| CODE | ARB2018 | ||||||||||||
| TITLE | Approaches to the Study of Political Discourse in the Middle East | ||||||||||||
| UM LEVEL | 02 - Years 2, 3 in Modular Undergraduate Course | ||||||||||||
| MQF LEVEL | 5 | ||||||||||||
| ECTS CREDITS | 4 | ||||||||||||
| DEPARTMENT | Middle Eastern and Asian Languages and Cultures | ||||||||||||
| DESCRIPTION | This study-unit is designed to introduce students to the fundamentals of Discourse Analysis, including its main theories, ideas, notions, terms and practices. It covers how to use Discourse Analysis as a qualitative method in the service of analysing qualitative data, that is, discourse in Arabic, and approaches to discuss Discourse Analysis as a paradigm. This study-unit offers a balanced discourse-analytic view between political discourse and revolutionary discourse; in other terms between the dichotomised discourse of the ‘ruler’ and the ‘ruled’. With regard to the ‘ruler’, this study-unit outlines the characteristics of pan-Arab Nationalist, Islamist, and Salafi-jihadi discourses; regarding the ‘ruled’, students will be exposed to the discourses—which include keywords, songs, and slogans—emerging from the recent Arab Spring protests in the North African and Middle Eastern region, including Tunisia, Egypt, and Syria. Students cover various approaches to Discourse Analysis as well as main principles and key literature, illustrate analytic tools through the use of examples, and engage in hands-on analysis of Arabic sources. During the study-unit, students engage in evalutions of discourse-analytic approaches, and are given the opportunity to develop some initial practical skills in applying Discourse Analysis to current political and revolutionary discourse in Arabic. Upon successful completion of this study-unit, students will develop a critical understanding of range of approaches and the confidence to select them appropriately. Additionally, students will gain a foundation to develop their discourse-analytic skills independently in the future. Study-Unit Aims: - To investigate a wide range of critical approaches to Discourse Analysis; - To critically evaluate different discourse-analytic approaches and their place in contemporary research related to the Arab world; - To illustrate discourse theories by worked examples; - To deconstruct famous political speeches and revolutionary discourse in the context of the ‘ruler’ and the ‘ruled’ dichotomy; - To apply discourse-analytic approaches to other contemporary political speeches in Arabic. Learning Outcomes: 1. Knowledge & Understanding: By the end of the study-unit the student will be able to: - Identify different theories and approaches to Discourse Analysis; - Discuss the function of different discourse structures; - Describe the main characteristics of pan-Arab nationalist, Islamist, and Salafi-jihadi discourses; - Outline linguistic and para-linguistic strategies used in contemporary Arabic political discourse to persuade or dissuade the audience; - Summarize the revolutionary discourse of the 2011 Arab Uprisings. 2. Skills: By the end of the study-unit the student will be able to: - Analyse instances of spoken political discourse in Arabic using appropriate discourse-analytical tools; - Evaluate discourse within the framework of its authentic socio-political context; - Compare and contrast pan-Arab nationalist, Islamist, and Salafi-jihadi discourse with revolutionary discourse; - Compose a scientific text which combines the theoretical and practical aspects of Discourse Analysis. Main Text/s and any supplementary readings: |
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| ADDITIONAL NOTES | Pre-requisite study-unit: ARB1002 | ||||||||||||
| STUDY-UNIT TYPE | Lecture | ||||||||||||
| METHOD OF ASSESSMENT |
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| LECTURER/S | Nadia Lanzon |
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The University makes every effort to ensure that the published Courses Plans, Programmes of Study and Study-Unit information are complete and up-to-date at the time of publication. The University reserves the right to make changes in case errors are detected after publication.
The availability of optional units may be subject to timetabling constraints. Units not attracting a sufficient number of registrations may be withdrawn without notice. It should be noted that all the information in the description above applies to study-units available during the academic year 2025/6. It may be subject to change in subsequent years. |
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