Corpus Linguistics and Social Media Corpora is a Blended Intensive Learning (BIP) course designed to immerse students in the dynamic field of corpus linguistics and the analysis of language use on social media platforms. The course begins with a five-day in-person session in Łódź, Poland, where participants will be introduced to the foundational concepts and methodologies of corpus linguistics as they apply to social media. During this time, students will explore existing datasets, examine related research topics, become proficient with the tools and techniques necessary for creating and analyzing social media corpora, and come up with a group project for further development.

Following the initial in-person component, the course will continue in an online format (October-December 2025), where students will collaborate in international teams on their group research projects. These projects, which can cover topics such as language variation across social media platforms, hate speech analysis, or the use of emojis, will culminate in virtual presentations at the end of the course. 

The primary objectives of the course are to empower students to develop linguistic questions related to social media data and to equip them with the skills to collect, preprocess, and analyze this data effectively. Participants will gain a comprehensive understanding of navigating social media data and its associated research methodologies. Additionally, the course fosters independent and collaborative research skills, enabling students to explore language research topics both within their groups and individually. 

In-person component: University of Łódź, Poland, 6-10 October 2025

Virtual component: Online, October-December 2025

Participants: Approximately 30 students will participate in the course (10 from Oulu, 10 from Bochum, and 10 from Lodz). 

Prerequisites: The application is open for students with a major or minor in the subject English who have completed the Basic Studies package. Students will be selected on the basis of study attainments/grades and a motivation statement (see application form below). If places are still available at the time of the application deadline, the application will be opened up to students from the Faculty of Humanities.

Language: The language of the course will be English.

Credits: Upon successful completion of the course (participation in virtual and in-person components, presentation of a group project, submission of assignments), students will be granted 5 ECTS credits, which will be credited according to the University of Oulu's recognition of learning procedures. 

Funding: Participating students are eligible for funding from the University of Oulu's International Office to cover travel and expenses in the amount of €79 per day (5 course days plus two travel days = €553), in addition to a fixed-sum travel grant of €309 = €862 in total. For travel by train or by bus (e.g. FlixBus) a special green travel grant (€417) can be granted. Also, students who are guardians of underage children, or who need special arrangements due to illness or disability can apply for a top-up. The funding is provided in the context of the Erasmus+ program. Accepted applicants will need to submit the required information to the University of Oulu's International Office in a timely manner.

Travel and accommodation: Travel is to be arranged indivudally. Accommodation will be made available at reasonable rates at the University's conference center. 

Application: Please submit the completed application form (see below) by 15 April 2025, 23:59 EEDT.

Ruhr University Bochum, Germany

Tatjana Scheffler & Hannah Seemann

Digital Forensic Linguistics, Department for German Language and Literature

https://staff.germanistik.rub.de/digitale-forensische-linguistik/

University of Łódź, Poland

Marek Molenda

Department of Translation Studies and Language Pedagogy

https://www.filolog.uni.lodz.pl/en/hidden-10004/employees/results/profile/marek-molenda 

University of Oulu, Finland

Steven Coats

English, Faculty of Humanities

https://cc.oulu.fi/~scoats