Admission requirements
This course is open to students of Linguistics (research) only.
Description
Linguistics represents a single discipline to the extent that it shares a single
object of analysis, but is otherwise quite heterogeneous. Linguists affiliate with
fields as divergent as logics, anthropology, biology, mathematics, and
archaeology - to name but a few disciplines that are ‘neighbours’ to linguistics.
This has given rise to a situation where creative synergies between linguists of
various subdisciplines and scholars of other disciplines have led to exciting new
collaborations and innovations in methodologies.
The linguistic research carried out at Leiden University reflects a rich variety of
subdisciplines, each with their own methodologies - sometimes overlapping,
sometimes contrasting. The aim of this course is to present the student with an
overview of five subfields of linguistics that Leiden linguists work in and the
methodologies they apply: Theoretical Linguistics, Second Language Acquisition,
Language in Society, Comparative Historical Linguistics, and Descriptive
Linguistics.
Each of the subfields will be introduced in a 2-week’s block, by a leading Leiden
scholar who discusses a seminal work in their own subfield, paying particular
attention to the methodology applied. There will be two 2-hour lectures per week,
one on Monday, the other on Friday. In each block, students will do one or more
assignment(s) to apply the methodology discussed. In addition to the readings
selected by the lecturers, students study a number of chapters from a textbook
Course objectives
In this course, students learn:
the various research methods employed in Linguistics
the variety of linguistic subfields present in Leiden, and the scholars who work in these fields
how to recognize the methodology that has been applied in seminal papers
how to apply the methodologies through practical research assignments
Timetable
The timetables are available through My Timetable.
Mode of instruction
Seminar
Assessment method
All blocks are obligatory. In each block, students will do one or more assignment(s); the (end) grade of each block counts equally towards the averaged final grade. If the final grade is lower than 5.5, the student can do a resit for maximally 1 block.
Reading list
The Textbook for this course is:
Podesva, Robert J. and Devyani Sharma (eds). 2013. Research Methods in Linguistics. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press.
Registration
Enrolment through uSis is mandatory.
General information about uSis is available on this website
Registration Studeren à la carte and Contractonderwijs
not applicable
Contact
- For substantive questions, contact the lecturer listed in the right information bar.
Education Administration Office Reuvensplaats
E-mail address Education Administration Office Reuvensplaats: osz-oa-reuvensplaats@hum.leidenuniv.nl