2 hours per week, Spring

Components of Assessment	Percentage Weighting
3,000 word essay	100%

Criterion	Weighting
Independence of thought:	20%
Grasp of theoretical concepts, theories and framework:	30%
Analytical rigour and coherence of arguments:	30%
Presentation/Organization/Style (including referencing, use of secondary sources, bibliography):	20%

None

This module aims to develop students understanding of interpersonal communication in its inter-cultural and cross-cultural dimension.

On successful completion of the module, students will achieve the following outcomes:

Subject specific 

• A critical understanding of the ways in which interpersonal communication is effected in everyday and institutional talk

   

• A good ability to analyse interpersonal communication by links to scholarly controversies

   

• The ability to apply theoretical approaches to the solution of communication problems

   

• The ability to collect instances of interpersonal communication

   

• The capacity to select appropriate excerpts for analysis

   

• A comprehensive understanding of the appropriate method of transcription needed for a given analysis

   

• The ability to critically evaluate the appropriacy of theoretical approaches across languages and cultures and where possible suggest refinements

   

GENERAL

• An understanding of the intricacies of mediated and non-mediated interpersonal communication in a range of inter-cultural and cross-cultural contexts
• An appreciation of the characteristics of everyday and institutional talk across languages and cultures
• The ability to analyse and where possible predict the causes of smooth interpersonal communication as well as miscommunication

The following units of analysis will be covered:

• speech acts
• conversational implicature 
• frames and footing 
• face 
• adjacency pairs
• turn-taking 
• contextualisation cues

The following topics will be covered: 

• phatic communion/small talk 
• language and gender
• conflict 
• miscommunication 
• politeness 
• transactional v. relational talk

• 22 hours lectures, 64 hours independent learning, 64 hours assignment work. Total student learning time 150 hours  
• The lectures are used to introduce and discuss the theories which inform an understanding of the topics
• The seminars are used to apply models and theories to case studies based on specific contexts of interpersonal communication
  

Essential Reading

Austin, J. (1962) How To Do Things With Words. Harvard University , William James Lectures 955. Oxford: Oxford University Press.

Blum-Kulka, S. et al. (1989) CCSARP. Norwood : Ablex.

Brown, P. & Levinson, S. (1987) Politeness: Some Universals in Language Use. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press.

Clyne, M. (1994) Inter-Cultural Communication at Work. Cultural Values in Discourse. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press.

Coupland, J. (ed.) Small Talk. Essex: Pearson Education.

Drew, P. & Heritage, J. eds. (1992) Talk at Work: Interaction in Institutional Settings. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press.

Goffman, E. (1967) Interaction Ritual: Essays on Face-to-Face Behavior. New York : Doubleday Anchor Books.

Goffman, E. (1981) Forms of Talk. Philadelphia: University of Pennsylvania Press.

Gudykunst, W. & Ting-Toomey, S. (1988) Culture and Interpersonal Communication. California : Sage Publications.

Gumperz, J. (1982) Discourse strategies. Cambridge : Polity Press.

Hall, E. (1976) Beyond Culture. New York : Anchor Books.

Hofstede,G. (1984) Culture's Consequences, International Differences in Work-Related Values. California : Sage Publications.

Hutchby. I. & Wooffitt R. (1998) Conversation Analysis. Cambridge : Polity.

Levinson, S. (1983) Pragmatics. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press.

Mey, J. (1993) Pragmatics. An Introduction. Oxford : Blackwell Publishers.

Psathas, G. (ed.) Everyday Language: Studies in Ethnomethodology. New York: Irvington.

Scollon, R. & Scollon, S. (1995) Intercultural Communication: A Discourse Approach. Oxford : Blackwell.

Searle, J. (1969) Speech Acts. London: Cambridge University Press.

Tannen, D. (1984) Conversational Style: Analyzing Talk Among Friends. Norwood : NJ Ablex.

Thomas, J. (1995) Meaning in Interaction: An Introduction to Pragmatics. London : Longman.

Tracy , K. (2002) Everyday Talk. Building and Reflecting Identities. New York: Guildford .

Recommended Reading

Blakemore, D. (1992) Understanding Utterances. Oxford : Blackwell Publishers.

Cameron, D. (2000) Good to Talk? Living and working in a communication culture. London : Sage.

Firth, A. (ed) The Discourse of Negotiation: Studies of Language in the Workplace. Oxford : Pergamon.

Gumperz, J. & Levinson, S. (1996) Rethinking Linguistic Relativity. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press.

Holmes, J. (1995) Women, Men and Politeness. London : Longman.

Holmes, J. & Stubbe, M. (2003) Power and Politeness in the Workplace. Longman: London .

Holtgraves, T. (2002) Language as Social Action: Social Psychology and Language Use. New Jersey: Lawrence Erlbaum.

House, J.; G. Kasper & S. Ross (eds.) (2003) Misunderstanding in Social Life. Discourse approaches to problematic talk. Essex : Pearson Education.

Márquez Reiter, R. (2000) Linguistic Politeness in Britain and Uruguay. Amsterdam : John Benjamins.

Pan, Y. Won Scollon, Z. & Scollon, R. (2002) Professional Communication in International Settings. Oxford : Blackwell.

Sarangi, S. & Roberts, C. (eds.) (1999) Talk, Work and Institutional Order: Discourse in Medial, Mediation and Management Settings. Berlin : de Gruyter.

Schiffrin, D. (1994) Approaches to discourse. Oxford : Blackwell.

Sifianou, M. (1992) Politeness Phenomena in England and Greece. A Cross-Cultural Perspective. Oxford : Clarendon Press.

26 August 2010