ATS2944 Language, culture and power
Faculty of Arts
ATS2944 Language, culture and power is a level 2, 6-credit-point, undergraduate unit from the Faculty of Arts, offered in 2026 in Semester 1 at Clayton. It has no prerequisites.
- Credit points
- 6
- Offered in 2026
- Semester 1
- Clayton
- Assessment
- No exam
- 4 tasks
- Workload
- 144 hours
- per semester
This is the 2026 handbook entry. See the 2027 entry.
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Requisites
Before ATS2944
No prerequisites or corequisites besides the enrolment rules below.
After ATS2944
No unit lists ATS2944 as a prerequisite in the 2026 handbook.
Enrolment rules
Prohibition: ATS3329
Pre-requisite: 12 credit points of Level 1 Arts units
Overview
This unit explores the relationship between language and culture, and how this relationship impacts one’s place and social mobility in society. You will learn how one’s language and language use may be linked to social, regional and ethnic factors, among others, and then unpack tensions between these factors. You will discover how attitudes, ideologies and values influence the use and interpretation of language and culture and how language can be linked to concepts like the perceived attributes of speakers and groups. This enables you to challenge assumptions behind concepts like standard language and appropriate language and to recognise how the answer of who gets to say what how is often determined by power. You will then demonstrate the practical implications of language, culture and power for communication in the workplace and the wider community.
Offerings in 2026
| Teaching period | Campus | Mode |
|---|---|---|
| First semester | Clayton | On campus |
Assessment
- Exercise/sExercise20%
- Research project - AProject20%
- Research project - BProject35%
- Incident reportWritten25%
Assessment details may change. Please refer to the assessment information in Moodle closer to the start of the teaching period.
Learning outcomes
When you finish this unit, you should be able to:
- 1
identify and discuss how linguistic features intersect with power and a person’s place in society;
- 2
analyse the impact that ideologies and world-view have on inter- and intra-speaker variation;
- 3
conduct and evaluate a research project to investigate language, culture and power;
- 4
apply knowledge by analysing and interpreting workplace (mis)communication, supported by a selective range of scholarly sources.
Workload and teaching
- Lectures12 hours
- Tutorials24 hours
- Teaching approachActive learning
Minimum total expected workload to achieve the learning outcomes for this unit is 144 hours per semester typically comprising a mixture of scheduled learning activities and independent study. Scheduled activities may include a combination of teacher directed learning, peer directed learning and online engagement.
This unit engages you in actively applying your knowledge, skills and attributes in interactive, collaborative and reflective activities.
Where it fits
ATS2944 is part of 2 areas of study in the 2026 handbook.
Contacts
- Unit Coordinators
- Dr Howard Manns
- Chief Examiners
- Dr Howard Manns
Common questions
What are the prerequisites for ATS2944?
ATS2944 has no prerequisites, but enrolment rules apply.
When is ATS2944 offered?
In 2026, ATS2944 runs in Semester 1 at Clayton.
How much work is ATS2944?
The handbook expects about 144 hours of study across the semester. No students have rated its difficulty yet.
Does ATS2944 have an exam?
No. ATS2944 has 4 assessment tasks and no exam.
Which majors and minors include ATS2944?
ATS2944 is part of Linguistics and English Language.