Language, Culture and Society
Anthropology 189 Section 1 (4 units)
Briggs, C
Linguistic anthropology is a particularly engaging topic because it invites all of us to look closely at our everyday lives through the lens of linguistic diversity, seeing how the languages, styles, and specialized vocabularies we know shape our perceptions—and the ways that other people treat us. How we speak and write—and are spoken and written about—is of tremendous political importance precisely because of the commonsense view that language is only a mechanism for transporting information. By both scrutinizing this perspective and providing alternatives, this course will enable you to gain new sources on insight on issues of identity, power, and difference—not to mention why we enjoy making and engaging with cultural forms.
The readings include recent studies that look at the Language of the Hip Hop Nation, the celebration and stigmatization of bi/multilingualism, how Native Americans playfully construct white culture, and many ways that the politics of language enter into debates immigration and discrimination. We will also use films, videos, novels, and the news in examining how linguistic diversity structures and is structured by both the everyday and the extraordinary. Through discussion and both individual and group projects, students will document and discuss their own insertion in these processes.
Alim, H. Sammy. Roc the Mic Right: The Language of Hip Hop Culture. New York: Routledge.
Basso, Keith H. 1979. Portraits of the Whiteman: Linguistic Play and Cultural Symbols among the Western Apache. Cambridge: Cambridge Univ. Press.
Duranti, Alessandro. 1997. Linguistic Anthropology. New York: Cambridge University Press.
Hill, Jane H. 2008. The Language of White Racism. Blackwell.
Location: 215 Dwinelle
Times: MTWTh 2-4P