ANTHRO 50-07/280: Topics in Linguistic Anthropology:

Language Ideology, Gender, and Race

also crosslisted as: WGS 50-11

Instructor: Prof. Karen Nakamura
Last taught: Fall 2001
Next offered: Spring 2003

Tuesday / Thursdays 1:00 - 2:30 pm
Carnegie 204

Course Description

In this course, we will examine how interactions of language and culture construct our ethnic, racial, class, and gender identities. We will first explore what has been called the "spoken soul" of Black identity, Black English, delving into issues such as the Ebonics controversy. Then we change gear and look at language, gender and power and focus on inequalities in the court system. One author has described us as living in a "Prisonhouse of Language," but can we find means of escape?

This course is now full. If you cannot pre-enroll and would still like to take the class, please show up on the first day of class armed with a good reason why you should be in it.

Prerequisites and Requirements

As with all Anthropology courses, Anthro 11 is required. However, Linguistics, African-American Studies, and WGS majors may petition the instructor for permission to enroll based on equivalent coursework. You must attend the first class in order to retain your slot on the course roster.

You will be required to keep a running field journal and write weekly reports relating their observations with the theories we are encountering in class. At the end of the course, you will be required to write a 15-20 page research paper based on a topic approved by the instructor. This may either be a field research based paper or library research.

This course is cross-listed with Women's and Gender Studies (WGS 50-11) and is currently being petitioned to be cross-listed in Linguistics.Linguistics majors, please consult with your department.

Textbooks and Course Readings

The required textbooks are available at the Ruminator Bookstore. Course readings in the forms of articles will be distributed in class and available on the library e-reserve system.

• Conley, John M. and William M. O'Barr (1998). Just words: law, language, and power. Chicago: University of Chicago Press. $13.
• Duranti, Alessandro (2001). Key terms in language and culture. Malden, Mass.: Blackwell Publishers. $31.95
• Hall, Kira and Mary Bucholtz, ed. (1995) Gender articulated: language and the socially constructed self. New York: Routledge. $29.95
• Smitherman, Geneva (2000). Talkin that talk: language, culture, and education in African America. London ; New York: Routledge. $26.95

Optional

• Bonvillain, Nancy (2000). Language, culture, and communication: the meaning of messages. Upper Saddle River, NJ: Prentice Hall.
• Lakoff, Robin Tolmach (2000). The language war. Berkeley: University of California Press. $12
  
  

Assignments and Grading

Library and Other Resources

• Books: Course Reserve List (CLICnet)
• Articles: Article e-Reserves System
• Journal of Linguistic Anthropology - Macalester does not subscribe, use ILL
• How to cite references:
  • Anthropology Style Guide
  • Citing Electronic Resources
• Language and Culture Symposia
  -- many fascinating papers here, all from top scholars in the field
  -- [SLIDES] from Jane Hill's 1995 paper on Mock Spanish: A Site For The Indexical Reproduction Of Racism In American English