Summer Research Program: 2020-2021

Project duration:

7 weeks
30 November to 11 December 2020 
11 January to 12 February 2021.

Project profile:

COVID-19 considerations:  Applications from students who cannot be on campus during the project will be considered.

Description:

Language is a powerful tool of communication, through which not only ideas are shared, but also social reality can be changed. This project explores language in two different interactional settings: (1) reality television, and (2) social media. Using interactional pragmatic and discourse-analytic approaches, the project primarily focuses on how humour, identity and offence are (co-)constructed and negotiated by the participants in initial interactions on reality television and by online users in social media posts and comments.

Number of hours per week: 

25 hours per week

Expected outcomes and deliverables:

Scholars taking part in this project will have an opportunity to (1) gain important research skills in data collection as well as data preparation for analysis, (2) be introduced to or expand their knowledge of pragmatics and discourse analysis, and (3) apply that knowledge in doing a small pilot analysis. At the end of the project, the scholars will produce a 1-2-page analysis and present it at a Linguistics Seminar Series seminar in the School of Languages and Cultures.

Suitable for:

This project is open to applications from the students who are fascinated by how language works in interaction:

• Undergraduate 2-4-year or Honours’ students (Linguistics, English as International Language or related majors);
• Postgraduate students (Applied Linguistics or related areas).

Number of participants required: 

2

Primary Supervisor: 

Dr Valeria Sinkeviciute

Further info: 

Please contact Dr Valeria Sinkeviciute via email