Back to selection
77507-01 - Research seminar: Language and Sensory Perception: A Cross-Linguistic Perspective (4 CP)
| Semester | fall semester 2025 |
| Course frequency | Once only |
| Lecturers | Catherine Ferris (catherine.diederich@unibas.ch, Assessor) |
| Content | This seminar explores research at the intersection of language, cognition, and sensory perception. The course introduces students to key theoretical and methodological approaches used to investigate how languages encode perceptual experience. We will examine how sensory domains—such as color, taste, smell, touch, and sound—are represented linguistically across typologically diverse languages. A central goal is to understand how language can be used as a window into human perception, and how different linguistic communities conceptualize and categorize the sensory world. We will engage with both universalist and relativist perspectives on linguistic encoding, drawing from classic studies (e.g., color perception research by Berlin & Kay) as well as more recent cross-linguistic and typological research. Throughout the seminar, we will emphasize research design and empirical methodology, including elicitation techniques, corpus-based analysis, and experimental approaches to studying language-perception interfaces. Students will critically evaluate existing studies and carry out a small research project. |
| Learning objectives | • Students will gain foundational knowledge of key theoretical perspectives—such as universalist and relativist approaches—on how language encodes sensory perception across different cultures and linguistic systems. • Students will explore how various sensory domains (e.g., color, taste, smell, touch, sound) are linguistically represented across a typologically diverse range of languages, and assess the implications for understanding human perception. • Students will develop skills in empirical research design, including elicitation techniques, corpus analysis, and experimental methods, to investigate the interface between language and sensory cognition. • Students will critically engage with existing literature in the field and design, execute, and present a small-scale research project that investigates a relevant question at the intersection of language, perception, and cognition. |
| Bibliography | All texts will be made available on ADAM. |
| Weblink | ADAM |
| Admission requirements | This course is open to students of the MA English and MSG Sprache und Kommunikation, as well as PhD students in linguistics. |
| Course application | Please register for this course on services unibas.ch. No other registration is necessary. |
| Language of instruction | English |
| Use of digital media | Online, mandatory |
| Interval | Weekday | Time | Room |
|---|---|---|---|
| wöchentlich | Tuesday | 10.15-12.00 | Nadelberg 6, Grosser Hörsaal |
Dates
| Date | Time | Room |
|---|---|---|
| Tuesday 16.09.2025 | 10.15-12.00 | Nadelberg 6, Grosser Hörsaal |
| Tuesday 23.09.2025 | 10.15-12.00 | Nadelberg 6, Grosser Hörsaal |
| Tuesday 30.09.2025 | 10.15-12.00 | Nadelberg 6, Grosser Hörsaal |
| Tuesday 07.10.2025 | 10.15-12.00 | Nadelberg 6, Grosser Hörsaal |
| Tuesday 14.10.2025 | 10.15-12.00 | Nadelberg 6, Grosser Hörsaal |
| Tuesday 21.10.2025 | 10.15-12.00 | Nadelberg 6, Grosser Hörsaal |
| Tuesday 28.10.2025 | 10.15-12.00 | Nadelberg 6, Grosser Hörsaal |
| Tuesday 04.11.2025 | 10.15-12.00 | Nadelberg 6, Grosser Hörsaal |
| Tuesday 11.11.2025 | 10.15-12.00 | Nadelberg 6, Grosser Hörsaal |
| Tuesday 18.11.2025 | 10.15-12.00 | Nadelberg 6, Grosser Hörsaal |
| Tuesday 25.11.2025 | 10.15-12.00 | Nadelberg 6, Grosser Hörsaal |
| Tuesday 02.12.2025 | 10.15-12.00 | Nadelberg 6, Grosser Hörsaal |
| Tuesday 09.12.2025 | 10.15-12.00 | Nadelberg 6, Grosser Hörsaal |
| Tuesday 16.12.2025 | 10.15-12.00 | Nadelberg 6, Grosser Hörsaal |
| Modules |
Modul: English Linguistics (Master's degree subject: English) Modul: Forschungspraxis und Vertiefung (Master's degree program: Language and Communication) Modul: Research in English Linguistics (Master's degree subject: English) Modul: Sprache als Prozess (Master's degree program: Language and Communication) |
| Assessment format | continuous assessment |
| Assessment details | Student evaluation will be based on regular attendance, active participation, and the completion and presentation of a small research study on a relevant course topic. |
| Assessment registration/deregistration | Reg.: course registration; dereg.: not required |
| Repeat examination | no repeat examination |
| Scale | Pass / Fail |
| Repeated registration | no repetition |
| Responsible faculty | Faculty of Humanities and Social Sciences, studadmin-philhist@unibas.ch |
| Offered by | Fachbereich Englische Sprach- und Literaturwissenschaft |