(For students admitted in 2021-22 or before, this course will be counted as Introductory course from List A after completion. Please refer to your syllabus at https://english.hku.hk/Undergraduate/Curriculum/English_Studies.)

The concept of "community" has been key to the study of language in society since the inception of sociolinguistics in the 1960s. In the course of the past half a century, various notions of community have been proposed and applied to the study of linguistic data. These include "speech community", "discourse community", "community of practice", "imagined community", "virtual community" and most recently "transnational community". In this course, we will explore how these concepts have been applied and we will address salient similarities and differences between them. In doing so, we will discuss the various understandings of language, and the various understandings of the relationship between language and society which lie at the heart of these different types of community. Finally, we will question the validity of the concept of community today against the backdrop of globalisation, and the rising importance of migration and mobility. 

Classes will be conducted in person unless circumstances change. 
 

By the end of this course, students will be able to: 

1. Provide students with insight into various types of community which have been used in sociolinguistics, as well as in neighbouring disciplines. 

2. Critically reflect upon similarities and differences between different notions of community. 

3. Consider the implications of these similarities and differences for the study and analysis of language use in society. 

A variety of texts will be used in this course. Our primary source of knowledge will be academic texts, but we will also consider other multimodal materials, including excerpts of films, transcripts, and selected media. 

The textbook used for this course is: 

King, Brian W. (2019). Communities of Practice in Language Research: A Critical Introduction. Abingdon: Routledge. 

Class participation: 20% (CLOs 1, 2) 

Attendance will be taken every class, even if it will not count towards your grade. You should come to class with at least a brief understanding of the material, though this must be the bare minimum. The class will only be as productive as you make it to be, and you will benefit maximally from having robust discussions with me and your peers. This course consists of a two-hour interactive lecture. Attendance is required for all sessions and participation will be graded. 
 

Group project proposal: 10% (CLOs 1, 2, 3) 

You will draft an essay proposal (~1000 words) that will help you think through your research process as you prepare for the final project. We will start from the beginning – coming up with a thesis and central argument – all the way through the data you want to examine, your method of data collection, and the literature you intend to consult. This proposal will serve as a scaffolding of knowledge, and allow you to receive feedback before you begin preparing for your final project. 

 

Group project essay: 20% (CLOs 1, 2, 3) 

Based on your proposal, each group will choose a community of their choice to investigate. Large-scale ethnographic studies are unfortunately restricted. Through collecting original data from these communities and analysing their linguistic practices, you will write a group essay on their sociolinguistic behaviours. 

 

Group project presentation: 10% (CLOs 1, 2, 3) 

There will be one presentation per group, and should last about 15-20 minutes. Each group will comprise of at least three students, and will present on their research on a chosen community. We will form groups in the first week, and presentations will take place at the end of the course, depending on the number of groups. More details will be provided at the start of the course. 

 

Reflection essay: 40% (CLOs 2, 3) 

This is an individual assignment that asks you to critically reflect on the communities you are a part of. You will apply the theoretical frameworks from this course to your own lived experience of community. Drawing on the conceptual tools we have developed, you should critically reflect on how language operates in a community you belong to, have belonged to, or have observed closely. 

 

You should read the assigned readings before coming to class. All the readings will be uploaded on Moodle. 

 

Week	Topic	In-class reading
1	Foundations (i): Community and practice	King: Chapter 1
2	Foundations (ii):  Communities of practice	King: Chapter 2
3	Speech communities	Gumperz: Chapter 1
– Lunar New Year break–
4	Discourse communities	Swales: The concept of discourse community
5	Gendered communities	Gagné: Urban Princesses: Performance and “Women's Language” in Japan's Gothic/Lolita Subculture
6	Sexual communities	Jones: “Dolls or teddies?”: Constructing lesbian identity through community-specific practice
– Reading week –
8	Virtual communities	Boellstorff: Chapter 7
9	Imagined communities	Anderson: Imagined communities
10	d/Deaf communities	Senghas and Monaghan: Signs of Their Times: Deaf Communities and the Culture of Language
11	Sinophone communities	Wong, Su and Hiramoto: Complicating raciolinguistics: Language, Chineseness, and the Sinophone
12	Hong Kong as community	Evans: The evolution of the English-language speech community in Hong Kong
13	Presentations (i)	None
14	Presentations (ii)	None

 

Beyond what is already stated, if you need to miss class for any reason, please inform me as soon as you can. I would prefer to operate on the basis of trust—if you have used up both of your unexcused absences, you should try to supply some form of documentation that constitutes an excusable absence, and I will accept it. Of course, if you choose to doctor, edit, or alter your documentation with dishonest intentions, that would be on you. 

There will be no make-up lectures. 

I only hold office hours by appointment. Please email me about having a chat at least one week in advance, so I can plan ahead. You'll have the option of doing this over Zoom or in my office. Each session should take no longer than 30-45 minutes; this is in the interest of other students who would also like to meet with me. 

I reply to my emails quite quickly, usually within 24 hours. You should feel free to reach out to me about the course, but I also welcome unstructured conversations about my research areas or academia in general. If you encounter any difficulties during the semester, please reach out as soon as you can, so we can work together to help you. 

As above, this class will discuss a range of topics in sociolinguistics and community. I realise that some concepts can be challenging or contentious, and I will not pretend that this field can be taught outside of politics. You should expect differing opinions and viewpoints during discussions, and these are all welcome. What I will not excuse is discriminatory, abusive, and intolerant behaviour: this is regardless of your politics. I must impress upon all students the need to be civil and respectful. 

There is no tolerance for academic dishonesty of any kind. 

Academic dishonesty is defined broadly, and can include anything from improper citation (and claiming credit for yourself) to passing off someone else's work as your own (including resubmission of your past work). If you have even the slightest doubt as to whether a certain practice is dishonest, come to me and we can have a chat. 

Any use of generative AI tools to wholly complete an assignment is not allowed. You are permitted to use these tools to brainstorm ideas or conduct editing or proofreading, but this must be acknowledged in the assignment. AI usage and plagiarism is monitored for all submissions on Moodle.