ENG: Free topic 4: Discourse, Cognition and Society

Discourse, Cognition and Society

This module deals with the interaction between discourse, or language use, and social cognition. The module consists of two part-courses – namely, Constructing Politics Through Language and Cognitive Sociolinguistics – which introduce students to theoretical notions and relevant empirical methods within the study cognition, language, and discourse in social contexts.

Cognitive Sociolinguistics (Kim Ebensgaard Jensen)

Cognitive sociolinguistics is an emerging field which, combining sociolinguistics and cognitive linguistics, seeks to address the mental aspects of linguistic variation and, more broadly, study the linkage between the social and the cognitive realities of language. This course will introduce the students to central ideas and important findings in cognitive sociolinguistics. We will look at variation in several aspects of language (including grammar, lexicon, and discourse) and how this can be related to mental phenomena in speakers such as social stereotypes, mental models of society, and conceptualizations of communicative situations as well as cultural models and worldviews. Since cognitive sociolinguistics is still very much an emerging field, this course is in many ways on the cutting edge and is a great opportunity to witness, and maybe even contribute to, a scientific field in development.

Constructing Politics Through Language (Victoria Blaabjerg Hogstad)

This course explores how language shapes political, cultural, and social realities, with a focus on how discourse constructs meaning, identity, and ideology. Drawing on cognitive linguistics, critical discourse analysis (CDA), and social constructivism, students will examine how political discourse operates across media, speeches, and digital platforms.

Building on the foundations introduced in Cognitive Sociolinguistics, this course addresses the increasing societal focus on political communication and polarization. It investigates how discourse is used to persuade, mobilize, and divide audiences, and how meaning is negotiated between speakers and listeners.

The course emphasizes empirical methods, enabling students to investigate how discourse contributes to the formation of mental models, ideologies, and collective imaginaries. It encourages critical reflection on the ethical implications of political communication and the role of discourse in democratic societies.

Students will also be trained in spoken and written communication at an academically relevant level so as to enable them to present in a coherent and structured fashion, and at an academically appropriate level, material and substance pertaining to the contents of the course. This will take the form of formal instructions as well as hands-on exercises.