Medical discourses MA/MSc module 2011-12
General information
This module offers an introduction to the role of discourse in health, illness and medical practice. Discourse analysis explores social life through the analysis of language in its widest sense (including verbal interaction, non-verbal, images, symbols, documents). In this module, we will study genres of language including case reports, scientific papers, drug advertisements and media health stories, as well as interaction in consultations and research interviews. There will be a particular focus on introducing students to relevant methods in the study of medical discourses.
We will focus on themes such as how discourses about scientific evidence or patient-centeredness regulate medicine and how illness is negotiated, represented and socially constructed. Students will cover a range of different methodological perspectives including conversation analysis, sociolinguistics, discursive psychology, text analysis and Foucauldian approaches. Practical workshops will address data collection and analysis, and assessment will be by a 6000 word essay.
A full module outline can be downloaded from the bottom of this page.
Pre-requisites
Students are welcome from clinical disciplines as well as social science including humanities, education, psychology, sociology, linguistics, anthropology and others. The module assumes knowledge of qualitative methodological approaches in research.
Assessment and accreditation
This module counts as 30 credits towards an MSc/MA qualification, or the module can be taken as a stand-alone course. The cost is £710 for Home/EU and £1865 for Overseas students. It is possible to do the course without the assignment, but the cost is the same. There are reciprocal arrangements with other institutions within the University of London. Please ask for a form.
Timetable and contacts
Teaching will be on Wednesdays once a fortnight from 3pm to 7.30pm at King’s College, Waterloo, from January to March 2012.
The course tutors are Professors Celia Roberts and Brian Hurwitz, and Drs Julia Bailey and Gabriella Rundblad.
Please contact
ldc@kcl.ac.uk at King’s College London to register, or
Julia.bailey@ucl.ac.uk for questions about the course.
Quotations from 2010 students:
“It’s the best course I’ve been on!.... as well as finding the course extremely useful I really enjoyed it”
“This course stands head and shoulders above anything else I have taken… it is well put together and superbly taught.”
“ I particularly welcomed the possibility of analysing some data in each session”
“ I valued the interactive nature of the sessions- I really appreciated being able to say things and explore ideas in a supportive environment”
“whilst the different lecturers have different styles of teaching this was excellent throughout”
Medical Discourses Module Outline 2011/12