Anthropological Linguistics

Assoc. Prof. Dr Alexandra Bagasheva
Lectures: 30
Seminars: 30
ECTS credits: 6

The aim of the course is to introduce students to the basic problems of studying the complex intertwining between culture, language, the mind and embodiment. It will equip students with skills for applying methodologies of qualitative research and ethnographic description. The focused discussions concern the close relations between mode of communication and prevalent cultural practices, the language patterns within a language community and the inevitable hybridization of cultures in the constant interplay between the local and global. The approach is student-oriented and involves autonomous reading and discussion of papers by key researchers in the field. During the seminar sessions students gain hands-on experience of qualitative analysis by producing field notes on particular case studies and by designing and presenting their own research. Students’ progress and achievements are assessed on the basis of individual field research (submitted as a term paper, with the major findings disseminated via an oral presentation) and a written examination. Students who take the course should have a fairly advanced knowledge of basic linguistics and be efficient writers of academic texts. The course is conducted in English.