Outline

Overview

This course explores twentieth century attempts to understand the relation of language and linguistic meaning to the individual subject. We will consider two traditions: a 'naturalistic' approach centred around Chomsky's 'generative enterprise', and the phenomenological/hermeneutic tradition in Merleau-Ponty and Gadamer. Students will familiarise themselves with various putatively scientific attempts to understand the place of language in the world and will explore some general features of the relation between meaning and experience. No prior acquaintance with these fields is assumed.

Unit details and rules

Unit code	ENGL4131
Academic unit
Credit points	6
Prohibitions ?	None
Prerequisites ?	None
Corequisites ?	None
Assumed knowledge ?	None
Available to study abroad and exchange students	Yes

Teaching staff

Coordinator	Nick Riemer, nick.riemer@sydney.edu.au

Type	Description	Weight	Due	Length
Assignment	Option 2 Part A: conference presentation Conference presentation (50%)	0%	-	20 minutes
Outcomes assessed:
Assignment	Option 1: Essay n/a	100%	Formal exam period Due date: 09 Jun 2020 at 23:59	6000 words
Outcomes assessed:
Assignment	Option 2 Part B: conference write-up (50%)	0%	Formal exam period Due date: 24 Jun 2020 at 23:59	3000 words
Outcomes assessed:

Assessment summary

Detailed information for each assessment can be found on Canvas.

Assessment criteria

Please refer to the specific Honours Marking scale in the Honours Handbook on Canvas

For more information see guide to grades.

Late submission

In accordance with University policy, these penalties apply when written work is submitted after 11:59pm on the due date:

Deduction of 5% of the maximum mark for each calendar day after the due date.
After ten calendar days late, a mark of zero will be awarded.

Academic integrity

The Current Student website provides information on academic integrity and the resources available to all students. The University expects students and staff to act ethically and honestly and will treat all allegations of academic integrity breaches seriously.

We use similarity detection software to detect potential instances of plagiarism or other forms of academic integrity breach. If such matches indicate evidence of plagiarism or other forms of academic integrity breaches, your teacher is required to report your work for further investigation.

You may only use artificial intelligence and writing assistance tools in assessment tasks if you are permitted to by your unit coordinator, and if you do use them, you must also acknowledge this in your work, either in a footnote or an acknowledgement section.

Studiosity is permitted for postgraduate units unless otherwise indicated by the unit coordinator. The use of this service must be acknowledged in your submission.

Learning support

Simple extensions

If you encounter a problem submitting your work on time, you may be able to apply for an extension of five calendar days through a simple extension.  The application process will be different depending on the type of assessment and extensions cannot be granted for some assessment types like exams.

Special consideration

If exceptional circumstances mean you can’t complete an assessment, you need consideration for a longer period of time, or if you have essential commitments which impact your performance in an assessment, you may be eligible for special consideration or special arrangements.

Special consideration applications will not be affected by a simple extension application.

Using AI responsibly

Co-created with students, AI in Education includes lots of helpful examples of how students use generative AI tools to support their learning. It explains how generative AI works, the different tools available and how to use them responsibly and productively.

Weekly schedule

WK	Topic	Learning activity
Week 01	Overview - text, interpretation, and meaning	Seminar (2 hr)
Week 02	Linguistic meaning and mentality	Seminar (2 hr)
Week 03	Linguistic meaning and literality	Seminar (2 hr)
Week 04	Interpreting cultural difference - Wierzbicka	Seminar (2 hr)
Week 05	Interpreting cultural difference - Taylor	Seminar (2 hr)
Week 06	Interpretation and the human sciences - Taylor	Seminar (2 hr)
Week 07	Gadamer 1	Seminar (2 hr)
Week 08	Gadamer 2	Seminar (2 hr)
Week 09	Gadamer 3	Seminar (2 hr)
Week 10	Gadamer 4	Seminar (2 hr)
Week 11	Gadamer 5	Seminar (2 hr)
Week 12	Gadamer 6	Seminar (2 hr)
Week 13	Gadamer 7	Seminar (2 hr)

Attendance and class requirements

Attendance: According to Faculty Board Resolutions, students in the Faculty of Arts and Social Sciences are expected to attend 90% of their classes. If you attend less than 50% of classes, regardless of the reasons, you may be referred to the Examiner’s Board. The Examiner’s Board will decide whether you should pass or fail the unit of study if your attendance falls below this threshold.
Preparation: Students should commit to spend approximately three hours’ preparation time (reading, studying, homework, essays, etc.) for every hour of scheduled instruction.

Study commitment

Typically, there is a minimum expectation of 1.5-2 hours of student effort per week per credit point for units of study offered over a full semester. For a 6 credit point unit, this equates to roughly 120-150 hours of student effort in total.

Required readings

Students should buy a copy of Gadamer's Truth and Method (2nd edition, Weinsheimer and Marshall, translators). Copies have been specially ordered for the course and are available for sale at Gleebooks, 49 Glebe Point Rd.

Asterisked texts will be supplied. Journal articles should be retrieved from the library's collection in the usual way. Book chapters will be available for download from the library's usual course reading service.

Week 1. Overview

Hirsch, E.D. 1960. Objective interpretation. Proceedings of the Modern Language Association 75: 466-468.

Week 2. Linguistic meaning and mentality

Noam Chomsky, Verbal Behavior [Review of BF Skinner]. Language 35 (1959): 26-58

Week 3. Linguistic meaning and literality

Toolan, Michael. 1996. On inscribed or literal meaning. Chapter 1 of Total Speech. An Integrational Linguistic Approach to Language. Durham and London: Duke University Press.

Week 4. Interpreting cultural difference 1

Anna Wierzbicka 1999. Introduction: feelings, languages and cultures. Chapter 1 of Emotions across languages and cultures. Cambridge: CUP.

Week 5. Interpreting cultural difference 2

*Charles Taylor 1985. Understanding and ethnocentricity. In Philosophy and the Human Sciences. Philosophical Papers 2. Cambridge: CUP, 116-133

Week 6. Interpretation and the human sciences

Charles Taylor 1985. Interpretation and the sciences of man. In Philosophy and the Human Sciences. Philosophical Papers 2. Cambridge: CUP, 15-57.

Week 7 Gadamer 1

Hans-Georg Gadamer, *Man and language (1966); *The nature of things and the Language of things (1960) and *Semantics and hermeneutics (1972). In Philosophical Hermeneutics (Linge, ed. and trans.) Berkeley: University of California Press.

Week 8 Gadamer 2

Hans-Georg Gadamer, Introduction and Foreward to the 2nd edition, Truth and Method.

Week 9. Gadamer 3

Hans-Georg Gadamer, Truth and Method (2ed). Chapter 4 1A (i) Heidegger's Disclosure of the Fore-Structure of Understanding– 1B (i) The Rehabilitation of Authority and Tradition (inclusive), 1B (iii) The Hermeneutic Significance of Temporal Distance.

Week 10. Gadamer 4

Hans-Georg Gadamer, Truth and Method (2ed). Chapter 5. Part 1. Language as the medium of hermeneutic experience.

Week 11. Gadamer 5

Hans-Georg Gadamer, Truth and Method (2ed). Chapter 5. Part 2. The development of the concept of language in the history of Western thought. This is to be read in the context of Plato, Cratylus (any translation)

Week 12. Gadamer 6

Hans-Georg Gadamer, Truth and Method (2ed). Chapter 5. Part 3. Language as horizon of a hermeneutic ontology.

Week 13. Gadamer 7

Hans-Georg Gadamer, Truth and Method (2ed). Chapter 5. Part 3. Language as horizon of a hermeneutic ontology.

Learning outcomes

Learning outcomes are what students know, understand and are able to do on completion of a unit of study. They are aligned with the University's graduate qualities and are assessed as part of the curriculum.

Outcomes
Graduate qualities

At the completion of this unit, you should be able to:

LO1. demonstrate a familiarity with theoretical approaches to linguistic interpretation from a variety of twentieth century intellectual traditions
LO2. engage confidently in open and unstructured discussion on these questions
LO3. confidently challenge the premises of instrumental reason as it applies to language and textuality.

Graduate qualities

The graduate qualities are the qualities and skills that all University of Sydney graduates must demonstrate on successful completion of an award course. As a future Sydney graduate, the set of qualities have been designed to equip you for the contemporary world.

GQ1	Depth of disciplinary expertise Deep disciplinary expertise is the ability to integrate and rigorously apply knowledge, understanding and skills of a recognised discipline defined by scholarly activity, as well as familiarity with evolving practice of the discipline.
GQ2	Critical thinking and problem solving Critical thinking and problem solving are the questioning of ideas, evidence and assumptions in order to propose and evaluate hypotheses or alternative arguments before formulating a conclusion or a solution to an identified problem.
GQ3	Oral and written communication Effective communication, in both oral and written form, is the clear exchange of meaning in a manner that is appropriate to audience and context.
GQ4	Information and digital literacy Information and digital literacy is the ability to locate, interpret, evaluate, manage, adapt, integrate, create and convey information using appropriate resources, tools and strategies.
GQ5	Inventiveness Generating novel ideas and solutions.
GQ6	Cultural competence Cultural Competence is the ability to actively, ethically, respectfully, and successfully engage across and between cultures. In the Australian context, this includes and celebrates Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander cultures, knowledge systems, and a mature understanding of contemporary issues.
GQ7	Interdisciplinary effectiveness Interdisciplinary effectiveness is the integration and synthesis of multiple viewpoints and practices, working effectively across disciplinary boundaries.
GQ8	Integrated professional, ethical, and personal identity An integrated professional, ethical and personal identity is understanding the interaction between one’s personal and professional selves in an ethical context.
GQ9	Influence Engaging others in a process, idea or vision.

Outcome map

Learning outcomes	Graduate qualities
Learning outcomes

Responding to student feedback

This section outlines changes made to this unit following staff and student reviews.

No changes have been made since this unit was last offered

Disclaimer

The University reserves the right to amend units of study or no longer offer certain units, including where there are low enrolment numbers.

To help you understand common terms that we use at the University, we offer an online glossary.

Current students

Overview

Overview

Unit details and rules

Teaching staff

Assessment

Assessment

Assessment summary

Assessment criteria

Late submission

Academic integrity

Learning support

Learning support

Simple extensions

Special consideration

Using AI responsibly

Weekly schedule

Weekly schedule

Attendance and class requirements

Study commitment

Required readings

Learning outcomes

Learning outcomes

Graduate qualities

Outcome map

Responding to student feedback

Responding to student feedback

Disclaimer

On this page

Useful links

Media

Student links

About us

Connect

Current students

ENGL4131: Language and Subject

Semester 1, 2020 [Normal day] - Camperdown/Darlington, Sydney

Overview

Overview

Unit details and rules

Teaching staff

Assessment

Assessment

Assessment summary

Assessment criteria

Late submission

Academic integrity

Learning support

Learning support

Simple extensions

Special consideration

Using AI responsibly

Weekly schedule

Weekly schedule

Attendance and class requirements

Study commitment

Required readings

Learning outcomes

Learning outcomes

Graduate qualities

Outcome map

Responding to student feedback

Responding to student feedback

Disclaimer

On this page

Useful links

Media

Student links

About us

Connect