MEETING TIME AND LOCATION
Bren 1414, MW 9:30-10:45 a.m.
TEACHING ASSISTANT
Jennifer Garland
Office: 4431V South Hall
Office hours: WTh 11-12
SECTIONS
- F 9:00-9:50, HSSB 4202
- F 10:00-10:50, HSSB 1223
DESCRIPTION
Language is not simply a tool for communication but a potent symbol of its users' social identities. Beliefs about language are therefore also beliefs about groups. In this course we consider the ways in which sociopolitical struggles in the United States take place on the symbolic ground of language. We examine the circulation of language ideologies associated with social groups based on age, gender, class, region, race and ethnicity, and other factors. We also explore how such ideologies may be used to promote social inequality through the enforcement of prescriptive speech norms, attitudes toward regional and social speech varieties, perceptions of nonnative and bilingual speakers, and language policies and practices that seek to contain or even eliminate linguistic diversity.
This course fulfills the GE requirements for Writing and Area D and counts toward the Leadership Certificate Program. There are no prerequisites.