COMM 2400: 003 Discourse, Culture & Identities
Instructor: Susana Martínez Guillem, Ph.D Candidate,
GPTI, Communication
Office: Hellems 10
Email: susanam@colorado.edu
Office hours: Mondays, 1-3pm and by appointment
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 (male or female, old or young, American or Japanese, African-, Anglo-, Hispanic-,
or Native-American, a student, a teacher, an attorney, a friend, an acquaintance, “skeptical,” “rude,” “sleazy,” “caring,
"funny,” and so on). 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. To develop skills to engage in mindful, reflective, and
accountable dialogue through difference.
 To encourage you to develop informed and thoughtful positions about a set of 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)
Everyday talk: Building and reflecting identities (Author: Karen Tracy, 2002, Guilford Press).
Additional texts available using CU Learn.
Unit 3 (Weeks 10-16)
1. A set of common readings, available on CULearn. Readings include:



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Cameron, D. (1998). ‘Is there any ketchup, Vera?’ Gender, power and pragmatics. Discourse & Society, 9, 437455.
Cameron, D. (2006). Performing gender identity: Young men’s talk and the construction of heterosexual
masculinity. In A. Jaworski & N. Coupland (Eds.), The discourse reader (2nd ed., pp. 419-432). London: Routledge.
Carbaugh, D, Berry, M & Nurmikari-Berry, M. (2006). Silence and Quietude as a Finnish ''Natural Way of Being.''
Coding Personhood Through Cultural Terms and Practices. Journal of Language and Social Psychology, 25, 203219
Mason Carris, L. (2011). La voz gringa: Latino stylization of linguistic (in)authenticity as social critique. Discourse
& Society, 22, 474-490.
2. Conversational dilemmas paper readings (available through CUlearn. Specific readings will be assigned later in the
semester based on your chosen topic). You will be choosing among the following issues/controversies:
Talking food morality
Talking race and racism
Talking religion and law
Assignments:
Interaction Analysis Paper and Transcript– 100 points
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 CUlearn). This
conversation will become the object of your analysis in a paper that will be 5-7 pages (80 points). See CULearn for a full
description. There will also a short transcribing assignment to prepare you for the analysis. You will transcribe two 2minute sections of the videotaped conversation. The sections transcribed should be ones you expect to use in your
paper as examples (20 points). All assignments must be turned in as a hard-copy.
Conversational dilemmas paper– 60 points
Toward the end of the semester we will look in more detail at the notion of conversational dilemmas through different,
more or less controversial topics. Our goal will be to dissect the (ideological) origin and management in conversation of
different tensions that arise when discussing topics such as food morality, race and racism, or religion and law. Each of
you will choose from a set of discourse materials (available through CUlearn) in order to develop an analysis of a specific
dilemma that you see emerging, as well as of how the different speakers (fail to) manage it. Your analysis should draw
on and show understanding of the different readings you will be required to do for this assignment. The paper will be 45 pages in length. You will present your analysis in a fishbowl discussion with the people who are covering the same
issue.
Exams and Quizzes – 320 points
There will be two short quizzes, (50 points each) a midterm exam (100 points) and a cumulative final exam (120 points).
The quizzes will contain multiple choice questions. The midterm will contain multiple choice and short answer questions.
The final will have multiple choice questions, short answer, and an essay question. 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.
Participation – 20 points
Participation points will be awarded at the end of the semester—although you are encouraged to check with me at any
time to find out how you are doing. These points will reflect my assessment of your contribution to class discussion and
activities. Of course, you cannot participate if you do not attend, but remember that participation goes beyond being
present: it involves actively working to make the class a worthwhile learning experience.
Grade Distribution (500 points total)
A
A- (90%)
465-500
449-465
B+
B
B- (80%)
435-448
415-434
400-414
C+
C
C- (70%)
385-399
365-384
350-364
D+
335-349
D
315-334
D- (60%)
300-314
F = 299 or below
Course policies:
Communication with instructor:
Feel free to communicate with me either face-to-face during class, in office hours, or by means of e-mail. As email is an
official form of university communication, you are expected to check your CU email accounts regularly since course
information or notifications may be sent by email. You may email me at any time and I will work to be responsive; as I
have other responsibilities, expect longer response times during weekends and holidays. Also, please note that you will
be required to use the CULearn site to access course materials.
A Note about Notes: Please be aware that you are responsible for taking notes during class. The material presented in
class provides an outline of the topics discussed and will NOT be made available by the instructor. If you miss class, you
are responsible for getting notes from another student in class.
A Note about Technology in the Classroom: Laptops and other technology in the classroom should be used ONLY for
learning purposes. Surfing, checking email, playing games on your laptop is really no different than opening a magazine
or newspaper in class and signaling that you are not there to learn. Students who use technology for purposes other
than class learning will be prohibited from bringing laptops and other devices to class. They may also be withdrawn from
the class if their use is found to be offensive or disruptive to the class.
In class responsibilities: Attendance to and participation in class is an integral part of your success in the course. I expect
all students to be active members of our learning community. There will be many ways to do so, and all are valued. Our
time in the classroom is your chance to ask questions, discuss concepts, and clarify the readings. Participation in this
course includes being prepared by doing the readings before class, completing assignments both in and outside of class
time, posting discussion questions to the class when assigned, and coming prepared to engage in course-related
conversation with your classmates. If you have questions or hesitations about how participation works in this class,
please keep me informed.
Due Dates: We will use CUlearn for some assignments and you will be asked to bring a hard copy of others. Electronic
assignments can be submitted at any time on the due date. Hard copy assignments are due at the beginning of class on
the due date. Assignments turned in or submitted late will be subject to a 10% reduction in grade and will not be
accepted beyond one class period after they are due except in extenuating circumstances.
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.
Re-Writing Assignments
The main essay assignment (the interaction analysis essay) can be re-written. There is no guarantee that your grade will
change. You should include the original paper, with my comments, along with your re-write. You must turn the re-write
in the following week after you received the original paper. You cannot re-write a paper if the original grade was a B+ or
higher.
Extra Credit
You may earn UP TO 10 points of extra credit in this class, which may help you if you have done poorly on assignments
or tests, or missed a lot of classes (which will usually result in a lower participation grade). Extra credit assignments are
listed on CUlearn and are graded like regular assignments (meaning just turning it in does not automatically earn you full
credit). There are several different kinds of extra credit assignments to choose from, each worth 5-10 points. Choices
include different reading or writing assignments, activities, or turning in an early draft for the last short essay (position
paper). You may turn in as many extra credit assignments as you like, but you cannot get more than 10 points total.
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 (subject to minor changes):
Date
Topic
UNIT I
Introduction to
Discourse, Culture &
Identities
Rhetorical vs. cultural
perspectives
Person-referencing
practices
Speech acts
The sound of talk
Due ON this day
UNIT II
Everyday Talk & Identities ― Complex Discourse Practices
Week 5
Feb 13/15/17
Week 6
Feb 22/24
Interaction structures
Direct and indirect style
Narratives
Everyday Talk Chapters 7 & 8
Week 7
Feb 27/29,
March 2nd
Week 8
March 5/7/9
Week 9
Mar 12/14/16
Stance indicators
Week 1
Jan 18/20
Week 2
Jan 23/25/27
Week 3
Jan 30 Feb 1/3
Week 4
Feb 6/8/10
Week 10
Mar 19/21/23
Week 11
Mar 26/28/30
Week 12
April 2/4/6
Week 13
April 9/11/13
Language selection
Final thoughts
Midterm Review
UNIT III
Gender differences
Cultural differences
Culture and conflict
Everyday Talk & Identities ― The Argument & Talk’s Building Blocks
Everyday Talk Chapter 1
Everyday Talk Chapter 2
Everyday Talk Chapters 3 & 4
*Interaction essay assigned
Everyday Talk Chapter 5
*Unit I Quiz on 2/10 (Chapters 1-4)
Everyday Talk Chapter 9
Transcript due on
*No class on February 20th: WSCA meeting
Everyday Talk Chapter 10
Everyday Talk Chapter 6
*Interaction Essay due
Everyday talk Chapter 11
Midterm exam on 3/16
Discourse, Cultures and Controversy ― Gender, Nationality and Race
Cameron, D. (1998). ‘Is there any ketchup, Vera?’ Gender, power and pragmatics. Discourse & Society, 9, 437-455.
Cameron, D. (2006). Performing gender identity: Young men’s talk and the construction of heterosexual masculinity.
In A. Jaworski & N. Coupland (Eds.), The discourse reader (2nd ed., pp. 419-432). London: Routledge.
*Conversational dilemmas paper assigned
SPRING BREAK!
Carbaugh, D, Berry, M & Nurmikari-Berry, M. (2006). Silence and Quietude as a Finnish ''Natural Way of Being.''
Coding Personhood Through Cultural Terms and Practices. Journal of Language and Social Psychology, 25, 203-219
Mason Carris, L. (2011). La voz gringa: Latino stylization of linguistic (in)authenticity as social critique. Discourse &
Society, 22, 474-490
*Unit III Quiz on 4/13
Week 14
Apr 16/18/20
Week 15
Apr 23/25/27
Introducing
conversational
dilemmas
Paper presentations and
discussion leading
Tracy, The Prettier Doll intro
Billig, “Ideological Dilemmas”
Apr. 23 Issue #1 Food morality
Apr. 25 Issue #2 Race and racism
Apr. 27 Issue #3 Religion and law
* Conversational dilemmas papers due on the day your issue is discussed
Week 16
Apr 30th, May
2/4
Week 17
Course conclusions
Review for final exam
FINAL EXAM
TBA