COMM 2400 Discourse, Culture & Identities
Instructor: Jessica M. F. Hughes (née Jessica M. Fridy), MA
GPTI, PhD student, Dept. of Communication
Office: Hellems 10 (West basement of Hellems)
Email: jessica.fridy@colorado.edu
Office hours: Mondays, 12-2 and by appointment (in
person or via Skype or Google+ hangout)
Catalogue Description: Examines how aspects of talk (e.g., turn-taking, speech acts, narratives, dialect, and stance
indicators) link with identities (e.g., ethnic and racial, age, gender, work-related, and personal). Considers how
communication is central to constructing who people are and examines social controversies related to talk and
identities. Approved for arts and sciences core curriculum: human diversity.
Detailed Description: In this course we will study how through our communication, sometimes consciously, often
unconsciously, we display who we are. Personality traits, where we come from, our gender, preferences, and
relationships – all of these qualities and more are evident in our everyday talk. We will work to make explicit the ways in
which these aspects of identity are communicated. We will also explore how we talk to people (and people talk to us)
on the basis of what is believed to be true for a person of a particular category.
Course Goals:
This class has three main purposes:
 To develop your skills in analyzing communication—to increase your ability to notice, name, and explain what goes
on as people talk to and about each other.
 To foster a deeper understanding of how communication can go awry and why, more often than we would like,
communicative exchanges can involve tension or conflict in order to develop skills to engage in reflective and
accountable dialogue through difference.
 To encourage you to develop informed and thoughtful positions about controversial issues that involve how
language, talk, or interactive practices do or should link to different categories of people.
Materials
Units 1-2 (Weeks 1-9)
Tracy, K. (2002). Everyday talk: Building and reflecting identities. New York: Guilford Press.
Unit 3 (Weeks 10-16)
Readings available on D2L:

Baggs, A. (2010). Cultural commentary: Up in the clouds and down in the valley: My richness and yours.
Disability Studies Quarterly, 30(1).

Bartesaghi, M. (2009). Conversation and psychotherapy: How questioning reveals institutional answers.
Discourse Studies, 11(2), 153-177.

Bailey, B. (2000). Communicative behavior and conflict between African-American customers and Korean
immigrant retailers in Los Angeles. Discourse & Society, 11, 86-108.

Billig, M. (2001). Humour and hatred: the racist jokes of the Ku Klux Klan. Discourse & Society, 12(3), 267.

Cameron, D. (1998). ‘Is there any ketchup, Vera?’ Gender, power and pragmatics. Discourse & Society, 9, 437455.

De Fina, A., & King, K. A. (2011). Language problem or language conflict? Narratives of immigrant women’s
experiences in the US. Discourse Studies, 13(2), 163-188.

Haspel, K., & Tracy, K. (2007). Marking and shifting lines in the sand: Discursive moves of ordinary democracy. In
K. Tracy, J. McDaniel & B. Gronbeck (Eds.), The prettier doll: Rhetoric, discourse, and ordinary democracy (pp.
142-175). Tuscaloosa, AL: University of Alabama Press.

Lindemann, K. (2010). Masculinity, disability, and access-ability: Ethnography as alternative practice in the study
of disabled sexualities. Southern Communication Journal, 75(4), 433-451.
Grade Distribution (500 pts total)
A 465-500
A- 449-465
B+ 435-448
B 415-434
B- 400-414
C+ 385-399
C 365-384
C- 350-364
F 299 or below
D+ 335-349
D 315-334
D- 300-314
Assignments:
 Interaction Analysis Project (90 pts)
A main goal of the course is to develop your ability to observe and analyze everyday communication. For this
interaction analysis paper, you will watch a videotaped casual conversation among three people (available on
D2L). This conversation will become the object of your analysis in a paper (4-6 pages, 75 points) in which you
describe how the talk in the video reflects aspects of identity and identity-work that we will have discussed in
class and read about in Everyday Talk.
Prior to turning in your written conversation analysis, you will complete two mini-assignments: 1) a transcription
of 2-minute of the recorded conversation (10 points), and 2) a short (1-2 page) reflection essay on how a similar
conversation between you and your classmates was similar or different from the taped conversation (5 points).
Reflection - due wk 5, posted to IDtalk. Transcript - due wk 6, hardcopy only. Paper - due wk 7, D2L dropbox.
 Group presentation (30 pts)
For this assignment you will be working with 2 classmates. Your team will be asked to collect data about a
question regarding everyday talk. Each group will have a different question that they will investigate together
and then report what they have learned to the class. These short presentations should highlight some excerpts
from the data you collect, as well as provide some insight about features of everyday talk. Your goal is to
examine an aspect of discourse in some depth, and to make explicit how this discursive feature works. All
assignments and due dates will be posted in D2L.
Each group will have 10 minutes to present their findings, followed by 5-10 minutes of class discussion. A groupprepared handout or PowerPoint will be due the day of the presentation. (All group-prepared materials should
be uploaded to our D2L class blog, IDtalk.)
 NOTE: Group presentations will span weeks 3-9. You will be required to sign up for groups and presentation
dates on D2L before the start of week 2.
 “Talking about race” paper (80 pts, 5-6pp)
In this second paper you will analyze a public conversation that occurred between Dr. Laura Schlesinger, a
controversial radio talk show host and a White woman, and a caller to her show, who was an African American
woman. In this telephone call the two women get into a debate about what are the appropriate ways to talk
about race in the U.S. This paper will extend the work you did in the first paper. The paper will be 5-6 pages in
length, and specifics of the assignment will be provided in class and on D2L.
Due wk 12
 Controversy reflections (2 IDtalk posts, 15 pts each)
In the last unit of the course, we’ll be examining how we talk about categories of others around issues that
involve controversy or sensitivity. What kind of discursive strategies and practices do we use when we talk
about other people? How should we talk about other people? How do the ways we talk about others and
ourselves impact controversies? Following two out of three in-class discussions from unit II, you will be asked to
post a personal reflection on the issue to IDtalk.
 Exams and Quizzes (270 pts total)
There will be a quiz (30 points) a midterm exam (100 points) and a cumulative final exam (140 points). Test
questions require understanding of terms and issues, and will assess your ability to analyze discourse in the ways
we will be practicing in class. You will be tested on material from class and texts, including key points from texts
that we don’t go over in class and key points from our in-class discussions that aren’t in the book.
Midterm – wk 9, Final – wk 17
 Participation
There are many ways to participate in our class, and all are integral to our class working well. In addition to the
homework assignments and exams listed above, you will be expected to participate in group activities in class,
class discussion, and online discussion on D2L. Participation in this course includes being prepared by doing the
readings before class and coming prepared to engage in course-related conversation with your classmates both
in class and online. If you have questions or hesitations about how participation works in this class, please let me
know.
Anyone with more than two unexcused absences from class* or more than two missed posts on IDtalk will
receive an attendance penalty (-3 points for every class activity or IDtalk post missed) deducted from their final
grade.
* If you need to miss class for an extended period of time, please talk to me.
Course policies and expectations
Our goal is to build a classroom community grounded in mutual respect. This means:
i)
ii)
iii)
developing a community where we all can feel comfortable, valued, and secure in our learning
environment;
appreciating the diversity of opinions and learning styles that result from having multiple participants
engaged in our class community; and
learning to trust one another in discussion, and to value the contributions of peers as well as instructors.
Civil adult behavior is expected in this class and online at all times. Arriving late, leaving the room during class, having
side conversations, interrupting, using of inappropriate language (We will talk together as a class about what constitutes
‘inappropriate language.’), sleeping in class, reading something not class related, and any other rude or distracting
behavior should be avoided. Those who repeatedly engage in such behaviors will be asked to leave the class and the
class will count as an unexcused absence.
Computers and mobile electronic devices are permitted if used appropriately. Silence your phone and put away any
earphones. Web browsing, Facebooking, using IM, texting, gaming, and music or video playing are not permitted during
class except as part of an organized class activity. If your use of a device appears to be distracting others, I will ask you to
shut it down or leave the room. Polite reminders from other students are also encouraged.
Civil behavior also includes freedom of speech. Do not hesitate to question or disagree respectfully with me or other
students or to express your thoughts about any matter being discussed in class.
Communication with instructor
Feel free to call me Jess or Ms. Hughes. I identify as female and prefer the pronouns she, her, and hers. If you have
pronoun preferences of which you’d like to make me aware, please let me know.
You may communicate with me either face-to-face during class, in office hours, or via e-mail. I’m available for different
office hours by appointment, either in person, via Skype or google+ hangout. You may email me at any time, and I will
work to be responsive. Please expect longer response times during weekends and holidays.
When emailing me, please include a greeting and closing, try to make your writing grammatically correct and relatively
free from proofreading errors, and follow basic email etiquette (e.g. AVOID SCREAMING). Email is an official form of
university communication, and emails to instructors should be written as carefully as professional emails. To put this in
terms from our course: Please be aware of the identities you give and give off, as well as the ways in which you altercast
your audience when writing emails.
You are expected to check your CU email accounts and D2L regularly since course information or notifications may be
sent by email or posted on D2L.
D2L
You will be required to use the D2L site to access course materials, online discussions, homework assignments, and
quizzes.
IDtalk
IDtalk is our class discussion board on D2L (under the “Discussions” tab). Here you’ll find threads about topics we
discuss in class, cool data, homework questions, exam reviews, and in-class activities. You are encouraged to post new
threads and respond to any existing conversations any time.
Due dates
We will use D2L for some assignments, and you will be asked to bring a hard copy of others. Due dates and times are
listed Assignments turned in or submitted late will be subject to a late penalty deduction.
You are responsible for saving electronic copies of your assignments. I recommend that you keep back-up copies of
assignments either in an external hard drive, or online. (Google docs offers an easy and free way of saving all kinds of
work online.)
Make-up exams
Make-ups can only be done for exams in the case of extreme circumstances (death in the family, sudden illness, etc.) or
if you have more than three exams scheduled for one day.
Plagiarism
Engaging in plagiarism will result in severe grade penalties and may be reported as an honor code infraction depending
on the severity of the plagiarism. Plagiarism is the act of passing off another’s work as your own. Stealing, buying, or
otherwise using someone else’s work, in whole or in part, constitutes plagiarism and is against university policy. Such
behavior is taken seriously by the Honors Council, to which many such incidents are referred. Consult
www.colorado.edu/academics/honorcode to learn more about the CU Honor Code.
Plagiarism does not always take such blatant forms, however. Of equal concern are the more subtle forms of plagiarism.
For example, you probably know that all words taken directly from a source need to be quoted and cited, and that there
are specific conventions for doing this properly. However, you may not know that merely changing a few words in a
passage—say, by using the thesaurus function on your word-processing program—does not protect you from the charge
of plagiarism. Passages that are similar to their sources in syntax, organization, or wording but are not cited are
considered to be plagiarized. In fact, even if you cite the source but do not make it clear to your readers that the
phrasing of a passage is not your own, the source is still considered to be plagiarized.
Any time you use another’s work—ideas, theories, statistics, graphs, photos, or facts that are not common knowledge—
you must acknowledge the author.
UNIVERSITY COURSE POLICIES
Accommodation for students with special needs: If you qualify for accommodations because of a disability, please
submit to your recitation instructor a letter from Disability Services in a timely manner so that your needs may be
addressed. Disability Services determines accommodations based on documented disabilities. Contact: 303-492-8671,
Willard 322, and http://www.Colorado.EDU/disabilityservices
Accommodation for religious observance: Campus policy regarding religious observances requires that faculty make
every effort to reasonably and fairly deal with all students who, because of religious obligations, have conflicts with
scheduled exams, assignments or required attendance. You should review the course schedule and notify your recitation
instructor within the first two weeks of class if a religious observance will interfere with a course assignment or exam.
See full details of this policy at http://www.colorado.edu/policies/fac_relig.html
Classroom behavior: Students and faculty each have responsibility for maintaining an appropriate learning environment.
Those who fail to adhere to such behavioral standards may be subject to discipline. Professional courtesy and sensitivity
are especially important with respect to individuals and topics dealing with differences of race, culture, religion, politics,
sexual orientation, gender, gender variance, and nationalities. Class rosters are provided to the instructor with the
student's legal name. We will gladly honor your request to address you by an alternate name or gender pronoun. Please
advise us of this preference early in the semester so that we may make appropriate changes to records. See polices at
http://www.colorado.edu/policies/classbehavior.html
and at http://www.colorado.edu/studentaffairs/judicialaffairs/code.html#student_code
Discrimination: The University of Colorado at Boulder policy on Discrimination and Harassment, the University of
Colorado policy on Sexual Harassment and the University of Colorado policy on Amorous Relationships apply to all
students, staff and faculty. Any student, staff or faculty member who believes s/he has been the subject of
discrimination or harassment based upon race, color, national origin, sex, age, disability, religion, sexual orientation, or
veteran status should contact the Office of Discrimination and Harassment (ODH) at 303-492-2127 or the Office of
Judicial Affairs at 303-492-5550. Information about the ODH, the above referenced policies and the campus resources
available to assist individuals regarding discrimination or harassment can be obtained at http://www.colorado.edu/odh
Honor code: All students of the University of Colorado at Boulder are responsible for knowing and adhering to the
academic integrity policy of this institution. Violations of this policy may include: cheating, plagiarism, aid of academic
dishonesty, fabrication, lying, bribery, and threatening behavior. All incidents of academic misconduct shall be reported
to the Honor Code Council (honor@colorado.edu; 303-725-2273). Students who are found to be in violation of the
academic integrity policy will be subject to both academic sanctions from the faculty member and non-academic
sanctions (including but not limited to university probation, suspension, or expulsion). Other information on the Honor
Code can be found at http://www.colorado.edu/policies/honor.html and at
http://www.colorado.edu/academics/honorcode/
COURSE SCHEDULE: Will be adapted to the needs of the class. You are responsible for any date changes announced in class and on D2L.
Date
Topic
Assigned readings, important info, and due dates
UNIT I
Everyday Talk & Identity
Week 1
Introduction to
Everyday Talk Chapter 1
8/27-8/31
Discourse, Culture &
*D2L quiz submission due by 11:59pm FRIDAY, 8/31
Identity
Week 2
Rhetorical & cultural
: No class MONDAY, 9/3 : Labor Day :
9/3-9/7
perspectives
Everyday Talk Chapter 2
Week 3
Person-referencing
Everyday Talk Chapters 3 & 4
9/10-9/14
practices
: Interaction analysis assigned :
Speech acts
*Unit I Quiz on FRIDAY, 9/14 (Chapters 1-3)
Week 4
The sound of talk
Everyday Talk Chapter 5
9/17-9/21
Week 5
9/24-9/28
Week 6
10/1-10/5
Week 7
10/8-10/12
Week 8
10/15-10/19
Week 9
10/22-10/26
Interaction structures
Direct and indirect style
Narratives
Writing workshop
Stance indicators
Language selection
Week 10
10/29-11/2
Final thoughts
Midterm Review
UNIT II
Ordinary democracy
and categorization
Week 11
11/5-11/9
Race, ethnicity, and
intercultural conflict
Week 12
11/12-11/16
Person-referencing
revisited
Writing workshop
Everyday Talk Chapters 7 & 8
*Reflection due on FRIDAY, 9/28 – Post to IDtalk by midnight
Everyday Talk Chapter 9
*Transcript due on FRIDAY, 10/5 – Hardcopy ONLY, due in class (late transcripts will NOT be accepted)
Everyday Talk Chapter 10
*Interaction analysis due on FRIDAY, 10/12 – Post to D2L dropbox by midnight
Everyday Talk Chapter 6
Everyday talk Chapter 11
*Midterm exam on FRIDAY, 10/26
Discourse, Cultures, and Controversy ― Talking about Others and ourselves
1) FOR MONDAY: Haspel, K., & Tracy, K. (2007). Marking and shifting lines in the sand: Discursive moves of ordinary
democracy. In K. Tracy, J. McDaniel & B. Gronbeck (Eds.), The prettier doll: Rhetoric, discourse, and ordinary
democracy (pp. 142-175). Tuscaloosa, AL: University of Alabama Press.
2) FOR WEDNESDAY: Billig, M. (2001). Humour and hatred: the racist jokes of the Ku Klux Klan. Discourse & Society,
12(3), 267.
: Talking about race paper assigned :
1) FOR MONDAY: De Fina, A., & King, K. A. (2011). Language problem or language conflict? Narratives of immigrant
women’s experiences in the US. Discourse Studies, 13(2), 163-188.
2) FOR WEDNESDAY: Bailey, B. (2000). Communicative behavior and conflict between African-American customers
and Korean immigrant retailers in Los Angeles. Discourse & Society, 11, 86-108.
*Discussion #1: Ethnicity and public policies
* Talking about race papers due on FRIDAY, 11/16 – Post to D2L dropbox by midnight
: No class FRIDAY, 11/16 : National Communication Association Conference :
Week 13
11/19-11/23
Week 14
11/26-11/30
THANKSGIVING BREAK
Enjoy your week off!
Gender, sexuality, and
heteronormativity
Week 15
12/3-12/7
Health, dis/ability, and
disability rights
Week 16
12/10-12/14
Course conclusions
1) FOR MONDAY: Cameron, D. (1998). ‘Is there any ketchup, Vera?’ Gender, power and pragmatics. Discourse &
Society, 9, 437-455.
2) FOR WEDNESDAY: Lindemann, K. (2010). Masculinity, disability, and access-ability: Ethnography as alternative
practice in the study of disabled sexualities. Southern Communication Journal, 75(4), 433-451.
*Discussion #2: Same-sex marriage and freedom of religion
1) FOR MONDAY: Bartesaghi, M. (2009). Conversation and psychotherapy: How questioning reveals institutional
answers. Discourse Studies, 11(2), 153-177.
2) FOR WEDNESDAY: Baggs, A. (2010). Cultural commentary: Up in the clouds and down in the valley: My richness
and yours. Disability Studies Quarterly, 30(1).
*Discussion #3: Person-First Language
Review for final exam
Week 17
FINAL EXAM
*001 (MWF @ 10am): Saturday, Dec. 15, 1:30pm-4pm, location TBA
*002 (MWF @ 11am): Tuesday, Dec. 18, 4:30pm-7pm, location TBA