This course will focus on the analysis of the discourse of online activism and will take into account different aspects of this discourse.
In the first place, the linguistic production will be analysed, including phenomena such as intensification, expression of responsibility, expression of affect and creating proximity. Second, the multimodality of these discourses will be addressed, among others through the analysis of memes, reels.
Further, attention will be paid to the specificities of the device used, and the interaction with discourses produced offline. While the main focus of this course is linguistic, the transdisciplinary analysis of these discourses will also be addressed.
Through a reading portfolio and discussions in class, a critical overview of existing theories and descriptions will be developed. This will be combined with a case study on Spanish data on which the students will work in smaller groups and for which they will have to make and justify their methodological choices.
Expected Learning Outcomes
Having completed this course, students will be able to:
- understand and apply methods and techniques for analysing online discourse produced online.
- understand how language works as a social practice
- problematise a research question, while taking the relationship between language production and context into account
- manage data, information and digital content
- work and communicate across disciplines
Additional Information
Date of online component : 3 sessions between 1 February and 12 March 2027
Date of in-situ component: 15-19 March 2027 - Louvain-la-Neuve campus
More info on the UCLouvain catalogue: https://uclouvain.be/en-cours-2026-lesp2517
5 ECTS
Attendance at all sessions is mandatory.
The estimated workload for this course is 150 hours.
Assessment takes the form of a presentation and active participation in discussions throughout the course.
Participants will receive a grade based on their performance.
This course will be taught in Spanish. You will require:
- Solid knowledge of Spanish linguistics and basic knowledge of pragmatics (in Spanish or other languages).
- Consolidated B2 level in Spanish.
Funding
The course is organized as a Blended Intensive Programme within Erasmus+, and hence you may apply for a grant at your home university. Please contact the mobility office at your university for more information:
- Aarhus University: aarhus@circle-u.eu
- University of Belgrade: Nikola Savic nikola.savic@rect.bg.ac.rs
- Humboldt Universität zu Berlin: berlin@circle-u.eu
- King’s College London: Students are not eligible for Erasmus+ funding, but may have access to internal funding. Please check for funding opportunities or contact the Circle U. Team for more information: circle-u@kcl.ac.uk
- UCLouvain: No grant is available, as the course is hosted by UCLouvain
- University of Oslo: erasmus-uio@admin.uio.no
- Université Paris Cité: circleu.iro@u-paris.fr and online at u-paris.fr
- University of Pisa: circleU.erasmus@unipi.it and online at unipi.it
- University of Vienna: circle-u@univie.ac.at
Contact
- UCLouvain: Dr. Barbara De Cock, professor in Spanish linguistics, barbara.decock@uclouvain.be
- UPCité: Dr. Carlota Piedehierro Sáez, associate professor of Spanish linguistics, carlota.piedehierro@pariscite.fr and Dr. Stéphane Patin, full professor in applied Spanish linguistics, stephane.patin@u-pariscite.fr
- Università di Pisa: Dr. Rosa M. García Jiménez, Ricercatrice universitaria, Lingua, traduzione e linguistica spagnola, rosa.garcia@unipi.it
- University of Belgrade: Dr. Anđelka Pejović, full professor of Spanish language, andjelka.pejovic@fil.bg.ac.rs
