First-Year Seminar (105-6-22)
Topic
Language Diversity & Linguistic Justice
Instructors
Lisa M Del Torto
847/491-4967
555 Clark St., Room 204
Meeting Info
Parkes Hall 213: Mon, Wed 12:30PM - 1:50PM
Overview of class
Scholars of language and writing argue that language and its varieties, genres, modes, and rhetorical strategies are always shifting, flexible, and contested. Thus, sociolinguistic diversity—differences across and within languages and dialects—is inevitable. This seminar will explore how language difference is situated in current US and global discourses, considering language in written, spoken, and signed forms. We will disrupt monolingual ideologies that infiltrate those discourses, focusing on language diversity as an asset to individuals, cultures, and institutions. The course will consider college as one of those institutions and will explore language diversity and linguistic social justice as part of your first-year experience at Northwestern. Using scholarly readings from sociolinguistics and writing pedagogy along with popular non-fiction, the course will consider how we can sustain sociolinguistic diversity, how we can foster equity, access, and inclusion around language difference, and how our sociolinguistic diversity sustains us. You will formulate and explore your own questions about language diversity and linguistic justice in papers, presentations, and class discussions. Our seminar will operate as a community that celebrates our diverse language use and as a system of academic, practical, and emotional support as you begin your college experience. Students of all sociolinguistic backgrounds are welcome in this seminar, and our course design will provide direct benefits to students who identify as international, multilingual, and/or native speakers of non-mainstream Englishes.
Class Materials (Required)
Most of our course materials will be available via free download on Canvas. There is one book that students will purchase, rent, or access via course reserves: Graff, Gerald, and Cathy Birkenstein. They Say/I Say: The Moves that Matter in Academic Writing. New York: W.W. Norton & Company, Inc. ISBN: 978-0393631678 Students can get either the 3rd, 4th, or 5th edition of They Say/I Say. Used and new books are equally fine as are print and e-books. This book ranges in price from about $15-$30, and can be found at the Norris Bookstore, various online booksellers, and the Northwestern Libraries.
Class Attributes
WCAS First-Year Seminar
Enrollment Requirements
Enrollment Requirements: Reserved for First Year & Sophomore only
Add Consent: Department Consent Required
Drop Consent: Department Consent Required