Language, power and identity - Language, Power and Identity

An exploration of different kinds of social power and the ways in which language is used by influential groups and institutions.

Central to the work is the theme of consumerism and three contexts in which it may be investigated: media, gender and citizenship.

Students have the opportunity to study significant shifts in gender identity and awareness as reflected in commercial advertising and popular music; changing notions of citizenship and community consciousness; and how businesses present themselves as public benefactors.

The skills of discourse analysis are demonstrated as ways of discovering implied meaning and competing social values in a variety of contemporary texts.