Course teacher(s)
Jürgen JASPERS (Coordinator)ECTS credits
5
Language(s) of instruction
Dutch
Course content
This course focuses on the tension between the multilingual reality of contemporary cities in Europe and their usually monolingual language policies. It will draw students' attention to different kinds of multilngualism, the communication problems that may emerge in medical, administrative and educational institutions, as well as to the place of Dutch in Brussels and to socio-linguistic processes at multilingual schools.
Objectives (and/or specific learning outcomes)
This course sets out to familiarise students with the growing tension that characterises contemporary globalizing cities: these cities are becoming ever more multilingual, while their linguistic policies are usually strictly monolingual. The course will pay specific attention to the highly complex situation of Brussels and the tensions between multilingual reality and monolingual policy at school level. The course intends to improve students' understanding of contemporary multilingualism in Brussels and other Western-European cities. The course invites students to critically reflect on this situation, and to work out a personal case study.
Prerequisites and Corequisites
Required and Corequired knowledge and skills
A very good knowledge of Dutch (B2/C1).
Teaching methods and learning activities
Seminars. Students are required to take part actively in the discussion. Students are required to have read the discussion texts prior to attending the seminar. Students may be asked to synthesise the reading to the class group.
Contribution to the teaching profile
This course invites students to obtained an advanced understanding of the problematic relation between the reality of urban multilingualism and its monolingual (or, in the case of Brussels, bilingual) governing. At the end of the course students should normally be able to reflect critically on the linguistic processes that occur in this tension field and to produce a scientific paper on a theme that is related to the course.
References, bibliography, and recommended reading
See the literature in class, which will be available on l'UV.
Course notes
- Université virtuelle
Other information
Contacts
jurgen.jaspers@ulb.be
Campus
Solbosch
Evaluation
Method(s) of evaluation
- Personal work
Personal work
The evaluation of this course will be based on: (1) summaries of obligatory reading (20%); an oral (group) presentation on a theme related to the course (10%); a scientific paper (70%). Students having obtained a mark of less than 10/20 in the first exam session (January) will have to submit a revised paper in the second session (August). This paper may count for 100% of the mark if students have not successfully completed parts (1) and (2) mentioned above.
Mark calculation method (including weighting of intermediary marks)
Summaries: 20%
Oral (group) presentation: 10%Scientific paper: 70%
Language(s) of evaluation
- Dutch