Language and Society (220-0-20)
Instructors
Annette D'Onofrio
847/491-8052
2016 Sheridan Rd,, Room 301
Office Hours: By appt.
Meeting Info
University Hall 122: Tues, Thurs 12:30PM - 1:50PM
Overview of class
This course will focus on the study of linguistic variation and change from a variety of perspectives on the social. We'll examine how linguistic variation corresponds to large-scale social categories like age, gender, race/ethnicity, and socioeconomic class, as well as how individual speakers use language to construct identities, portray stances, and achieve interactional goals. We'll explore how language is a social practice that is situated in history, and how language can reflect, reinforce, create, and contest societal power structures. Students will participate in hands-on quantitative research in sociolinguistic variation to examine directly how the social and linguistic are intertwined.
Learning Objectives
Through successfully completing this course, you will know the difference between descriptive and prescriptive views on language, understand the ways that language can vary, and the social factors that can condition this variation, learn to conduct and present quantitative linguistic variation analysis, and understand the broader implications of sociolinguistic variation and linguistic discrimination.
Teaching Method
Lecture and Discussion
Evaluation Method
Quizzes, discussion posts, project papers.
Class Materials (Required)
No required texts (all will be provided by instructor)
Class Attributes
Social and Behavioral Science Foundational Discipl
U.S. Perspectives on Power, Justice, and Equity
Social & Behavioral Sciences Distro Area