Language, Power, and Identity

Catalog description

Language is a powerful mode through which identities and social norms are created, negotiated, and transformed. This course will examine how people use language to enact different cultural, social, or linguistic identities, and how language ideologies impact the understanding and reception of those enactments. We will also explore how people’s language beliefs and practices support or challenge dominant power structures and mainstream discourses. Readings will include critical theoretical perspectives on language and discourse, focusing on topics that include multilingualism, code-switching, language loss, microaggressions, and domestic and global language policies.