Professional Writing and Discussions: The Language of Songs

7.140304

Dozenten

Beschreibung

*IMPORTANT: It is likely that this course will be taking place during its usual times in an online classroom (via BigBlueButton). Please only sign up for this class if you are able and willing, and in possession of the necessary equipment (stable internet connection, microphone, webcam) in order to accomplish this.

Professional Writing and Discussion classes are designed to allow students – under the guidance of their course instructors – to undertake a more active and independent development of their language skills by applying them to a specific topic area. Ultimately, the central aim of these courses, whatever topic area and skills focus you choose, is to facilitate your transition into a self-sufficient and proficient user of the English language. You will continue to train your productive and receptive language skills, you will further expand your lexico-grammatical knowledge in connection with the specialist language used in the course, and you will acquire supplementary cultural knowledge on English-speaking countries. You will be expected to attend class regularly and contribute actively and intelligently. Furthermore, you will need to complete oral and written tasks during the course of these classes, hold a graded class session and submit a final written portfolio.

In this particular seminar, we will turn our attention to the analysis of song lyrics and how they interact with music. We will select examples of songs written by native English speakers from various countries over the course of the last century. You do not need to be musically active in order to take this course. We will be analysing lyrics dealing with various subject matters, from the romantic to the political, and from the specific to the obscure. There will be some flexibility on the genres of the songs to which we attend based on the musical tastes of the course members, though efforts will be made to accord attention to as wide a spectrum as possible. Students who are musically active and would like to actively write and perform songs should register for my course "The Language of Songwriting" (7.140303) or, indeed, take both courses so that they can use the theoretical discussions in this course to inform their practical application in "The Language of Songwriting".

TRIGGER WARNING: This course will contain discussions on how songs treat various topics, potentially (though not necessarily, depending on the choices of the course participants) including break-ups, bereavement, depression, domestic abuse, racism, misogyny, war and politics. If this is likely to cause you significant distress, please consider whether this is the class you really want to take. If you need advice or support in this regard, you are welcome to contact me.

Up to eight spots in the course can be allocated in advance to students who attend one of my online office hours on July 15th, 22nd or 29th (note: email is not an acceptable alternative to this! Students wishing to do this should sign up for an office hour appointment using the form at the bottom of my profile on Stud.IP.) and confirm in our consultation that they (1) are prepared to commit to taking the course and (2) have identified a topic that they would like to investigate for their class session. All other registrations are provisional and will be allocated based on factors such as level of need and semester of study.

Weitere Angaben

Ort: nicht angegeben
Zeiten: Do. 10:00 - 12:00 (wöchentlich)
Erster Termin: Donnerstag, 22.10.2020 10:00 - 12:00
Veranstaltungsart: Seminar (Offizielle Lehrveranstaltungen)

Studienbereiche

• Veranstaltungen > Interdisziplinäre Studiengänge > Literatur und Kultur in Europa > Modul Sprachpraxis
• Veranstaltungen > Anglistik; Englisch > Sprachpraxis > Bachelor
• Veranstaltungen > Anglistik; Englisch > Sprachpraxis > Master
• Courses in English > Language and Literary Studies