Language and Power

This course focuses on the relationship of language and power. Students will explore the various ways in which language is used to construct inequality and domination, but is also used to offer tools for resistance and change. The syllabus will be organized around selected linguistic issues of language and law in the United States, the post-colonial linguistic experience in Asia and Africa, the impact of global English, and, with the use of media examples, evolving attitudes to language and communication. This multi-disciplinary course integrates insights from cultural linguistics, applied critical linguistics, and linguistic anthropology.

034451