Last modified: 12 Aug 2025 13:16
In professional discourse, language is used not only to communicate, but to gatekeep, to enact, to form and preserve identities, and to negotiate, challenge, and wield power. In this course we will look at language use within the legal, educational, and medical professions, as well as from the so-called ‘blue-collar’ professions of domestic and factory work and investigate the ways in which language is used and to what effect.
| Study Type | Undergraduate | Level | 4 |
|---|---|---|---|
| Term | First Term | Credit Points | 30 credits (15 ECTS credits) |
| Campus | Aberdeen | Sustained Study | No |
| Co-ordinators |
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The Professions are bound up with language – as life itself is. In professional discourse, however, we find particular characteristics of language coming to the fore. Language is used not only to communicate, but to gatekeep, to enact, to form and preserve identities, and to negotiate, challenge, and wield power. Professional language contains jargon, excluding those for whom the meaning is impenetrable, but the gatekeeping features of professional language are far more comprehensive than this alone. There is a ‘right way to speak’ both when facing the public as a professional, but also when one is with colleagues.
In this course we will look at language use within the legal, educational, and medical professions, as well as from the so-called ‘blue-collar’ professions of domestic and factory work and investigate the ways in which language is used and to what effect. Taking a politically engaged perspective, we will look at how Bourdieu’s concept of capital and Foucault’s theorisation of power can help us understand the connection between language and the professions. Other theories will be introduced and various methodologies for studying professional discourses will be discussed. Students will have the opportunity to develop critical and personal responses to the work they encounter, as well as being asked to use their own experiences as bases for their assessments. Throughout the course there will be a focus on the task and possibility of decolonising the curriculum.
Information on contact teaching time is available from the course guide.
| Assessment Type | Summative | Weighting | 10 | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Assessment Weeks | 1,2,3,4,5,6,7,8,9,10,11 | Feedback Weeks | 12 | |
| Feedback |
Students will be provided with a comment through the Blackboard platform, as well as oral feedback from the tutor throughout the course if desired. |
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| Knowledge Level | Thinking Skill | Outcome |
|---|---|---|
| Conceptual | Analyse | Be familiar with some of the main issues in communicating in a variety of professional contexts. |
| Factual | Remember | Have familiarity with current research on language in the professions. |
| Procedural | Understand | Understand how to apply the tools of linguistic analysis to the study of language in a variety of professional situations. |
| Reflection | Evaluate | Improved ability to write and talk about linguistic topics and improved presentational skills; timekeeping abilities and general writing and research skills. |
| Reflection | Evaluate | Understand how increased metalinguistic awareness can enhance professional practice. |
| Assessment Type | Summative | Weighting | 10 | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Assessment Weeks | 9 | Feedback Weeks | 12 | |
| Feedback |
Individual Oral Presentation of a research paper (5mins) Students will be provided with written feedback through the Blackboard platform, as well as oral feedback from the tutor if desired. |
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| Knowledge Level | Thinking Skill | Outcome |
|---|---|---|
| Conceptual | Analyse | Be familiar with some of the main issues in communicating in a variety of professional contexts. |
| Factual | Remember | Have familiarity with current research on language in the professions. |
| Procedural | Understand | Understand how to apply the tools of linguistic analysis to the study of language in a variety of professional situations. |
| Reflection | Evaluate | Understand how increased metalinguistic awareness can enhance professional practice. |
| Reflection | Evaluate | Improved ability to write and talk about linguistic topics and improved presentational skills; timekeeping abilities and general writing and research skills. |
| Assessment Type | Summative | Weighting | 50 | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Assessment Weeks | 6 | Feedback Weeks | 9 | |
| Feedback |
Feedback will be provided by tutors in written form through the online coursework submission platform Turnitin. |
Word Count | 3000 | |
| Knowledge Level | Thinking Skill | Outcome |
|---|---|---|
| Conceptual | Analyse | Be familiar with some of the main issues in communicating in a variety of professional contexts. |
| Procedural | Understand | Understand how to apply the tools of linguistic analysis to the study of language in a variety of professional situations. |
| Reflection | Evaluate | Understand how increased metalinguistic awareness can enhance professional practice. |
| Reflection | Evaluate | Improved ability to write and talk about linguistic topics and improved presentational skills; timekeeping abilities and general writing and research skills. |
| Assessment Type | Summative | Weighting | 30 | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Assessment Weeks | Feedback Weeks | |||
| Feedback | ||||
| Knowledge Level | Thinking Skill | Outcome |
|---|---|---|
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There are no assessments for this course.
| Assessment Type | Summative | Weighting | 100 | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Assessment Weeks | Feedback Weeks | |||
| Feedback |
Feedback will be provided by tutors in written form through the online coursework submission platform Turnitin. |
Word Count | 3500 | |
| Knowledge Level | Thinking Skill | Outcome |
|---|---|---|
|
|
||
| Knowledge Level | Thinking Skill | Outcome |
|---|---|---|
| Factual | Remember | Have familiarity with current research on language in the professions. |
| Reflection | Evaluate | Understand how increased metalinguistic awareness can enhance professional practice. |
| Procedural | Understand | Understand how to apply the tools of linguistic analysis to the study of language in a variety of professional situations. |
| Reflection | Evaluate | Improved ability to write and talk about linguistic topics and improved presentational skills; timekeeping abilities and general writing and research skills. |
| Conceptual | Analyse | Be familiar with some of the main issues in communicating in a variety of professional contexts. |
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