Language and Society MA

Facts about Language and Society

Qualification	MA
Duration	Full time: 1 year Part time: 2 years
Attendance	To be confirmed
Assessment	Continuous assessments in individual modules through a range of formats including essays, presentations, practical projects and exams, plus assessment of final dissertation
Course structure

Choose Kingston's Language and Society MA

Language is shaped by the social worlds we inhabit and, at the same time, shapes society. Language also enables us to express representations of sociocultural worlds within our minds. Human beings are intelligent social actors competent in the strategic use of language for confirming or contesting aspects of the social worlds of ethnicity, age, gender, social class and many more.

The Language and Society MA provides students with an advanced understanding of the intricacies characterising the relationship between linguistic structures and social categories. It covers the key research methods in the interdisciplinary field of sociolinguistics and their application to a range of areas including language and identity, discourse, performance and social interaction, ideologies and social structure, culture and the mind.

By the end of the programme, students will have developed solid theoretical knowledge in a range of research traditions as well as an advanced competence in qualitative research methods for the study of language and society. The MA is unique in that it allows students to undertake original research within the area of language and society from any of the following perspectives – sociolinguistic, sociocultural or sociocognitive.

Students have the opportunity to explore topics relating, for instance, to the evolution and transmission of culture, intercultural communication, bi/multilingualism, attitudes to language varieties, voice, narrative and inequality in ordinary and institutional settings, media representations of social worlds, global spreads of language and cultural forms with specific reference to English and new media.

The course is designed for students who have completed a degree in English language, linguistics, sociology or cognate subject area, as well as those who work in language-related professions (such as teachers, translators and language consultants).

What will you study?

Students are expected to complete 180 credits at level 6/7. The MA combines core modules, one of which is the dissertation, with a choice of options from within the programme and related courses.