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Description

This unit examines the nature of communicative expertise in different professions as this is revealed by empirical research using the tools of conversation analysis, textual analysis, and discourse analysis. We problematise the actual nature of "expertise" (with students contributing their own insights based on their workplace experience); we then explore the relationship of practical expertise in a given profession or discipline with communicative expertise. The concept of a discourse is used to explain different approaches to communication in terms of their underlying values and goals. Research into the discourses of management, human relations, and organisational change is juxtaposed with research findings from discourses of healthcare, law, and other newer professions.

The approach taken in this unit is multidisciplinary, drawing on useful research from within the fields of social theory, sociology, social psychology, and psychology as well as linguistics. We look not only at communication but also at lack of communication, poor communication and miscommunication, investigating the overt or covert purposes of social actors, and focusing on communication in situations of conflict and social or organisational change. It also explores discursive aspects of creativity and innovation, especially within organisations.

LING956 is practical unit that involves students to carry out their own research in their own organisations. Assessment is based on the application of concepts and insights from the course to the students' own workplace situations. Students describe and analyse different modes of workplace communication, conduct an interview, analyse the results, and draw up guidelines for role-specific training in communicative expertise within a specific organisation.

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