at the end of the course. The portfolio assignments must be no longer than 10 pages. For group assignments, an extra 5 pages is added per additional student. Further details for this exam form can be found in the Curriculum and in the General Guide to Examinations at KUnet.
- Exam registration requirements
Sociology students must be enrolled under MSc Curriculum 2015 to take this exam
- Marking scale
- 7-point grading scale
- Censorship form
- No external censorship
- Exam period
Submission dates and time will be available at KUnet, www.kunet.dk. Exchange students and danish full degree guest students please see the homepage of Sociology; http://www.soc.ku.dk/english/education/exams/ and http://www.soc.ku.dk/uddannelser/meritstuderende/eksamen
Criteria for exam assesment
Please see the learning outcome
- Credit
- 10 ECTS
- Type of assessment
- Written assignmentIndividual/group. Free written take-home essays are assignments for which students define and formulate a problem within the parameters of the course and based on an individual exam syllabus. The free written take-home essay must be no longer than 10 pages. For group assignments, an extra 5 pages is added per additional student. Further details for this exam form can be found in the Curriculum and in the General Guide to Examinations at KUnet.
- Exam registration requirements
Sociology students must be enrolled under MSc Curriculum 2005 to take this exam
- Marking scale
- 7-point grading scale
- Censorship form
- External censorship
- Exam period
Submission dates and time will be available at KUnet, www.kunet.dk. Exchange students and danish full degree guest students please see the homepage of Sociology; http://www.soc.ku.dk/english/education/exams/ and http://www.soc.ku.dk/uddannelser/meritstuderende/eksamen
Criteria for exam assesment
Please see the learning outcome
Course information
- Language
- English
- Course code
- ASOK15212U
- Credit
- See exam description
- Level
- Full Degree MasterFull Degree Master choice
- Duration
- 1 semester
- Placement
- Autumn
- Schedule
- See timetable
- Study board
- Department of Sociology, Study Council
Contracting department
- Department of Sociology
Course responsibles
- Nicole Doerr (2-706642757165306d7730666d)
Lecturers
Nicole Doerr,