Sociolinguistic Theory and Analysis (420-0-20)
Instructors
Annette Kumsun D'onofrio
847/491-8052
2016 Sheridan Rd,, Room 106
Office Hours: By appt.
Meeting Info
Annenberg Hall G29: Tues, Thurs 11:00AM - 12:20PM
Overview of class
This course engages with a variety of theoretical frameworks and analytic methods in sociolinguistics. The course will emphasize classic and contemporary work in linguistic variation and change, examining how this variation can reflect social structures, construct diverse social identities, and allow us to make sense of our surrounding social landscapes. We will discuss how quantitative methods in linguistics can be coupled with insights from linguistic anthropology and sociology to engage questions about the social conditioning of linguistic variation, language change, stylistic practice, and the connection between smaller-scale interactions and macro-social patterns of variation. We will also will examine how ideologies about linguistic variation have been used to invalidate particular ways of speaking and disempower speakers of these varieties, exploring the ways that language can reflect, reinforce, or ultimately contest social inequalities.
Registration Requirements
Graduate standing or instructor consent required
Learning Objectives
Through successfully completing this course, you will understand fundamental theoretical approaches to the study of sociolinguistics, become familiar with a variety of an analytic methods in sociolinguistic variation, and be able to connect the study of variation with social theoretic perspectives on structure, practice, and ideology. You will also be able to understand and critique the ways in which linguistic variation, change, and our ideologies surrounding language relate to social structures of power and inequality.
Teaching Method
Lecture
Discussion
Evaluation Method
Student-led class discussions
Project, final: Final project paper
Readings: Reading responses
Class Materials (Required)
No required texts (all will be provided by instructor)