Brief description
This module will focus on three distinct phases in the study of language and gender: (1) the early research on gender `differences? in the speech of women and men, carried out in the mid to late 1970s; (2) the Anglo-American research on asymmetries in conversational interactions, developed in the early to mid 1980s; and, (3) recent work (in the late 1980s and 1990s) on discourse and the construction of gendered identities (masculinities and femininities). Illustrative studies, from both institutional and lifeworld settings, will be selected. Particular attention will be given to studies of interaction in educational settings and to studies of different types of media texts (print and broadcast media). In addition, time will be set aside for consideration of current debates about language, gender and equal opportunities.

Aims

• To introduce three distinct phases in the study of language and gender
• To examine gendered discourse practices in different institutional contexts, focusing especially on education and on the media
• To consider examples of local debates about `sexist? language and to assess the consequences of attempting to create conditions for `inclusive? use of language

Learning outcomes
On successful completion of this module, students should be able to:

• Demonstrate an ability to place their own experience of gendered language use within a wider research and policy context

• Show a critical understanding of different approaches to the study of language and gender

• Be able to articulate and justify their own stance on public debates about language, gender and equal opportunities