77762 - ANALYSIS OF POLITICAL LANGUAGE

Learning outcomes

The course, which is taught in English, deals with quantitative and qualitative methods for the analysis of political and institutional language. At the end of the course, the student: - is able to identify various genres of political and institutional discourse with particular reference to Great Britain, the US, as well as institutions of international relations; - can analyze the contextual features which determine the lexical and grammatical characteristics of different varieties of political and institutional language; - is able to make a semantic and lexical analysis of political discourse and of a corpus of political and institutional discourse; - has an English language competence not inferior to B2 (CEFR).

Course contents

The course introduces students to both quantitative and qualitative methods of (critical) discourse analysis, focusing on political and institutional language—particularly in the contexts of the US, UK, EU, and International organizations. It examines a wide range of text types and genres to provide a comprehensive understanding of the field.

Key topics covered include:

• Definitions of political language and political discourse

• Language and Power

• The relationship between language, text, and context

• The concept of register

• Fundamental lexico-grammatical categories for functional text analysis

• Political lexis and the linguistic and rhetorical features of political language

• Critical Discourse Analysis

• The creation and use of specialized corpora of political language

• Quantitative and qualitative tools for corpus-assisted analysis, such as concordances, collocations, keywords, and clusters

Through this framework, students will develop the skills needed to critically analyze political texts using a variety of linguistic and computational approaches.

 

Readings/Bibliography

Core Readings

• Bayley, P. (2005). Analysing language and politics. MediAzioni, 1.
• Bevitori, C. (2026). Critical discourse analysis/Critical discourse studies. In H. Nesi & P. Milin (Eds.), International encyclopedia of language and linguistics (3rd ed., Vol. 7, pp. 362–366). Elsevier. https://doi.org/10.1016/B978-0-323-95504-1.01519-2
• Chilton, P. A., & Schäffner, C. (2002). Introduction: Themes and principles in the analysis of political discourse. In P. A. Chilton & C. Schäffner (Eds.), Politics as text and talk: Analytical approaches to political discourse (pp. 1–44). John Benjamins.
• van Dijk, T. A. (1998). What is political discourse analysis? In J. Blommaert & C. Bulcaen (Eds.), Political linguistics (pp. 11–52).
• Wilson, J. (2001). Political discourse. In D. Schiffrin, D. Tannen, & H. E. Hamilton (Eds.), The handbook of discourse analysis (pp. 398–415). Blackwell.
• Wodak, R. (2009). Language and politics. In English language (pp. 576–593).
• Wodak, R., & de Cillia, R. (2006). Politics and language: An overview. In K. Brown (Ed.), Encyclopedia of language and linguistics. Elsevier.

Additional Readings

• Bevitori, C. (2026). Discourse, politics, and the environment: An ecolinguistic perspective. In The Bloomsbury handbook of ecolinguistics (pp. 209–226). Bloomsbury Publishing.
• Cap, P. (Ed.). (2023). Handbook of political discourse. Edward Elgar Publishing. (Selected chapters: 1, 9, 10, 12, 16, 21, & 22)
• Charteris-Black, J. (2011). Politicians and rhetoric: The persuasive power of metaphor. Palgrave Macmillan.
• Wodak, R., & Forchtner, B. (Eds.). (2018). The Routledge handbook of language and politics. Routledge. (Selected chapters: 9, 21, 22, 24, 26, 32, 34, & 44)

Other Resources

Bartlett, T. (2014). Analysing language and power: A practical guide. Routledge.

Fairclough, I., & Fairclough, N. (2012). Political discourse analysis: A method for advanced students. Routledge.

Heywood, A. (2015). Key concepts in politics and international relations. Bloomsbury Academic.

Mayr, A., Simpson, P., & Statham, S. (2019). Language and power: A resource book for students. Routledge.

Selected chapters and additional readings will be assigned according to the specific areas of application of corpus-assisted discourse studies, with a particular focus on political and institutional discourse.

Teaching methods

Both lecture-style, seminar-style, and workshop-style sessions take place in a computer lab equipped with PCs and a data projector, allowing for easy switching between the different teaching methods. The workshop sessions provide opportunities for hands-on practice and in-depth discussion, using specialized corpora and software for corpus analysis. A collection of specialized corpora of political language will be made available to students throughout the course.

Students are expected to read the assigned materials carefully before each session. For workshops and seminars, active participation is also expected and may include presentations, case-study discussions, and other collaborative activities.

While attendance is not mandatory, students who wish to benefit fully from the practical and interactive components of the course are encouraged to attend regularly. As places are limited, participation in these sessions is best reserved for those willing to engage actively in the workshop activities.

Students with specific learning difficulties (SpLD) or with disabilities that can affect their ability to attend courses are invited to contact the University service for students with disabilities and SLD at the earliest opportunity -- ideally before the start of the course: The University service will suggest possible adjustments to the course work and/or exam, which must then be submitted to the course leader so they can assess their feasibility, in line with the learning objectives of the course. Please note that adjustments to the exam must be requested at least two weeks in advance.

Assessment methods

All students are required to submit a short paper (3,000–4,000 words, excluding references) and complete an oral examination.

Attending students are encouraged to prepare a PowerPoint presentation outlining their project, including the research topic, objectives, methodology, and any preliminary data or findings, to share with the class. Presentations will be scheduled during the final sessions of the course.

Paper Submission

The paper must be submitted by email at least one week before the scheduled examination date and must include a minimum of three academic references.

The topic of the paper must be agreed upon with the instructor. The paper should consist of either a quantitative or a qualitative analysis of a specialized corpus.

Oral Examination

The oral examination will include:

• a discussion of the submitted paper;

• a discussion of two readings selected by the student:

  • one article from the Core Readings;

  • one chapter from the Additional Readings.

The examination will assess the student's understanding of the key concepts covered in the course, critical thinking skills, and ability to develop and present a coherent, well-supported argument.

Non-attending students, as well as attending students who do not give a class presentation during the semester, are required to submit the paper and discuss an additional four readings during the oral examination:

• two articles from the Core Readings;

• two chapters from the Additional Readings.

Assessment Breakdown

• Class presentation: 10%
• Final paper: 60%
• Oral examination: 30%

A limited, declared, and non-substantive use of AI is permitted for support activities (e.g., language revision and help with the identification of bibliographic references). Students must specify the exact ways in which AI was used in a declaration accompanying the presentation and, if necessary, during the oral examination.

Students with specific learning difficulties (SpLD) or with disabilities that can affect their ability to attend courses are invited to contact the University service for students with disabilities and SLD at the earliest opportunity -- ideally before the start of the course: https://site.unibo.it/studenti-con-disabilita-e-dsa/en/for-students . The University service will suggest possible adjustments to the course work and/or exam, which must then be submitted to the course leader so they can assess their feasibility, in line with the learning objectives of the course. Please note that adjustments to the exam must be requested at least two weeks in advance.

Assessment criteria

30-30L: Outstanding performance demonstrating excellent achievement of the intended learning outcomes, together with a thorough and critical command of the theories, methods, and analytical tools covered in the course.

27-29: Above-average performance, with only minor errors and/or shortcomings that are more than compensated for by a strong demonstration of the required knowledge and skills.

24-26: Good performance, though with some noticeable errors indicating a partial achievement of the required knowledge and skills.

21-23: Satisfactory performance, but with significant limitations in the acquisition and application of the required knowledge and skills.

18-20: Performance meeting only the minimum requirements in terms of the expected knowledge and skills.

<18 (Fail): The basic knowledge and skills required for the course have not been achieved. The examination must be retaken.

 

 

Teaching tools

PC, internet, online and offline softwares

All course materials are made available through the University's Virtual Learning Environment (Virtuale).

As concerns the teaching methods of this course unit, all students must attend the [https://www.unibo.it/en/services-and-opportunities/health-and-assistance/health-and-safety/online-course-on-health-and-safety-in-study-and-internship-areas.

Office hours

See the website of Cinzia Bevitori