Special Topics in Communication Sciences and Disorders (369-0-1)
Topic
Black American English
Instructors
Tracy Michelle Conner
Meeting Info
Frances Searle Building 2370: Wed 6:00PM - 9:00PM
Overview of class
Current scientific and professional problems in communication sciences and disorders. Topics vary by quarter.
Registration Requirements
Graduate or Undergraduate student at Northwestern.
Learning Objectives
To rejoice in the beauty of a linguistic tradition that has deeply influenced American culture by learning its origins, complex linguistic structure, cultural import and history of research and public scrutiny. Our beliefs about a language are strongly influenced by our beliefs about the people who speak it. We will take a critical eye to our linguistic ideologies about African American English, and use research and experts from the academy to the hair salon, journalism to TikTok, to widen our view of one of America's founding languages.
Evaluation Method
A mixture of assignments, quizzes, a midterm and creative final project.
Class Materials (Required)
Linguistics in Pursuit of Justice (Baugh 2020)
ISBN: 9781316607312
eBook ISBN: 9781316597750
Spoken Soul: The Story of Black English (Rickford and Rickford 2000)
ISBN: 9780471323563
eBook ISBN: 9780470247846
African American English (Green 2002)
ISBN: 9780521814492
eBook ISBN: 9780511800306
Class allows prior editions of textbook
Students are encouraged to consult alternate vendors (Amazon, book rentals, etc.)
Class Materials (Suggested)
Black and White Styles in Conflict (Kochman)
eBook ISBN: 9780226112251
ISBN: 9780226449548
Class Notes
This course will examine the socio/linguistic aspects of English as spoken by Black Americans in the United States. We will study the relationship of African American English to linguistic theory, education policy, justice and U.S. culture. The course has an emphasis on mitigating discrimination and improving the educational and social experiences of African-Americans at Northwestern and beyond.
Some topic areas include:
(1) Present-Day Patterns of African American Vernacular English (AAE, aka Ebonics), its vocabulary (lexicon), pronunciation (phonetics and phonology) and grammar (morphology and syntax), as exemplified primarily in the informal vernacular speech of African Americans.
(2) The Living Art: How AAE is expressively employed by writers, comedians, actors, singers, toasters and rappers, and is deployed in African American speech events or routines.
(3) Education and other applied issues connected with the use of AAE: attitudes towards this variety and their effects on teachers' expectations and students' progress; linguistic profiling and discrimination in employment, housing, and Disney cartoons; the extent to which AAE affects the learning of Standard English and the acquisition of reading skills. We'll consider controversies about whether AAE should be "wiped out" or used as a basis for the teaching of initial literacy skills and Standard English mastery in the classroom, e.g., in the Ann Arbor "King" case of 1977-79, and the Oakland Ebonics resolutions of 1996, including the response of the media, public, humorists, legislators, and linguists.
(4) Law and Criminal Justice, examining the extent to which the English vernacular used by African Americans and their bretheren and sisteren in Africa or the Diaspora, affects the way they are "heard" and judged as suspects, defendants or witnesses. We have some good evidence of the way in which dialect unfamiliarity and prejudice had a negative impact on the reception of the testimony of Rachel Jeantel, close friend of Trayvon Martin, in the trial of George Zimmerman.