The descriptions are sorted by the teachers' surnames. The index is sorted first by the proseminars' field and timetable slot, second by the teachers' surnames. All classes in the given group (e.g. 3BA PRO I) are in a single slot in the timetable. Do take this into account when enrolling.
Index:
Linguistics 1 (3BA PRO I)
dr hab. Marcin Kilarski, prof. UAM (3BA PRO I-1)
dr hab. Marcin Krygier, prof. UAM (3BA PRO I-2)
Applied linguistics (3BA PRO II)
dr Anna Basińska (3BA PRO II-1)
dr Aleksandra Jankowska (3BA PRO II-2)
prof. zw. dr hab. Teresa Siek-Piskozub (3BA PRO II-3)
Linguistics 2 (3BA PRO III)
dr hab. Anna Ewert, prof. UAM (3BA PRO III-1)
dr Karolina Rataj (3BA PRO III-2)
dr hab. Magdalena Wrembel, prof. UAM (3BA PRO III-3)
Linguistics 3 (3BA PRO IV)
prof. zw. dr hab. Arleta Adamska-Sałaciak (3BA PRO IV-1)
dr hab. Anna Dziemianko, prof. UAM (3BA PRO IV-2)
dr hab. Joanna Pawelczyk, Prof. UAM (3BA PRO IV-3)
Literature (3BA PRO V)
dr hab. Agnieszka Rzepa, prof. UAM (3BA PRO V-1)
dr Marta Frątczak-Dąbrowska (3BA PRO V-2)
Linguistics 4 (3BA PRO VI)
dr hab. Geoffrey Schwartz, prof. UAM (3BA PRO VI-1)
prof. zw. dr hab. Przemysław Tajsner (3BA PRO VI-2)
Culture Studies (3BA PRO VII)
Dr Pamela Howland (3BA PRO VII-1)
Descriptions:
In the twenty-first century, we can choose from among a number of dictionaries between English and Polish. It was not always so: even as late as the mid-1990s, Poles learning English only had at their disposal a couple of badly outdated dictionaries.
In this proseminar, we are going to look at how English-Polish / Polish-English dictionaries have developed over the centuries from simple glossaries into fully-fledged works of reference. To put these developments in context, basic lexicographic notions will be introduced, such as different dictionary types, their relative strengths and weaknesses, and the multiple functions they can serve.
Throughout the rest of the course, our attention will focus on the dictionary-making process and the resulting products – that is, print and digital dictionaries. Emphasis will be put on problems related to the lexicographic presentation of meaning, especially those arising at the English-Polish interface. To this end, we will look at the equivalents and examples of usage offered by actual English-Polish and Polish-English dictionaries, both the earliest ones (some of which have been discovered very recently) as well as those produced over the last two decades by members of our Faculty of English.
Credits will be given on the basis of attendance, participation in class discussion, and timely completion of the assigned homework.
Selected references:
Adamska-Sałaciak, A. 2005. “Longman słownik współczesny angielsko-polski, polsko-angielski: The first active bilingual dictionary for Polish learners of English”. Kernerman Dictionary News 13: 23-26.
Adamska-Sałaciak, A. 2016. “Continuity and change in The (New) Kosciuszko Foundation Dictionary.” Studia Anglica Posnaniensia 51.1: 83-99.
Podhajecka, M. 2016. A History of Polish-English / English-Polish Bilingual Lexicography (1788-1947). Opole: Wydawnictwo Uniwersytetu Opolskiego.
Educational Technology for Effective Teaching and Learning (3BA PRO-II)
dr Anna Basińska
The objective of this proseminar is to learn about technology that can make teaching and learning more effective as well as to broaden the knowledge and skills in planning lessons with the use of EdTech resources.
Students will learn about:
— on-line technology
— educational apps
— using interactive board
— making recordings, videos,
— making animated presentations
— using social media in education
— using learning platforms with pupils
For a successful completion of the course, students are required to actively participate in all activities, read the assigned materials as well as complete IT tasks that includes elements of teaching/learning through technology.
All teaching specialization students who are interested in technology in education are welcome to the seminar. Your own laptop will be required.
Bibliography:
1. Clark R.C., Mayer R.E. (2008), E—learning and the Science of Instruction, Pfeiffer.
2. How people learn. Brain, Mind, Experience, and School (2004), [ed.] Bransford J.D., Brown A.L., Cocking R.R., National Academy Press, Washington DC.
3. Kalantzis M., Cope B., New Learning. Elements of a Science of Education, book DOI: http://dx.doi.org/10.1017/CBO9781139248532
4. Prensky M. (2001), Digital Natives, Digital Immigrants, On the Horizon, MCB University Press, Vol. 9 No. 5, October.
The aim of the seminar is to make participants more familiar with electronic dictionaries. While students of English can be assumed to be regular e-dictionary users, in this seminar we will look at such dictionaries from a different perspective. Various types of electronic dictionaries will be discussed, and their advantages and disadvantages will be highlighted. The meetings will hopefully make participants aware of the wide range of e-dictionaries (often freely available online), which they might not have come across yet, let alone used. We will also reflect on how electronic dictionary use is different from paper dictionary consultation, and whether the medium (paper vs. electronic) makes in fact any difference. Users’ expectations to which e-dictionaries should live up will be considered, and the effectiveness of dictionary functionalities unique to the electronic medium will be evaluated. Attention will also be paid to methods of getting an insight into the process of electronic dictionary consultation. Dictionary users will be presented in a dual role: as content recipients and content providers, and the value of user-generated content will be analyzed. Anybody who already consults e-dictionaries or would like to start doing it (with more background knowledge) is more than welcome.
Selected bibliography
Dziemianko, Anna. 2010. “Paper or electronic? The role of dictionary form in language reception, production and the retention of meaning and collocations.” International Journal of Lexicography 23(3): 257-273.
Lew, Robert. 2013. “Online dictionaries of English.” In: Fuertes-Olivera, Pedro A.; Bergenholtz, Henning (eds.) E-lexicography: The Internet, digital initiatives and lexicography. London: Bloomsbury, 230-250.
Müller-Spitzer, Carolin and Alexander Koplenig. 2014. “Online dictionaries: Expectations and demands.” In: Müller-Spitzer, Carolin (ed.) Using online dictionaries. Berlin / Boston: de Gruyter, 143-188.
Nesi, Hilary. 2012. “Alternative e-dictionaries: Uncovering dark practices.” In: Granger, Sylviane; Paquot, Magali (eds.) Electronic lexicography. Oxford: Oxford University Press, 357-372.
This course aims to provide an introduction to bilingualism research, with a focus on bilingual language, processing and cognition. The argument made throughout the course will be that bilingualism/multilingualism changes the way people use and perceive language, the way they communicate, the way they perceive the world and their reasoning, affects their linguistic and cognitive processing.
Throughout the course we will read and analyse a number of representative research reports providing evidence of bilingual differences. First, we will look into how bilinguals differ from monolinguals in their use of both the L2 and the L1, as well as in their metalinguistic awareness. Then, we will have a look at the bilingual mental lexicon and the ways bilinguals access words in their two languages. This will provide us with a foundation to see if there is a link between bilingual lexical processing and an executive function advantage, or a general cognitive processing advantage. From there, we will move on to bilingual conceptual representation and processing, i.e. to how bilinguals represent the world and how it affects their perception, understanding of the world and reasoning.
As throughout the course we will read a number of original research reports, this course is mainly for students interested in psycholinguistic research and thinking about conducting their own empirical study in the future. The course aims to provide participants with hands-on practice at reading and understanding empirical research reports.
Course credit requirements include participation in class discussions of published research, in-class presentations of published research reports and a short end of the semester quiz.
Sample references:
Cook, Vivian and Benedetta Bassetti (eds.). 2011. Language and bilingual cognition. New York: Psychology Press.
Cook, Vivian and Li Wei (eds.). 2016. Cambridge handbook of linguistic multi-competence. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press.
de Groot, Annette M.B. 2011. Language and cognition in bilinguals and multilinguals. New York: Psychology Press.
Kroll, Judith F. and Annette M.B. de Groot (eds.). 2005. Handbook of bilingualism: Psycholinguistic approaches. Oxford: Oxford University Press.
Pavlenko, Aneta (ed.). 2009. The bilingual mental lexicon: Interdisciplinary approaches. Bristol: Multilingual Matters.
Pavlenko, Aneta (ed.). 2011. Thinking and speaking in two languages. Bristol: Multilingual Matters.
Schwieter, John W. (ed.). 2015. Cambridge handbook of bilingual processing. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press.
Reading the other through fiction: Literary responses to contemporary problems (3BA PRO-V)
dr Marta Frątczak-Dąbrowska
The class will revolve around contemporary fiction and its response to such challenges as migrations, racism, late capitalism and anthropocentrism that permeate today’s politics and shape the world we live in. Firstly, the seminar will provide a theoretical framework useful in analysing and interpreting texts, namely a selection of contemporary literary theories and social criticism from various schools of thought. Secondly, the students will be asked to read short stories that contextualise the abovementioned issues and to critically respond to them during class discussions. Credit requirements include one mini-essay written on a topic chosen by a student that will freely respond to the themes and issues tackled in class.
Sample Bibliography
Adichie, Ngozi Chimamanda. « A Private Experience » (https://www.theguardian.com/books/2008/dec/28/chimamanda-ngozi-adichie-short-story)
Bauman, Zygmunt. 2017. Retrotopia. London: PolityPress.
Bhabha, Homi. 2004. The Location of Culture. London: Routledge.
Derrida, Jacques. 2000. Of Hospitality. Stanford: Stanford University Press.
Phillips, Caryl. 2011. Colour Me English: Migration and Belonging Before and After 9/11. New York: The New Press.
Said, Edward. 2012. Culture and Imperialism. London: Knopf Doubleday Publishing Group.
Shukla, Nikesh (ed.) 2016. The Good Immigrant. London: Unbound.
Žižek, Slavoj. [1998] 2008. The Sublime Object of Ideology. London: Verso.
The Soundtrack of American Film (3BA PRO-VII)
Dr Pamela Howland
Music is one of the most powerfully emotional and least understood aspects of film. Although many people are barely aware of it while they are viewing a movie, film scores move us and manipulate us, often giving us clues for understanding what we’re seeing and more often, for what we are not seeing. This course is a survey of the works of great American film score composers from the 1930s Golden Age up to contemporary times. Film score composers such as Max Steiner (Gone with the Wind, 1939) Bernard Herrmann (Psycho, 1960), and the more contemporary John Williams (Harry Potter 2001-2004, Star Wars 1977-2017) will be studied, along with many others. We will examine and develop a vocabulary and techniques for analyzing virtually any movie score. In addition, we will investigate why and how music functions as a powerful emotional and storytelling tool in these films, and discover the degree to which film composers have relied on cherished symphonic and operatic traditions from 19th- century European musical styles in creating their uniquely American soundtracks. After this course students will never “hear” movies in the same way.
Knowledge of classical music and proficiency in music reading are not pre-requisite, but a love of the movies is.
Content and Language Integrated Learning (CLIL): principles and implementation (3BA PRO-II)
dr Aleksandra Jankowska
The aim of the course is to acquaint students with the main principles and objectives of Content and Language Integrated Learning defined as ‘a dual-focused educational approach in which an additional language is used for the learning and teaching of both content
and language’ (Coyle, Hood and March 2010: 10). Topics discussed during the seminar will include: different models of CLIL (subject-led and language-led), defining learning outcomes, evaluating and designing CLIL materials and assessment techniques, language used in CLIL with specific reference to the difference between BICS (Basic Interpersonal Communicative Skills) and CALP (Cognitive Academic Language Proficiency) and subject specific and academic language as well as ways of developing students’ communication and cognitive skills. Participants will be expected to take active part in class discussions, prepare a presentation of a sample lesson in English as a foreign language implementing elements of CLIL and pass a final test.
Selected bibliography:
Ball, Ohil, Keith Kelly and John Clegg. 2015. Putting CLIL into practice. Oxford: Ocford University Press.
Bentley, Kate. 2010. The TKT course. CLIL module. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press.
Coyle, Do, Philip Hood and David Marsh. 2010. CLIL. Content and language integrated learning. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press.
Dale, Liz and Rosie Tanner. 2012. CLIL activities. A resource for subject and language teachers. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press.
Mehisto, Peeter, David Marsh and Maria Jesus Frigols. 2008. Uncovering CLIL. Content and language integrated learning in bilingual and multilingual education. Oxford: Macmillan.
This course provides an introduction to the study of similarities and differences among the languages of the world. We are going to ask and answer such questions as “What are the common features that languages share?” and “How can we explain similarities among languages?” Following a brief introduction into the major language families and their classification, we will examine similarities and differences in the main components of language structure, including: a) the lexicon, e.g. words for numbers and body parts and colour terms); b) sound systems, e.g. types of sounds and ordering of sounds; c) word structure, e.g. types of morphemes and the ways morphemes are arranged in words; and d) syntax, e.g. ordering of words into larger units. Finally, we will talk about the ways in which languages develop grammar and situations where grammar and word structure becomes simplified or lost. Throughout the course we will analyse examples from a variety of languages without adopting any theoretical framework, and so the course can serve as a starting point for future explorations of such issues as the role of social and cultural factors in the development/loss of language structure or the extent to which patterns in language are universal or culture-specific.
Grades
Your final grade will be based on a 20-minute presentation (90%) and participation in discussion (10%).
The reign of Elisabeth I (1558-1603), though rarely viewed linguistically as a unitary phenomenon, was one of the most crucial periods in the history of the English language. On a par with political and economic changes, which transformed England from a backwater country at the margin of Europe into an Atlantic superpower, while its parochial language grew into a mode of communication comparable to Latin itself.
The aim of this proseminar is to understand the development of role, perception, and structure of English during the lifetime of William Shakespeare. We will look at a wide range of texts produced in that period, interrogating their cruciality for the extralinguistic developments they accompanied, illustrated, and narrated. We will also look for ways in which late 16th century English remains relevant for the early 21st century.
Pre-requisites:
A sense of wonder.
Assessment:
No idea, really. We will find out. (Yes, seriously. If you want to know what this means, sign up for the proseminar.)
Selected literature:
Emily C. L. Burden (2006) Pre-Victorian prudery. "The Family Shakespeare" and the birth of Bowdlerism. M.A. thesis: University of Birmingham.
David Crystal (2008) Think on my words. Exploring Shakespeare's language. Cambridge: CUP.
Keith Johnson (2013) Shakespeare's English. A practical linguistic guide. London/New York: Routledge.
Gabrielle Stein (2014) Sir Thomas Elyot as lexicographer. Oxford: OUP.
and many others.
The aim of the seminar is to introduce students to qualitative methodologies and methods to analyze and interpret data in sociolinguistics and discourse studies. The course will start with a general introduction to qualitative methodology that “aims to produce rounded and contextual understandings [of various social phenomena] on the basis of rich, nuanced and detailed data” (Mason 2012: 3). We will then focus on the methods of conversation analysis and membership categorization analysis to examine how various social actions and social categories are accomplished in an interaction. More specifically we will look into the professional context of psychotherapy to investigate, among others, how therapeutic interventions are accomplished in psychotherapy sessions. Other professional settings will be considered to analyze how gender ideologies and identities are constructed in interaction.
Students are expected to prepare a mini-project that will address an issue to be examined with selected qualitative method(s).
Selected bibliography:
Hutchby, Ian. 2007. The discourse of child counseling. Amsterdam: John Benjamins.
Johnstone, Barbara. 2000. Qualitative methods in sociolinguistics. Oxford: Oxford University Press.
Mason, Jennifer. 2012. Qualitative researching (2nd edition). London: Sage.
McLeod, John. 2011. Qualitative research in counseling and psychotherapy (2nd edition). London: Sage.
Introduction to Psychology of Language (3BA PRO-III)
dr Karolina Rataj
The aim of this course is to familiarize students with the relationship between cognitive psychology and language. Language processing, production, and acquisition will be discussed in the context of processes engaged in visual perception, memory, and attention. We will also discuss the impact of cognitive and neurological disorders, such as dementia, amnesia, or stroke, on language comprehension and production. Selected language disorders, such as aphasia or semantic dementia, will be discussed in the context of cognitive functions. To better understand these topics, students will learn about selected methods used in cognitive psychology and psycholinguistics, such as measurement of reaction times or brain activity. This will facilitate the understanding of results reported in studies investigating mental operations involved in language processing and production. Finally, students will learn how to follow important ethical guidelines when conducting studies on language which involve human participants. Overall, the course is designed for students with keen interest in how language is processed and comprehended, and how research questions related to these topics can be empirically investigated.
Field, John. 2003. Psycholinguistics: A resource book for students. London: Routledge.
Reisberg, Daniel. 2010. Cognition: Exploring the science of the mind. New York: Norton
Stemmer, Brigitte and Harry A. Whitaker. 2008. Handbook of Neurolinguistics. San Diego: Academic Press.
Traxler, Matthew J. and Morton Ann Gernsbacher (eds.). 2006. Handbook of Psycholinguistics. Amsterdam; Boston: Elsevier/Academic Press.
Ward, Jamie. 2010. The Student’s Guide to Cognitive Neuroscience. Hove: Psychology Press.
The aim of the seminar is to familiarize students with Canadian literary tradition and major trajectories of change in Canadian literature from the second half of the 19th to the beginning of 21st century. Special emphasis will fall on post-WWII prose (novels and short stories). Texts selected for discussion vary in style, subject-matter and focus, allowing students to appreciate the diversity of contemporary Canadian literature. The course is reading-intensive.
Each student will be required to prepare an oral presentation on a selected topic, act as a discussion-leader, and write brief responses to literary and critical texts. Active participation in in-class discussions, as well as regular attendance, will also contribute to the final grade.
The central topic of this proseminar, whose title has been inspired by a recent book by Andrea Moro, will be to challenge a fairly widespread conviction that languages differ beyond limits and in unpredictable ways. Under this view, logically, there is no such a thing as an ‘impossible language’. Evans and Levinson (2009) define this point fairly conspicuously: “languages differ so fundamentally from one another at every level of description (sound, grammar, lexicon, meaning) that it is very hard to find any single structural property they share”. During the proseminar this claim will be confronted with arguments by different authors and examples from distinct languages. The issue of language diversity will be addressed from a variety of viewpoints, and some of the questions to raise will be: Why is there language diversity at all? How is it manifested? Are there language universals and the universal grammar? A part of the course will be devoted to the famous “Piraha debate” related to Daniel Everett’s (2005, 2009) views and findings, which, according to some, are a “volley fired straight at the heart of Chomsky’s theory”. Is it really so? We will try to validate this claim against the hard reality of linguistic data as discussed by Nevins et al. (2009). However, the aim of the proseminar is not to formulate definitive answers to the enigma of language diversity. Rather, it will aim at instigating controversies and raising puzzles.
There are no special prerequisites for the course, and it is recommended to anyone interested in (different types of) linguistics, language diversity, the relation between language and culture, etc. Though touching upon syntax, the course will not include formal syntactic analysis as such. During the course, the discussions in class will be inspired by selected readings, and the final assessment will be based on the activity in class, individual presentations and the end-term achievement test.
Selected bibliography
Baker, M. 2001. The atoms of language. The mind’s hidden rules of grammar. New York: Basic Books.
Baker, M. 2003. “Linguistic differences and language design”. Trends in Cognitive Sciences Vol.7 No.8.
Berwick, R.C. & Chomsky, N. 2012. “The Biolinguistic Program: The Current State of its Evolution and Development”.
Bolhuis, J, Tattersall, J., Chomsky, N. R. C. Berwick. 2014. “How Could Language Have Evolved?”. PLOS.12.8
Culicover, P. W. & Jackendoff, R. 2005. Simple(?) Syntax, Chapter 2, p. 3
Evans, N & Levinson, S. 2009. “The myth of language universals: Language diversity and its importance for cognitive science”. Behavioral and Brain Sciences.
Evans, V. 2014. The language myth. Why language is not an instinct. Cambridge: CUP.
Everett, D. 2005. “Cultural Constraints on Grammar and Cognition in Piraha”. Current Anthropology 46. 4
Everett, D. 2009. “Cultural Constraints on grammar in Piraha. A Reply to Nevins, Pesetsky, and Rodrigues (2007).
Everett, D. 2012. “What does Piraha grammar have to teach us about human language and the mind?”. WIREs Cogn Sci 2012, 3:555–563. doi: 10.1002/wcs.1195
Fitch, W. T. 2010. The evolution of language. Cambridge: CUP.
Gil, D. 2010. “What Is Riau Indonesian?”. Unpublished paper.
Jackendoff, R. 2012. “What is the human language faculty? Two views”. To appear in Language.
Moro, A. 2008. The boundaries of Babel. The brain and the enigma of impossible languages. Cambridge: CUP.
Moro, A. 2016. Impossible languages. Cambridge, MA: The MIT Press.
Nevins, A., Pesetsky, D. & Rodrigues. 2007. “Piraha exceptionality: A reassessment”. Project Muse.
Nevins, A., Pesetsky, D. & Rodrigues. 2009. “Evidence and argumentation: A reply to Everett (2009)”. Project Muse.
Newmeyer, F. 2005. Possible and Probable Languages A Generative Perspective on Linguistic Typology. Oxford: OUP.
Newmeyer, F. 2012. “Goals and methods of generative syntax”. CUP Working Folder. 61-92.
Pesetsky, D. 2009. “Against taking linguistic diversity at “face value”. Behavioral and Brain Sciences, 32 , pp 464- 465 doi:10.1017/S0140525X09990562
Pereltsvaig, A. 2017. Languages of the World. An Introduction. Cambridge: CUP.
Sampson, G. 2015. “Rigid strings and flaky snowflakes”. Language and Cognition.
Wolfe, T. 2016. “The origins of speech. In the beginning was Chomsky”. Harper’s Magazine.
