KSA 2112 KISWAHILI AND GENDER RELATIONS
CU 4 CH 60
Objectives
1. To make visible the unseen but ever-present force of language in the lives of men
and women as gendered persons.
2. To show how categories of Kiswahili language and communicative habits shape
one’s beliefs about one self and others.
3. To analyze ways in which the Kiswahili language stereotypes men and women and
aligns them into specific roles in their relations.
Course Description
A critical investigation of the gendered aspects of the Kiswahili language and their role in
shaping social structure, which explores the role of the language in reflecting and perpetuating
gender inequities, as well as its potential for challenging and transforming gender relations.
Students’ ongoing discourse analytic projects will be integral to the exploration of issues related
to the role of Kiswahili in the stabilizing or destabilizing gender relations. Implications for
individual and social change are emphasized.
Course Outline
Learning Outcomes
By the end of the course, the learner should be able to:
(i)
Explain how language relates to and affects gender relations
Mode of Delivery
-
Lectures
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Group Discussion
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Role Play
Mode of Assessment
-
Course work and Oral presentations will contribute 30%
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Final Examination will constitute 70%
References
Cameron, Deborah (ed.) 1990: The Feminist Critique of Language. New York: Routledge
Coates, Jennifer. 1986: Women, Men and Language. New York: Longman
Thorne, Barrie, Cheris Kramerae and Nancy Henley (eds). 1988: Language, Gender and
Society. Rowley, Massachusetts: Newbury House Publishers.
Lakoff, Robin. 1975: Language and Woman’s Place. New York: Harper and Row.
Baron, Dennis.1986: Grammar and Gender. New Haven: Yale University Press