General Course Information
1.1 Course details
| Course code: | LLAW3249 |
| Course name: | Language Rights and Linguistic Justice |
| Programme offered under: | LLB Programme |
| Semester: | First |
| Designated research course: | Not applicable |
| Specialization: | Not applicable |
| Prerequisites / Co-requisites: | No |
| Course offered to non-law students: | No |
| Credit point value: | 6 credits |
| Cap on student numbers: | TBA |
1.2 Course description
The first part of the course offers a broad introduction to theories of language, linguistic diversity, rights and justice. We trace the evolution of language rights and explore the historical connections of such evolution with nation states, warfare, and globalization. The second part of the course focuses on a number of illustrative cases. It surveys some of the ways in which concepts of language and rights have been envisioned, formulated and used across a range of contexts, including (but not limited to) education, politics and academic linguistics. The third part of the course focuses on the philosophical and moral basis of language politics, addresses sources of contention, and queries the concept of ‘linguistic justice’. Together with student presentations, these discussions provide a lens through which tensions between language, linguistic theory and politics may be probed.
1.3 Course teachers
| Name | E-mail address | Office | Consultation | |
| Course convenor | David Karlander | TBA | TBA | By email |
Learning Outcomes
2.1 Course Learning Outcomes (CLOs) for this course
CLO 1 Describe what language rights are and explain controversies surrounding the issue.
CLO 2 Critically examine the promise and limitations of language rights.
CLO 3 Demonstrate an awareness of the interconnections between linguistic theory and politics.
CLO 4 Demonstrate knowledge of current research on the uptake of language rights, linguistic justice and related concepts in language policy frameworks.
CLO 5 Engage with the philosophical debate about language rights and linguistic justice.
2.2 LLB Programme Learning Outcomes (PLOs)
Please refer to the following link: https://course.law.hku.hk/llb-plo/
2.3 Programme Learning Outcomes to be achieved in this course
| PLO A | PLO B | PLO C | PLO D | PLO E | PLO F | |
| CLO 1 | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ |
| CLO 2 | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ |
| CLO 3 | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ |
| CLO 4 | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ |
| CLO 5 | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ |
Assessment(s)
3.1 Assessment Summary
| Assessment task | Due date | Weighting | Feedback method* | Course learning outcomes |
| Mid-term report | TBA | 35% | 1, 2, 3, 4, 5 | |
| Research project/essay | TBA | 65% | 1, 2, 3, 4, 5 |
| *Feedback method (to be determined by course teacher) | |
| 1 | A general course report to be disseminated through Moodle |
| 2 | Individual feedback to be disseminated by email / through Moodle |
| 3 | Individual review meeting upon appointment |
| 4 | Group review meeting |
| 5 | In-class verbal feedback |
3.2 Assessment Detail
To be advised by course convenor(s).
3.3 Grading Criteria
Please refer to the following link: https://www.law.hku.hk/_files/law_programme_grade_descriptors.pdf
Learning Activities
4.1 Learning Activity Plan
| Seminar: | 3 hours / week for 12 teaching weeks |
| Private study time: | 9.5 hours / week for 12 teaching weeks |
Remarks: the normative student study load per credit unIt is 25 ± 5 hours (ie. 150 ± 30 hours for a 6-credit course), which includes all learning activities and experiences within and outside of classroom, and any assessment task and examinations and associated preparations.
4.2 Details of Learning Activities
To be advised by the convenor(s).
Learning Resources
5.1 Resources
| Reading materials: | Reading materials are posted on Moodle |
| Core reading list: | TBA |
| Recommended reading list: | TBA |
5.2 Links
Please refer to the following link: http://www.law.hku.hk/course/learning-resources/