Prof. Moschini’s course will introduce the main concepts of Halliday’s socio-semiotic approach to language. It will concentrate then on some of the main linguistic features of digital textuality and on the analysis of texts belonging to different discursive areas (e.g. politics, advertising, media).
Lingua Inglese II - Prof. I. Moschini a.a. 2017-2018
Analyzing Digital Discourse
Readings:
1. Rodney H. Jones and Christoph A. Hafner. 2012. Understanding Digital Literacies. A Practical Introduction.
London & New York: Routledge. Chapters 1, 3, 4, 8.
2. Rodney H. Jones. 2012. Discourse Analysis. A Resource Book for Students. London & New York: Routledge. Section A - Introduction (pp. 1-31), Section C -Exploration (pp. 86-123)
(Entrambi i volumi sono in acquisizione presso la Biblioteca di Studi Umanistici)
Further Readings (These readings are mandatory for students who will not attend all the lessons)
Rodney H. Jones. 2012. Discourse Analysis. A Resource Book for Students. London & New York: Routledge. Section B -Development (pp. 36-78).
Learning Objectives
KNOWLEDGE: prof. Moschini’s lessons feature an introduction to theoretical/conceptual aspects of contemporary English linguistics and digital textuality and offer a collaborative insight into the practical multi-layered analysis of digitally remediated texts belonging to different discursive areas (mostly non-literary). ABILITIES: acquisition of the basic theoretical concepts and their related scientific terminology; gaining methodological tools to make analyses of contemporary multimodal digital texts in English; capacity to use English language for scientific purposes. BEHAVIOUR: gain understanding of university organisation, of degree courses, of guidance and future career services and help-desks; gain confidence in intellectual participation and a correct teacher-student relationship; stimulus to a civil and participatory use of the resources of the degree course and the School of Studies.
Prerequisites
There is no entrance test but to participate as actively as possible in the course we advise a level of listening, reading and writing of at least B2 level. Students who do not have this level are given bibliographical information (incl. electronic texts etc) so as to bring them up to the level.
Teaching Methods
Prof. Moschini's lectures are essentially lecture based but in their practical component (text analyses) feature interaction between teacher and students.
Further information
Prof. Moschini’s course consists of 30 hours and will take place in the second semester. Attendance is obligatory for 2/3 of the lessons. For part-time students, attendance is not necessary. A Moodle page will explain in detail information regarding: enrolment in groups, FAQ lettorato, the kinds of questions in the exam, the slides of invited professors, Language Corner, Tutor Help Desk, Plagiarism guidelines, Teacher sections.
Type of Assessment
Prof. Moschini's exam is written for all the students, including the Erasmus students.
The exam will last two hours and will feature two sections (one theoretical and one practical). In detail, it will be composed of:
- An open question that aims at assessing the theoretical and conceptual knowledge acquired during the course;
- A text analysis the aim of which is to assess the capability of applying the theoretical and methodological tools to decode an example of contemporary English digital textuality as well as the capability to write a detailed analysis using the proper scientific jargon.
It is necessary to answer both the questions correctly to pass the exam.
Students must register for the exam and bring a valid ID.
To gain 12 CFU, students need to pass prof. Moschini’s exam and the exam of the other three teachers. The final mark is given by the average of Prof. Moschini’s grade and the sum of the lettorati grades.
Prof. Moschini is responsible for the on-line registration of the marks. Prof. Sainsbury is the lettorati coordinator.
Course program
Prof. Moschini's course is grounded in Hallidays' conception of language as a form of social semiotics and aims at giving students theoretical bases and a number of linguistic methodologies in order to critically analyse digital texts belonging to different discursive areas.