OVERVIEW

The course is part of the general learning objectives of the LM38 program, particularly in relation to the acquisition of textual analysis skills applied to communication. It aims to address the use of language as social action and public behaviour in a variety of contexts and textual genres from a transdisciplinary and eco-critical perspective.

The course is worth 12 CFU for the LM38 program and includes a theoretical module (30 hours) and language practice modules (120 hours).

AIMS AND CONTENT

LEARNING OUTCOMES

The course aims to consolidate students' English linguistic and communicative proficiency to a C1.2 level of the CEFR (Common European Framework of Reference for Languages) allowing them to approach language as a social action and public behavior in a transdisciplinary and eco-critical perspective across a variety of contexts. The course will provide the foundational theoretical and methodological tools for Critical Discourse Analysis (CDA), with incursions into eco-linguistics, exploring the boundary between language sciences, social sciences, and communication studies, considering both the synchronic and diachronic dimensions of linguistic phenomena. The course will analyze contemporary discursive modalities, focusing on genres and discursive practices and their socio-cultural impact as well as the way they affect human behaviour towards the planet's ecosystem, also in comparison with discursive phenomena from the past. Issues of authority, identity, and agency will be addressed to understand how language reproduces or reinforces social, epistemic, and biodiversity-related inequalities in both written and oral texts. Students will acquire an eco-critical and multidimensional perspective on language as a social, cultural, and political phenomenon while developing critical discourse analysis tools to tackle a range of texts.

AIMS AND LEARNING OUTCOMES

By the end of the course, students will have acquired knowledge and skills in linguistics, along with an eco-critical and multidimensional perspective on language as a social, cultural, and political phenomenon. They will develop both metalinguistic analysis skills and an in-depth understanding of specific aspects, supported by the language modules aimed at learning language for specific purposes.

By the end of the course, students will be able to:

• Navigate specialized discourse across different textual genres and analyze issues related to authority, identity, and agency;

• Analyze the dynamics of specialized texts using the tools of discourse analysis, ecolinguistics, and Critical Discourse Analysis;

• Identify strategies and argumentative tools, also from an intercultural mediation perspective.

PREREQUISITES

English language proficiency of at least C1 level according to the CEFR.

TEACHING METHODS

In addition to traditional classroom lectures, participatory teaching strategies will be implemented, such as flipped classroom, collaborative activities, project-based learning, and peer learning. Students who hold a certificate for specific learning needs (e.g. dyslexia), disabilities, or other special educational needs are encouraged to contact the lecturer at the beginning of the course to discuss teaching and examination methods and arrange that, while respecting the course objectives, individual learning styles can be taken into account and appropriate compensatory tools can be offered.

For non-attending students, a thorough study of the texts listed in the bibliography and the materials provided by the lecturer on Aulaweb/Moodle is recommended.

SYLLABUS/CONTENT

The language modules provide the opportunity to become familiar with a variety of genres and their main communicative purposes as well as English for specific purposes to eventually improve linguistic proficiency towards C2.

The theoretical module provides an overview of the tools of critical discourse analysis and ecolinguistics, aiming to equip students with the means to understand how language contributes to the construction and negotiation of social and cultural identities at both the micro level (everyday interactions) and the macro level (public and media discourse). Additionally, the module will focus on deepening the theoretical and methodological tools of Critical Discourse Analysis and ecolinguistics, with particular attention to the interaction between language, power, and ideology.

Among the main topics:

• critical discourse analysis and its tools
• unecological ideologies and how to detect them
• ecofeminist criticism of language and gender issues (e.g. 'genderization of objects')
• metaphors
• agency and acccountability in a range of genres
• cohesion and coherence in discourse and narratives

RECOMMENDED READING/BIBLIOGRAPHY

Baker, Mona. Translation and conflict: A narrative account. Routledge, 2018.

Baxter, Judith. Positioning gender in discourse: A feminist methodology. Springer, 2003.

Fill, Alwin, and Peter Muhlhausler. Ecolinguistics reader: Language, ecology and environment. A&C Black, 2006.

Lazar, Michelle M. "Feminist critical discourse analysis." The handbook of language, gender, and sexuality (2014): 180-199.

The materials may be provided during the course through the course's Aulaweb/Moodle platform.

TEACHERS AND EXAM BOARD

Exam Board

LAURA SANTINI (President)

LESSONS

LESSONS START

The language modules are annual, therefore language module classes start in term one. For more information, please refer to the course's Aulaweb page.

Theoretical module classes are held in term two in the academic year 2025-26.

Class schedule

The timetable for this course is available here: Portale EasyAcademy

EXAMS

EXAM DESCRIPTION

For the theoretical module, the exam will consist of an oral interview based on a portfolio of text analyses and a guided First Assignment. The assessment will consider the skills acquired in discourse analysis through the examination of authentic texts, as well as oral expression skills in English. The grading will be on a scale of thirty.

ASSESSMENT METHODS

The exam for the theoretical module aims to assess:
a) the acquisition of theoretical knowledge related to the disciplines of discourse analysis and ecolinguistics; and
b) the ability to apply this theoretical knowledge to the concrete analysis of a corpus of texts.

The language module exams are designed to assess the acquisition of comprehension and production skills for complex and specialised texts in English at the C1-C2 level.