Online course in Relevance Theory and Pragmatics

The Department of Phonetics and Linguistics at University College London is pleased to announce a graduate online distance learning course in relevance theory and pragmatics, and to invite applications from prospective students for a course to run from November 2005 to May 2006.

The course draws on the expertise in pragmatics at UCL, with input from Professor Deirdre Wilson, co-author of 'Relevance: Communication and Cognition'. It will be provided via an interactive website, with course content and class discussions accessible online using an ordinary web-browser (e.g. Internet Explorer or Netscape Navigator – see below for details of computer requirements). The course is modular, with ten units, each covering an area of pragmatic theory. The syllabus includes Grice's contribution to modern pragmatics, the foundations of relevance theory, explicit and implicit communication, metaphor and irony. Assessment will be by coursework, and an essay towards the end of the course.

Feedback from students on the 2004 presentation of the course is available here.

Entry Requirements

Applicants should have at least an undergraduate degree and preferably some background in linguistics, philosophy or psychology, and a level of proficiency in English suitable for graduate study. They will need internet access for the duration of the course, but need not have access to a university library since most required reading will be made available online.

Application Process

Numbers on this course will be limited to around 10. Applications, on the application form available online, including a brief description of your educational background and reasons for undertaking the course, should be sent to Stefanie Anyadi (stefanieATling.ucl.ac.uk), Department of Phonetics and Linguistics, UCL, Gower Street, London WC1E 6BT, UK, by 2 October 2005. Preliminary questions or requests for information can also be addressed to her.The cost of the course is £500. A payment form and the regulations for cancellation and refunds are available online.

Upon successful completion of the course, we will provide a certificate of completion, an assessment of your work and a short report. If you are attending an academic institution which allows credit for external courses, you should be able to get official credit for the course by resubmitting your work.

Frequently asked questions

Computer requirements

Advised minimum specifications for a Windows system:

Processor: Pentium 166MHz
Memory (RAM): 16MB
Operating system: Windows 98 or later
Hard disk capacity: 2GB
Video card: VGA graphics with 2MB video RAM
Screen resolution: 640x480, 256 colors
Common items: 56kbps (V90) modem and access to the Internet
Application software: Word-processor capable of producing rich text files (.rtf) or another format readable by Word 97
Recent Web-browser, e.g. Internet Explorer 4.0 or later, Mozilla 1.0 or later.

Comparable Apple Macintosh or Linux systems will be fine as long as they have a recent web-browser and word-processing software capable of producing rich text files (.rtf)

Author: Stefanie Anyadi, 7 June 2005