DISCOURSE AND RHETORIC

The course is one of the interdisciplinary activities of the degree course in Language Sciences and of the course in Comparative International Relations (curricula: Americas and European Union Studies). It promotes theoretical knowledge and methodological competence that can be applied to the analysis of texts and textual corpora in different domains. In particular, the course aims to illustrate the principles and the instruments that are typical of discourse analysis, a multidisciplinary research approach which aims to investigate the tight relationship between discursive practices and societal structures and values.
Drawing on different disciplines, linguistics and rhetoric in the first place, discourse analysis helps to disclose the ideological features and the objectives of texts, emphasising the constitutive role of language in the social context.

Students will acquire the fundamentals of discourse analysis; they will be able to understand the nature of communication processes, focusing in particular on enunciation and persuasion. Rhetorical strategies will be analysed both in the argumentative and in the emotional dimension.
On the basis of the acquired theoretical and methodological competence, students will be able to analyse texts across domains and genres, with a main focus on climate crisis communication.
The investigation of actual examples will promote a critical attitude, making it possible to single out discursive and persuasive features in texts. This, in its turn, will develop communicative competence to be exploited also in text production.

No specific previous knowledge is required.

The course will begin with a critical discussion of the principles of rhetoric and discourse analysis, with a particular focus on textual analysis. Text types and genres will be defined, and the principles of enunciation and dialogism will be illustrated. The main tenets of pragmatics (speech acts, illocutionary forces, cooperative principle, performativity, implicit meanings) will be examined, together with the textual structures that represent them. Special attention will be devoted to argumentation and to the other components of persuasion (ethos, pathos).
All general concepts will be illustrated with numerous examples, mainly drawn from the domain of climate crisis communication, focusing on various text genres.

Rankema, J., and Schubert, C., Introduction to Discourse Studies, John Benjamins (a choice of chapters)
Santulli, F., and Degano, C., Agreement in Argumentation. A Discursive Perspective, Springer (a choice of chapters)

Further readings will be indicated during the lessons, and made available on the moodle web page of the course

Oral exam. Students are required to comment on a text and analyise some of its linguistic features. They will also answer questions concerning the theoretical contents of the course. Both parts of the exam will be assessed.

oral

The lecturer has a duty to ensure that the rules regarding the authenticity and originality of exam tests and papers are respected. Therefore, if there is suspicion of irregular conduct, an additional assessment may be conducted, which could differ from the original exam description.

Marks from 18 to 22 correspond to a pass level; from 23 to 26 good; from 27 to 30 cum laude very good/excellent

Conventional lectures; analysis of examples. Students are encouraged to participate to class discussions.

This subject deals with topics related to the macro-area "Human capital, health, education" and contributes to the achievement of one or more goals of U. N. Agenda for Sustainable Development