Studying at York
Talk at Work - SOC00029M
- Department: Sociology
- Credit value: 20 credits
- Credit level: M
- Academic year of delivery: 2024-25
Module summary
What is the significance of talk at work? It is both talk that occurs in the workplace and how talk is put to work to achieve (or, sometimes, to hinder) an institution’s goals. The module aims to equip you with the conceptual and analytic tools to understand naturally occurring, recorded work-place interaction.
Module will run
| Occurrence | Teaching period |
|---|---|
| A | Semester 2 2024-25 |
Module aims
What is the significance of talk at work? It is both talk that occurs in the workplace and how talk is put to work to achieve (or, sometimes, to hinder) an institution’s goals. The module aims to equip you with the conceptual and analytic tools to understand naturally occurring, recorded work-place interaction. You will use the approach known as conversation analysis (CA) as a lens for understanding how such interaction functions in practice. This is an applied module, so the focus is less on learning on how to do CA and more on how to apply CA findings to try to improve communication in the workplace. There are no prerequisites for this module although it is likely to be of particular interest to those who took the second year Social Interaction and Conversation Analysis module.
Module learning outcomes
Critically evaluate the role played by social interaction in the workplace
Make a well-justified and critical case for the value of studying real, recorded workplace interactions, demonstrating a comprehensive understanding of current research.
Apply methodological tools of conversation analysis (CA) appropriately to help make sense of recordings of what works well in real-world workplace interactions
Assess the usefulness of complex research findings for building interventions aimed at making a positive change in workplace interaction
Design a well-justified, evidence-based training workshop with the aim of improving communication in the workplace
Demonstrate ability to undertake critical analysis and to convey complex ideas confidently in written and verbal formats.
Indicative assessment
| Task | % of module mark |
|---|---|
| Essay/coursework | 100 |
Special assessment rules
None
Indicative reassessment
| Task | % of module mark |
|---|---|
| Essay/coursework | 100 |
Module feedback
For formative work - preliminary plan for the training workshop - students will receive written or verbal feedback on how to improve their skills in areas that will contribute towards their summative assessment. The formative assessment provides a basis for the work to be done for the summative task and is in line with the LOs, particularly 3-6.
For summative work - designing a communication skills training workshop - students will receive an overall mark and grading according to clearly defined criteria for assessing their knowledge, skills and abilities in line with LO 1-6. They will also receive written feedback showing areas in which they have done well and those areas in which they need to improve that will contribute to their progress.
Indicative reading
Drew, P. (2005) Conversation analysis. In K. L. Fitch and R. E. Sanders (eds) Handbook of Language and Social Interaction. Mawah, NJ, Lawrence Erlbaum: pp. 71-102.