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Module Specifications.

Current Academic Year 2024 - 2025

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Date posted: September 2024

Module Title Language, Culture and Society
Module Code SOC5B (ITS) / SOC1016 (Banner)
Faculty DCU Institute of Education School Human Development
Module Co-ordinatorMark O'Brien
Module TeachersLorraine Delaney
NFQ level 8 Credit Rating 15
Pre-requisite Not Available
Co-requisite Not Available
Compatibles Not Available
Incompatibles Not Available
None
Array
Description

This advanced level module provides a critical overview of the relationship between language, culture and society. How and what people speak can have a profound influence upon how they are viewed in the world. The module begins by outlining some of the key perspectives on language and its diversity in society before discussing key research concerning the topic. How culture is produced and re-produced in everyday life is examined, as well as some of the key dimensions that shape the contemporary world such as the nation-state, media, education system and economy. The final part of the module explores some of these sociological concepts through a case-study of Northern Irish society and by critically examining its structures of class, gender, and how the ‘Troubles’ have been represented by governments, the media and street artists.

Learning Outcomes

1. Evaluate the different theoretical sociological perspectives on language, culture and society
2. Critique the key sociological theories and concepts of power and ideology to the sociological constructs of language, culture and society
3. Evaluate the role and meaning of popular culture in language and society
4. Appraise the way in which culture is produced and re-produced through language
5. Explain how culture is produced and re-produced in everyday life
6. Assess language culture and society using the key sociological theories and concepts detailed above



Workload Full-time hours per semester
Type Hours Description
Tutorial18No Description
Online activity60No Description
Independent Study297No Description
Total Workload: 375

All module information is indicative and subject to change. For further information,students are advised to refer to the University's Marks and Standards and Programme Specific Regulations at: http://www.dcu.ie/registry/examinations/index.shtml

Indicative Content and Learning Activities

Part 1: Language and Ethnicity

Unit 1: Language and Society – Theoretical Perspectives

Unit 2: Language and Social Structure

Unit 3: Language, Ethnicity and National Identity

Unit 4: The Politics of Language

Unit 5: Minority Languages – The Case of Irish

Part 2: Popular culture

Unit 6: An Introduction to the Study of Popular Culture

Unit 7: Popular Culture and Ideology

Unit 8: Reading Popular Culture

Unit 9: Understanding Audiences

Unit 10: Politics and Popular Culture

Part 3: Society and Culture

Unit 11: Culture, Ideology and Power

Unit 12: Intellectuals and Society

Unit 13: Nationalism and Culture

Unit 14: Culture and the State

Unit 15: Economy and Culture

Part 4: The Case of Northern Ireland

Unit 16: Ethnicity, Nationalism and Sectarianism

Unit 17: Class and the Northern Ireland Conflict

Unit 18: The Role and Status of Women within contemporary Northern Irish Society

Unit 19: Official Representations of the conflict in Northern Ireland: The British State and the Media

Unit 20: Alternative Representations of the Conflict in Northern Ireland: Republican and Loyalist Murals

Assessment Breakdown
Continuous Assessment100% Examination Weight0%
Course Work Breakdown
TypeDescription% of totalAssessment Date
EssayEssay25%n/a
AssignmentOnline discussion and Essay25%n/a
PresentationOnline presentation20%n/a
ProjectCase study report and reflective eportfolio30%n/a
Reassessment Requirement Type
Resit arrangements are explained by the following categories:
Resit category 1: A resit is available for both* components of the module.
Resit category 2: No resit is available for a 100% continuous assessment module.
Resit category 3: No resit is available for the continuous assessment component where there is a continuous assessment and examination element.
* ‘Both’ is used in the context of the module having a Continuous Assessment/Examination split; where the module is 100% continuous assessment, there will also be a resit of the assessment
This module is category 1
Indicative Reading List

  • Storey, J. (ed.): 2015, Cultural Theory and Popular Culture: A Reader, 7th, Prentice Hall, New York,
  • Share, P., Corcoran, M.P., & Conway, B: 2012, A Sociology of Ireland, Fourth, Gill & Macmillan., Dublin,
  • Chen, K.H. and Morley, D. (eds): 2006, Stuart Hall: Critical Dialogues in Cultural Studies, Routledge,
  • Fiske, J.: 2010, Understanding Popular Culture, 2nd, Routledge,
  • Fiske, J.: 2011, Reading the Popular, Routledge,
  • McGarry, J. and O'Leary, B.: 1995, Explaining Northern Ireland: Broken Images, Wiley-Blackwell,
  • Shepherd, L. J., Hamilton, C. (Ed): 2016, Understanding Popular Culture and World Politics in the Digital Age, Routledge,
  • O'Sullivan, S. (ed): 2007, Contemporary Ireland: A Sociological Map, UCD Press, Dublin,
Other Resources

None

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