Language, Religion, and Ethnicity

Catalog description

What is language? Where is language? What are religion and ethnicity and how are they connected to language? The seminar offers a linguistic view of religion and ethnicity, investigating some snapshots of the sociolinguistic history, society, and culture of the United States and the Arab world. We will consider the great diversity of communicative systems we encounter both as a source of enrichment for individuals and for the nation as a whole. Students will be introduced to basic concepts of linguistics with an emphasis on descriptive linguistics and sociolinguistics, examining the relationship between language and religion, language and nationalism, language and power, language and ethnicity, language and gender, language and space (with emphasis on Linguistic Landscape), and language and education. In the course we will conduct several faculty-guided fieldworks and some Community-based Learning (CBL) Engagement that explore local dialects, language and heritage, Linguistic Landscape study of selected local neighborhoods; in-depth guided visit of religions in the UAE and their sociolinguistic significance; deep discussions and interactions with "Half Emiratis," and more. This course will be offered in January-Term 2026.