| Unit name | The Linguistics of Extremist Politics |
|---|---|
| Unit code | MODLM1004 |
| Credit points | 20 |
| Level of study | M/7 |
| Teaching block(s) |
Teaching Block 2 (weeks 13 - 24) |
| Unit director | Professor. Langer |
| Open unit status | Not open |
| Pre-requisites |
None |
| Co-requisites |
None |
| School/department | School of Modern Languages |
| Faculty | Faculty of Arts |
The twentieth century has seen the rise and establishment of many versions of political extremism. One of the key tools for the propagation of their political views has been the deliberate use of linguistic manipulation. This unit will focus on the language of National Socialism in the III. Reich to prepare the ground for an investigation of the topic in a European context. In particular, we will be looking at the semantics of German words and phrases and how they were manipulated to 'sell' fascist ideas to the German people. Having studied the case of Germany in the first phase of this unit, we will then aim to discover how similar or different methods of linguistic manipulation have been employed in other forms of political extremism throughout Europe. This part will be student-led in the form of 30-minute presentations followed by 1 hour discussions. The exact choice of topics will depend on students' interest: possible topics will be the language of the Front National, the Franco-era, the rise of the Anti-EU lobby in Eastern Europe, communist language in the GDR etc. A knowledge of German will not be required.
