REQUIREMENTS
NOTE: I can only accept hard copies of all written assignments.
REQUIRED TEXTS
Holmes, Janet (2008). Introduction to Sociolinguistics. 3rd ed. Harlow: Longman.
A set of course readings available online at ERes (Electronic Reserve; the link is also available on the menu bar above). See the course syllabus distributed in class for the ERes password, or email me. See below for the complete list of readings; see the syllabus for the date each is assigned.
If you have difficulty downloading the PDFs or if you prefer to have a bound reader, all readings are also available at the Alternative Copy Shop, 6556 Pardall Road for on-demand photocopying.
COURSE WEBSITE
Passwords are required for two kinds of online materials for the course: (1) the assigned readings, accessible through ERes, and (2) lecture notes, class assignments, and other copyrighted materials on this website. Note that the ERes website is separate from the course website and requires a different password. Website passwords and usernames are provided on the hard copy of the course requirements sheet distributed in class.
If you misplaced the sheet or didn't receive it, you can also request either password by emailing me. Your name must appear on the class list in order for you to receive this information. If it doesn't, you will need to make your request in person.
This website provides the most up-to-date information about the course. Lecture notes will be available on the website after each lecture.
If you miss class or lose an assignment or handout, you can download it from the course website.
RESOURCES FOR SOCIOCULTURAL LINGUISTICS
In addition to the course website, you may find the website Resources for Sociocultural Linguistics useful for developing skills in reading, research, and writing for sociocultural linguistics
(the link is also available on the menu bar above). The links for undergraduate students provide
tips on a range of academic skills that will be relevant to this course and beyond. Please let me know if there are other topics that you'd like to see addressed on the site.
PARTICIPATION
An important part of your education is the development of your ability to explore ideas with others. Because there is no discussion section in this course, we will spend a lot of time in lecture discussing readings, data, and other issues. You should come to every class with the reading and any other assignments completed and with something interesting to say about them. There will be a variety of ways for you to participate throughout the quarter.
In order to get full credit for participation, you must attend every class, come on time, not leave early, and participate in class activities. However, if you're unavoidably detained, it's much better to come late than not at all. If you must miss a class, arrive late, or leave early, please let me know in advance.
READING RESPONSES
Each week you will hand in short written responses to the assigned readings, based on a reading guide distributed the previous week. The reading responses are intended to help you focus on the key ideas in the readings, to connect the readings to other ideas in the course, to give you a starting point for contributing to class discussion, and to help prepare you for the final essay. These will not be given letter grades, but to get full credit you must be present in class during the discussion of the reading and hand in your reading response when they are collected.
FIELD ASSIGNMENTS
You will complete two research assignments during the quarter, which will allow you to connect up ideas in the course with your own data collection and analysis. Assignments should be 3-5 double-spaced pages in length. Detailed guidelines will be distributed separately.
FINAL EXAM
There will be a comprehensive final exam at the end of the quarter covering the readings and lectures (see syllabus for date and time). The exam will contain identifications, short answers, data analysis, and mini-essays, and there will be some choice among questions. A study guide will be distributed on the last day of class.
OFFICE HOURS
To ensure that you'll be able to see me during my office hours, sign up for an appointment in advance on the sheet on my office door. I strongly encourage you to sign up for a five-minute informal meeting with me in the first few weeks of the quarter. The meeting will be a chance for us to get to know each other and for you to ask any questions you might have about the course, about the major/minor, or about what you can do with a linguistics degree
(be sure to also talk to the TA about this--he's the Linguistics Department's undergraduate liaison). You're also welcome to sign up for office hours any time throughout the quarter.
EXTRA CREDIT
You can complete up to three extra credit assignments (e.g., to make up for a late or missing reading response, to raise a grade on a field assignment) by reading additional research articles and summarizing them in the same way as the reading responses.
Other extra credit opportunities may also be available. Detailed guidelines will be distributed separately.
HONORS STUDENTS AND GRADUATE STUDENTS
Graduate students and interested honors students should meet with me after the first class to set up a time for our separate discussion section. Honors students need to see the undergraduate assistant in the Linguistics Department office for the honors contract form and bring it to me to sign. Honors students and graduate students will either write a paper of 8-10 double-spaced pages, involving in-depth data collection, presentation, and analysis or a literature review of 8-10 double-spaced pages on a research area of interest to you. You may build on one of your field assignments or pursue some other issue in the course that particularly interests you. Start looking early for possible topics, based on your own sociolinguistic background, abilities, and interests; I can also advise you. Detailed guidelines and deadlines will be distributed separately.
SPECIAL ACCOMMODATIONS
If you have a disability and need special accommodation for any aspect of this course, please let me know or contact the Disabled Students Program (SAASB 1201).
REQUIRED READINGS
Barrett, Rusty (2006). Language ideology and racial inequality: Competing functions of Spanish in an Anglo-owned Mexican restaurant. Language in Society 35(2):163-204.
Chen, Katherine Hoi Ying (2008). Positioning and repositioning: Linguistic practices and identity negotiation of overseas returning bilinguals in Hong Kong. Multilingua 27(1-2):57-75.
Garrett, Paul B. (2000). "High" Kwéyòl: The emergence of a formal creole register in St. Lucia. In John McWhorter, ed., Language change and language contact in pidgins and creoles. Amsterdam: John Benjamins. 63-101.
Kiesling, Scott Fabius (1998). Men's identities and sociolinguistic variation: The case of fraternity men. Journal of Sociolinguistics 2(1):69-99.
Podesva, Robert J. (2007). Phonation type as a stylistic variable: The use of falsetto in constructing a persona. Journal of Sociolinguistics 11(4):478-504.
Rampton, Ben (2006). Language and ethnicity at school: Some implications from theoretical developments in sociolinguistics. Langage et société (116):51-71.
Rindstedt, Camilla, & Karin Aronsson (2002). Growing up monolingual in a bilingual community: The Quichua revitalization paradox. Language in Society 31(5):721-742.
Tagliamonte, Sali, & Chris Roberts (2005). So weird; so cool; so innovative: The use of intensifiers in the television series Friends . American Speech 80(3):280-300.
Trudgill, Peter (1983). Acts of conflicting identity: The sociolinguistics of British pop-song pronunciation. In On dialect: Social and geographical perspectives. Oxford: Blackwell. 141-160.