Language and Social Justice with British Sign Language MA

York St John University

Combine your passion for social justice with the study of language and learn British Sign Language (BSL) as part of your course.

Study how language can affect wealth, opportunities, disadvantage and privilege in society. Learn British Sign Language (BSL) and how to communicate with the Deaf community. Join a community renowned for its leading research in language. Become part of our thriving research community and study with peers that share your passion.

Course overview

You will study applied linguistics and explore its contribution to social justice. Examine the theories and approaches in language analysis and apply this knowledge to specific social justice contexts. As part of the course, you will study BSL from beginners level. You will learn to hold conversations with others on familiar topics. We will prepare you to engage with communities and contribute to their wellbeing.

Staff research areas include:

• Language, social justice and deaf communities
• Language, gender and sexuality-related inclusion in schools
• Language and in/equalities in higher education
• Language-based analysis of York’s and the North East region’s BME communities
• Inclusion and social justice issues relating to languages beyond English in schools
• Social evaluations of accent, dialect and multilingualism
• Inclusive and emancipatory (re)conceptualizations of English as an additional language

Career outcomes

Where could Language and Social Justice with British Sign Language take you?

This degree could lead you to a career related to Language, Social Justice, and BSL in a number of fields, such as working in local government, education, the charity sector or the police. Or it could take you in a completely different direction, using the many transferrable skills you will develop. This will give you an advantage in careers such as:

• A political party
• Local government
• Policy development
• The Civil Service (they offer a Fast Stream graduate scheme)
• Political and social research
• Charities
• Interpreting