The relationships between language and media have long been a socio-political concern. Plato was suspicious of the 'new' media of writing; at the end of the Middle Ages, the printing press meant Bibles written in the vernacular could weaken the power of the established church in Europe; today, fake news and online aggression are on the rise, potentially changing the outcomes of democratic elections. Innovations in media give rise to changes in both language practices and social, cultural, and political relations. This course looks at these issues from contemporary sociolinguistic and sociological perspectives, focusing on how linguistic resources are used to create and contest meanings.
