In the last decades, the research paradigm of World Englishes has experienced a proliferation of detailed studies of different aspects of Englishes across the world. These descriptions have largely focused on phonological, lexical, morphosyntactic, and, more recently, also pragmatic characteristics of World Englishes. However, the field of figurative language use, as manifest e.g. in idioms and proverbs that are conceptually motivated by metaphors, has largely been neglected so far. The English language and its worldwide diversification provides rich potential for looking into aspects of variation in conceptual and linguistic metaphor, and for exploring how the culturally specific settings of the many Englishes may determine some of that variation. Thus, research on metaphor in World Englishes addresses the nexus of language and culture and is therefore a truly interdisciplinary research field located at the interface of Cognitive Linguistics and Conceptual Metaphor Theory, Cultural Linguistics, and World Englishes.

In this seminar, we will first deal with Conceptual Metaphor Theory as a major strand within Cognitive Linguistics and then address recent developments in Cognitive Sociolinguistics and Cultural Linguistics before reviewing the merging research on metaphor in World Englishes. The following main questions will be discussed:

­What are state-of-the-art approaches to the identification and retrieval of metaphorical expressions and idioms from corpus data? Are electronic corpora viable sources of data to examine metaphor and figurative language in World Englishes, and

­What source and target domains can be identified as fruitful for the study of metaphor in World Englishes (e.g. the conceptualization of emotions, FOOD / EATING as source domains)?
­
Can certain types of figurative language, e.g. idiomd, serve as markers of nativization / indigenization in World Englishes?

How do metaphors relate to underlying differences in cultural conceptualizations in World Englishes?

Intercultural communication is based in several academic disciplines. These are psychology, anthropology and linguistics. We will discuss all approaches but focus on language in intercultural contexts.
Language in context has traditionally been studied within the context of one culture, i.e. British or US American English. Variation on the sociopragmatic level, e.g. Speech Act Theory, Politeness Theory, Conversation Analysis principles, has been applied to speech communities all over the world, and a previously ethnocentric perspective has made way for research that demonstrates different communicative strategies in different English speaking cultures. First, this class introduces the major analytical frameworks that are applied in pragmatics. Second, we will look at selected studies which cover the variation in Englishes around the world.

In the course of this seminar, we shall analyse two contemporary films which highlight diverse aspects of the (imagined) life of William Shakespeare (1564-1616). In Shakespeare in Love (1998), directed by John Madden, a specific biographical reading is offered that locates the phenomenon of greatness in progress in an intricate web of a romantic love narrative. While Madden's film presents Shakespeare at the beginning of his career, Kenneth Branagh's All is True (2018) focuses on Shakespeare's final days in his hometown Stratford.
The aim of this seminar is to have a close look at the way in which each film ventures on a biographical reconstruction of the playwright William Shakespeare. And it will be interesting to see how his image is being refashioned by means of the multimodal quality of the corpus under scrutiny.

requirements:

• active participation
• in-depth knowledge of the films and the reading material
• non-graded assessment: oral presentation (handout or PowerPoint presentation)
• graded assessment: research in progress (handout or PowerPoint presentation) and final paper, the latter is graded and to be submitted by 1 August 2024.

Please note that prior enrolment via Stud.IP is mandatory. Given the capacity of the seminar room, which is especially designed for the presentation of films, the number of participants is limited to 15 students.

In the course of this seminar, we shall have a close look at Morten Tyldum's famous biopic The Imitation Game (2014) starring Benedict Cumberbatch as Alan Turing and Keira Knightley as Joan Clarke. We will discuss the film in terms of its media-specific representation of social closure at three levels, i.e. Alan Turing's boarding school in the late 1920s, Bletchley Park, the home of the cryptanalysts during the Second World War, and a homophobic Britain of the early 1950s.
The aim of this seminar is to find out how the film represents the plight of the two codebreakers when they have to cope with an exclusionary society, its homophobic legislation, sexist attitudes, and ostracism.

requirements:

• active participation
• in-depth knowledge of the film and the reading material
• non-graded assessment: oral presentation (handout or PowerPoint presentation)
• graded assessment: research in progress (handout or PowerPoint presentation) and final paper, the latter is graded and to be submitted by 1 August 2024.

Please note that prior enrolment via Stud.IP is mandatory. The number of participants is limited to 15 students.

Forensic Pragmatics is a (new) branch of Applied Linguistics that involves the examination of spoken or written language evidence against its situational and/or interactional background. During this seminar, we will look at specimen of threatening communication from different historical and contemporary varieties of English, and we will focus on the question of how meaning and implied meaning are construed, how the effect of threatening is achieved and what kind of evidence may assist in the identification of suspects.

In this research seminar we will examine linguistic markers and communicative practices of drag queens as portrayed within the reality TV show ‘RuPaul’s Drag Race’, ‘RuPaul’s Drag Race UK’, ' RuPaul's Drag Race Down Under' and 'Canada's Drag Race'. Based on a purpose-built corpus of several episodes/seasons of the show from four (mainly) ENL contexts, we will identify linguistic features on the morpho-syntactic, lexical and pragmatic levels that are utilised in the linguistic construction of drag identity. We will then ponder the question of whether the features used are variety-specific or whether they could be indicative of a more global phenomenon of gendered language use.

A student excursion to Berlin is planned as part of this seminar.
The excursion will take place from June 10th to June 12th, 2024 for a maximum of 16 students and, in addition to an interview with drag artists prepared and conducted together with students from Humboldt University, also includes a visit to a drag show and a subsequent critical research discussion.

This class will be conducted within the theme teaching year on SUSTAINABILITY and within the research area Blue Humanities. Blue Humanities studies oceans, rivers, and coastal areas in terms of (colonial) histories, migration and travel, sustainability and ecological issues, circulation of people and ideas, marine and Indigenous knowledges, literature and cultures, new geographies, extractivism, energy and economic issues, among others.

Please note that the course will be conducted in connection with a lecture series in the Blue Humanities, which takes place Wednesdays 18.15-19.45 in GW2, B2890, on campus. You are cordially invited to come and listen to all lectures; however, a few lectures are mandatory for you to attend, which ones will be specified at the start of the course.

We will read and discuss short texts from the collection The Imperiled Ocean: Human Stories from a Changing Sea by Laura Trethewey and the novels A Friend of the Earth by T.C. Boyle and Through the Arc of the Rainforest by Karen Tei Yamashita. Both novels can be purchased at the university bookstore at the beginning of the semester (12 € and 17€). All other texts will be uploaded on StudIP.
Pls note that regular attendance and class participation and preparation are mandatory. You must register on StudIP for this class.

In this course environmental issues will become our lens through which we will look at a number of mainstream and independent films. How do these films present relations between human and environment, destruction and resilience? In how far do they depend on spectacular performances of devastation and individualistic heroism? And in how far can they offer narrative and aesthetic alternatives to formulaic storytelling? Moreover, what are the possible repercussions
on reception and spectatorship?
In the first part of the course, we will develop a theoretical framework that can help us to critically analyze and assess ecocinema.
Requirements:
active participation
in-depth knowledge of the films and the reading material

• non-graded assessment: oral presentation (handout and PowerPoint presentation)
• graded assessment: oral presentation and written term paper to be submitted by September 15.

The Anthropocene, a term coined in the 1980s, maps an entanglement between humans and the natural world and the ways our human-centered actions have severely impacted the planet. While addressing the urgent challenges posed by climate change and environmental crisis is undeniably crucial, one notable criticism emerging from critical race theories, decolonial theories, postcolonial theories, Indigenous theories and Black feminist theories have pointed out the lack of intersectionality in environmental discourse. They emphasize the need to acknowledge the roles of imperialism, capitalism, racism vis-à-vis the dominant Western understanding of corporeality in our urgent eco crisis. Their contributions highlight the necessity to center other non-white, non-Western and other marginalized and peripheral perspectives on environmental and social issues.

In this course, we will study prominent decolonial and Black feminist ecocritical theories to examine 1) intersectional environment perspectives 2) posthuman ontologies and cultural memories that are drawn upon in the field of Black, African, gender and queer studies to mediate our planetary crisis 3) engage with the representations of the Anthropocene in Black and African speculative literature
The seminar will focus on three speculative fictional texts from the African continent and Black diaspora as artistic responses to contemporary environmental discourse.

Guiding questions are:
 What transnational power systems build and sustain our experience of/in the Anthropocene?
 What alternative knowledge practices can we draw upon in African and Indigenous systems of thought to mediate our planetary tragedy?
 How does the imaginative world building inherent in speculative fiction broaden our appreciation of the intricate interconnections that exist beyond our dominant Western understanding of corporeality?

Primary Texts:
Bowen, Natasha. Skin of the Sea. Random House, 2021
Emezi, Akwaeke. Bitter. Faber, 2022
Roffey Monique. The Mermaid of Black Conch. Vintage Classics, 2022

Requirements for this class include active class participation, in-depth knowledge of all primary and secondary reading materials, and a portfolio or term paper (depending on the chosen module).

Language Advisory Workshop is your chance to get extra practice and feedback on your language and your writing.
We will be looking at your particular areas of difficulty with the goal of helping you achieve fluency in active language production (writing, speaking) at a formal level so active participation, especially starting the semester with your own personal „to-do“ list as well will be important for your progress.
Course materials will be decided on based on the needs of the participants, and will be made available via StudIP

UEP 2 is the second part of the UEP module in the Master's programme English-Speaking Cultures. Therefore, only MA students from this particular programme are eligible to take this class.

This course focusses on communication and conversation skills in the academic context. Students are given the opportunity to develop their own ideas, discuss them in the group and justify them. To that end, argumentative strategies established in UEP 1 are incorporated.

The content of this course deals with game changers within the history of English-speaking cultures. These game changers can be found in history, politics, the Arts, science etc. Students will explore the significant effects of these game changers and elaborate on the reasons why they have received this accolade.

Credit points are obtained by conducting a group panel discussion session and by submitting an individual postcast. Materials are provided via StudIP.

UEP 2 is the second part of the UEP module in the Master's programme English-Speaking Cultures. Therefore, only MA students from this particular programme are eligible to take this class.

This course focusses on communication and conversation skills in the academic context. Students are given the opportunity to develop their own ideas, discuss them in the group and justify them. To that end, argumentative strategies established in UEP 1 are incorporated.

The content of this course deals with game changers within the history of English-speaking cultures. These game changers can be found in history, politics, the Arts, science etc. Students will explore the significant effects of these game changers and elaborate on the reasons why they have received this accolade.

Credit points are obtained by conducting a group panel discussion session and by submitting an individual postcast. Materials are provided via StudIP.

In the last decades, the research paradigm of World Englishes has experienced a proliferation of detailed studies of different aspects of Englishes across the world. These descriptions have largely focused on phonological, lexical, morphosyntactic, and, more recently, also pragmatic characteristics of World Englishes. However, the field of figurative language use, as manifest e.g. in idioms and proverbs that are conceptually motivated by metaphors, has largely been neglected so far. The English language and its worldwide diversification provides rich potential for looking into aspects of variation in conceptual and linguistic metaphor, and for exploring how the culturally specific settings of the many Englishes may determine some of that variation. Thus, research on metaphor in World Englishes addresses the nexus of language and culture and is therefore a truly interdisciplinary research field located at the interface of Cognitive Linguistics and Conceptual Metaphor Theory, Cultural Linguistics, and World Englishes.

In this seminar, we will first deal with Conceptual Metaphor Theory as a major strand within Cognitive Linguistics and then address recent developments in Cognitive Sociolinguistics and Cultural Linguistics before reviewing the merging research on metaphor in World Englishes. The following main questions will be discussed:

­What are state-of-the-art approaches to the identification and retrieval of metaphorical expressions and idioms from corpus data? Are electronic corpora viable sources of data to examine metaphor and figurative language in World Englishes, and

­What source and target domains can be identified as fruitful for the study of metaphor in World Englishes (e.g. the conceptualization of emotions, FOOD / EATING as source domains)?
­
Can certain types of figurative language, e.g. idiomd, serve as markers of nativization / indigenization in World Englishes?

How do metaphors relate to underlying differences in cultural conceptualizations in World Englishes?

Intercultural communication is based in several academic disciplines. These are psychology, anthropology and linguistics. We will discuss all approaches but focus on language in intercultural contexts.
Language in context has traditionally been studied within the context of one culture, i.e. British or US American English. Variation on the sociopragmatic level, e.g. Speech Act Theory, Politeness Theory, Conversation Analysis principles, has been applied to speech communities all over the world, and a previously ethnocentric perspective has made way for research that demonstrates different communicative strategies in different English speaking cultures. First, this class introduces the major analytical frameworks that are applied in pragmatics. Second, we will look at selected studies which cover the variation in Englishes around the world.

In the course of this seminar, we shall analyse two contemporary films which highlight diverse aspects of the (imagined) life of William Shakespeare (1564-1616). In Shakespeare in Love (1998), directed by John Madden, a specific biographical reading is offered that locates the phenomenon of greatness in progress in an intricate web of a romantic love narrative. While Madden's film presents Shakespeare at the beginning of his career, Kenneth Branagh's All is True (2018) focuses on Shakespeare's final days in his hometown Stratford.
The aim of this seminar is to have a close look at the way in which each film ventures on a biographical reconstruction of the playwright William Shakespeare. And it will be interesting to see how his image is being refashioned by means of the multimodal quality of the corpus under scrutiny.

requirements:

• active participation
• in-depth knowledge of the films and the reading material
• non-graded assessment: oral presentation (handout or PowerPoint presentation)
• graded assessment: research in progress (handout or PowerPoint presentation) and final paper, the latter is graded and to be submitted by 1 August 2024.

Please note that prior enrolment via Stud.IP is mandatory. Given the capacity of the seminar room, which is especially designed for the presentation of films, the number of participants is limited to 15 students.

In the course of this seminar, we shall have a close look at Morten Tyldum's famous biopic The Imitation Game (2014) starring Benedict Cumberbatch as Alan Turing and Keira Knightley as Joan Clarke. We will discuss the film in terms of its media-specific representation of social closure at three levels, i.e. Alan Turing's boarding school in the late 1920s, Bletchley Park, the home of the cryptanalysts during the Second World War, and a homophobic Britain of the early 1950s.
The aim of this seminar is to find out how the film represents the plight of the two codebreakers when they have to cope with an exclusionary society, its homophobic legislation, sexist attitudes, and ostracism.

requirements:

• active participation
• in-depth knowledge of the film and the reading material
• non-graded assessment: oral presentation (handout or PowerPoint presentation)
• graded assessment: research in progress (handout or PowerPoint presentation) and final paper, the latter is graded and to be submitted by 1 August 2024.

Please note that prior enrolment via Stud.IP is mandatory. The number of participants is limited to 15 students.

Forensic Pragmatics is a (new) branch of Applied Linguistics that involves the examination of spoken or written language evidence against its situational and/or interactional background. During this seminar, we will look at specimen of threatening communication from different historical and contemporary varieties of English, and we will focus on the question of how meaning and implied meaning are construed, how the effect of threatening is achieved and what kind of evidence may assist in the identification of suspects.

In this research seminar we will examine linguistic markers and communicative practices of drag queens as portrayed within the reality TV show ‘RuPaul’s Drag Race’, ‘RuPaul’s Drag Race UK’, ' RuPaul's Drag Race Down Under' and 'Canada's Drag Race'. Based on a purpose-built corpus of several episodes/seasons of the show from four (mainly) ENL contexts, we will identify linguistic features on the morpho-syntactic, lexical and pragmatic levels that are utilised in the linguistic construction of drag identity. We will then ponder the question of whether the features used are variety-specific or whether they could be indicative of a more global phenomenon of gendered language use.

A student excursion to Berlin is planned as part of this seminar.
The excursion will take place from June 10th to June 12th, 2024 for a maximum of 16 students and, in addition to an interview with drag artists prepared and conducted together with students from Humboldt University, also includes a visit to a drag show and a subsequent critical research discussion.

This class will be conducted within the theme teaching year on SUSTAINABILITY and within the research area Blue Humanities. Blue Humanities studies oceans, rivers, and coastal areas in terms of (colonial) histories, migration and travel, sustainability and ecological issues, circulation of people and ideas, marine and Indigenous knowledges, literature and cultures, new geographies, extractivism, energy and economic issues, among others.

Please note that the course will be conducted in connection with a lecture series in the Blue Humanities, which takes place Wednesdays 18.15-19.45 in GW2, B2890, on campus. You are cordially invited to come and listen to all lectures; however, a few lectures are mandatory for you to attend, which ones will be specified at the start of the course.

We will read and discuss short texts from the collection The Imperiled Ocean: Human Stories from a Changing Sea by Laura Trethewey and the novels A Friend of the Earth by T.C. Boyle and Through the Arc of the Rainforest by Karen Tei Yamashita. Both novels can be purchased at the university bookstore at the beginning of the semester (12 € and 17€). All other texts will be uploaded on StudIP.
Pls note that regular attendance and class participation and preparation are mandatory. You must register on StudIP for this class.

In this course environmental issues will become our lens through which we will look at a number of mainstream and independent films. How do these films present relations between human and environment, destruction and resilience? In how far do they depend on spectacular performances of devastation and individualistic heroism? And in how far can they offer narrative and aesthetic alternatives to formulaic storytelling? Moreover, what are the possible repercussions
on reception and spectatorship?
In the first part of the course, we will develop a theoretical framework that can help us to critically analyze and assess ecocinema.
Requirements:
active participation
in-depth knowledge of the films and the reading material

• non-graded assessment: oral presentation (handout and PowerPoint presentation)
• graded assessment: oral presentation and written term paper to be submitted by September 15.

The Anthropocene, a term coined in the 1980s, maps an entanglement between humans and the natural world and the ways our human-centered actions have severely impacted the planet. While addressing the urgent challenges posed by climate change and environmental crisis is undeniably crucial, one notable criticism emerging from critical race theories, decolonial theories, postcolonial theories, Indigenous theories and Black feminist theories have pointed out the lack of intersectionality in environmental discourse. They emphasize the need to acknowledge the roles of imperialism, capitalism, racism vis-à-vis the dominant Western understanding of corporeality in our urgent eco crisis. Their contributions highlight the necessity to center other non-white, non-Western and other marginalized and peripheral perspectives on environmental and social issues.

In this course, we will study prominent decolonial and Black feminist ecocritical theories to examine 1) intersectional environment perspectives 2) posthuman ontologies and cultural memories that are drawn upon in the field of Black, African, gender and queer studies to mediate our planetary crisis 3) engage with the representations of the Anthropocene in Black and African speculative literature
The seminar will focus on three speculative fictional texts from the African continent and Black diaspora as artistic responses to contemporary environmental discourse.

Guiding questions are:
 What transnational power systems build and sustain our experience of/in the Anthropocene?
 What alternative knowledge practices can we draw upon in African and Indigenous systems of thought to mediate our planetary tragedy?
 How does the imaginative world building inherent in speculative fiction broaden our appreciation of the intricate interconnections that exist beyond our dominant Western understanding of corporeality?

Primary Texts:
Bowen, Natasha. Skin of the Sea. Random House, 2021
Emezi, Akwaeke. Bitter. Faber, 2022
Roffey Monique. The Mermaid of Black Conch. Vintage Classics, 2022

Requirements for this class include active class participation, in-depth knowledge of all primary and secondary reading materials, and a portfolio or term paper (depending on the chosen module).

Content
In the current area of increasing migration, foreign language learning is gaining momentum, as acquir-ing the target language is widely understood as one means to enable newly arrived migrants integra-tion and participation. In the seminar, we will examine recent research and practical projects to en-hance our understanding of the role language proficiency can play in the process of integration. We will also explore “best practice” examples to understand the conditions under which languages in im-migration contexts can successfully be taught and acquired.
Within the realm of language teaching and learning, language tests are coming under scrutiny, as they are used and abused as gate keeping devices and as policy instruments to regulate entry and access. We will critically discuss ethical implications of different kinds of language test use. By reviewing recent research projects and studies, we will deepen our understanding of the purposes language tests could and should serve in integration and migration contexts in order to ensure fairness, justice and ethical values.
You will have the opportunity to become familiar with current research and teaching projects in my working group and at the languages centre. You will also have the chance to explore a relevant aspect of your choice in more depths and present your findings in the seminar.

Dates
We meet on the following seven Mondays, in room GW2, A3220, from 10:15am to 13:45pm.
This way we have enough space to engage in group work and discussions.
First session: 27.4.2020 18.5.2020 25.5.2020
22.6.2020 29.6.2020 6.7.2020 13.7.2020

Initial reading
McNamara, T. & Shoamy, E. 2008. Language tests and human rights. International Journal of Applied Linguistics. 18, 89-95.
Pulinx, R., Van Avermaet, P., & Extramiana, C.: Linguistic integration of adult migrants: policy and prac-tice. Final report on the 3rd Council of Europe survey. Council of Europe, 2014. Available online: https://rm.coe.int/16802fc1ce
UN (2018): Global Compact for Migration, available online https://www.un.org/pga/72/wp-content/uploads/sites/51/2018/07/migration.pdf
 
Prerequisites for a successful completion of the seminar
For 3 ECTS points (GS and MA ESC “unbenotete Studienleistung”, FD3 “benotete Prüfungsleistung”)
1. Regular and active participation in preparatory tasks, seminar groups, discussions, and team-work.
2. Preparatory reading of the assigned texts and preparation of the tasks that will be published in advance on StudIP.
3. Presentation of a project/issue/document on a relevant aspect of the seminar.
For 6 ECTS points (GS and MA ESC, “benotete Prfungsleistung”)
4. In addition, a 9-10 page written academic documentation of the project, incl. literature review, rationale and implications.
Further reading
Beacco, J., Krumm, H., Little, D. & Thalgott, P. (eds). 2017. The Linguistic Integration of Adult Migrants / L’intégration linguistique des migrants adultes. Some lessons from research / Les enseignements de la recherche. DE GRUYTER MOUTON. Available online: https://www.degruyter.com/viewbooktoc/product/472830
Council of Europe, Linguistic Integration of Adult Migrants: www.coe.int/de/web/lang-migrants
Council of Europe, Language Support for Adult Refugees: https://www.coe.int/en/web/language-support-for-adult-refugees
Harding, L., Brunfaut, T. & Unger, J. 2019. Language Testing in the ‘Hostile Environment’: The Discur-sive Construction of ‘Secure English Language Testing’ in the UK. Applied Linguistics, Online first doi:10.1093/applin/amz017, https://academic.oup.com/applij/advance-article-pdf/doi/10.1093/applin/amz017/28601704/amz017.pdf
Heckmann, F. (2008). Education and the integration of migrants: challenges for European education sys-tems arisingfrom immigration and strategies for the successful integration of migrant children in Europe-an schools and societies. (NESSE Analytical Report, 1). Bamberg: europäisches forum für migrationsstu-dien (efms) Institut an der UniversitätBamberg. https://nbn-resolving.org/urn:nbn:de:0168-ssoar-192500
Hogan-Brun, G., Mar-Molinero, C. & Stevenson, P. (eds) 2009. Discourses on Language and Integration: Critical Perspectives on Language Testing Regimes in Europe. John Benjamins Publishing Company.
McNamara, T. F., Khan, K. & Frost, K. 2015. Language tests for residency and citizenship and the con-ferring of individuality. In: Bernard Spolsky, Ofra Inbar-Lourie, Michal Tannenbaum (eds) Challenges for language education and policy: Making space for people, 11-22.
Pulinx, R., Van Avermaet, P. & Extramiana, C.: Linguistic integration of adult migrants: policy and prac-tice. Final report on the 3rd Council of Europe survey. Council of Europe, 2014. Available online: https://rm.coe.int/16802fc1ce
Roever, C. & McNamara, T. 2006. Language Testing: The Social Dimension. Blackwell Publishers.
Shohamy, E. 2001. The power of tests: A critical perspective of the uses of language tests. Harlow: Longman.
Shohamy, E. 2006. Language policy: Hidden agendas and new approaches. Routledge: London.
Shohamy, E. 2011. Assessing multilingual competencies: Adopting construct valid assessment policies. The Modern Language Journal 95(3), 418-429.
Shohamy, E. 2013. The discourse of language testing as a tool for shaping national, global, and trans-national identities. Language and intercultural communication (13)2, 1-12.
Shohamy, E. & McNamara, T. 2009. Language tests for citizenship, immigration, and asylum. Language Assessment Quarterly 6, 1–5.
Spolsky, B., Inbar-Lourie, O. & Tannenbaum, M. 2015. (eds.): Challenges for Language Education and Policy: Making Space for People. New York: Routledge.
UN: https://news.un.org/en/story/2018/12/1028041
UN Global compact on refugees: https://www.unhcr.org/towards-a-global-compact-on-refugees.html
Van Avermaet, P. 2009. Fortress Europe? Language policy regimes for immigration and citizenship. In: Hogan-Brun, Mar-Molinero & Stevenson (eds). s. above.

This colloquium is designed for students who wish to write their B.A. or M.A. theses in the field of cultural studies of the English-Speaking world. Students will be given the opportunity to develop specific cultural studies research projects, including compelling research questions, a strong thesis statement, clear chapter outline, and a well-selected bibliography. Students will practice a number of strategies for planning, structuring and writing BA/MA dissertations and also brush up their knowledge of formal requirements, such as format and layout as well as citation style etc. Students will work both individually and in smaller groups and will present work in progress in oral and written form. Module choices are Bachelor thesis module P or L and Master thesis module MA The respectively.
Prior enrolment via Stud.IP is mandatory.

This course is one of the specific colloquia designed for students planning their final dissertations either on undergraduate or graduate level in the field of literary studies (Module choices: Bachelor thesis module P or Master thesis module MA The). We shall look at a number of strategies for planning, structuring and writing longer pieces of work and this course will include formal issues such as format and layout of the final assignment. Please register on Stud. IP and explore the sections “Information” and “Schedule” on Stud. IP. for further details.

All students, who are planning to write their final dissertations in the field of literary studies, are welcome to join my course. In addition, I am happy to take on the role of a supervisor or co-supervisor for projects that correspond to my research and teaching foci, in other words, students who have a supervisor or co-supervisor that is not me are also welcome to join this course.

This colloquium is designed for all students planning to write their thesis in the fields of (i) multimodal linguistics and its application to treatments of mixed media artefacts or performances and (ii) for critical discourse analysis, particularly empirically based studies. Examples of media that might be targetted include: film, comics, graphic novels, advertisements and so on. Particularly of interest will be areas where language (spoken or written) works together with visual representations of any kind. We will discuss theoretical and methodological approaches for characterising combinations of language and visual information, consider practical methods for corpus work (particularly involving mixed media, but not only), develop outlines and structures of the thesis, and consider how to construct strong thesis statements in order to focus your search for information, to tackle your subject and to construct your argument. Students will be expected to present and discuss their project in various stages of progression both in class as well as in individual monitoring sessions as well as to give input to others. Standard styles of presenting work within linguistics will be discussed as well as ways of addressing and analysing data and showing that analyses are adequate.

This is a research colloquium for MA and PhD students who are currently working on their final theses in the fields of (applied) English linguistics, World Englishes or SLA.

This course is designed as a colloquium for young researchers writing their MA thesis. It is supposed to support students in the writing process of the thesis and potential problems that might arise. Depending on the participants and their research topics, all will present a written part of their thesis, the introduction, the theory chapter, or one analysis chapter, which we will discuss in class and students will receive constructive feedback in plenum discussions.
Pls register online through StudIP. Max number of participants: 15