English 404: Language, Power, & Identity
Fall 2011
W 3:30-6:10 CRT 118
Patricia Mayes
Office Hours: M&W 1:30-2:30 & by appointment
Office: 486 Curtin Hall, ext. 6992
E-mail: mayes@uwm.edu
Required Readings
There is no textbook
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All course readings are on electronic reserve at the library.
Course handouts and assignment sheets will be available on D2L.
Course Description: This course is designed to provide students with a broad
understanding of the relationship between language and society. In investigating this
relationship, we will consider how language is involved in the construction of social
identity and power structures. Our investigation of social identity will include not only
examining how individuals construct their identities but also how language is implicated
in the formation of social groupings such as class, ethnicity, gender, and regional
affiliations. The approach taken in this course is both descriptive and critical in that we
will examine how language is implicated in creating and maintaining power for certain
groups through such constructs as standard dialects and more broadly through public
policies.
Course Requirements
1. Reading and Participation: Please follow the procedure below when doing the
readings:
a. Read each selection carefully and completely.
b. There will be a set of reading questions for many of the readings on D2L. Print
these off and try to answer them as you do the readings. Also, make notes of
any other points each piece raises for you.
c. We will use the reading questions and your reactions or questions in our class
discussion on the date the reading is listed on the schedule.
d. Keep written notes of (b) and (c) for later reference.
e. You will not need to hand in any of your notes about the readings or questions.
2. Homework assignments: There will be five homework assignments during the
semester. Assignment sheets for each one will be available on D2L the week before
the assignment is due.
3. Quizzes: There will be four quizzes. The first will take place in class, and will
primarily concern the phonetic symbols for the English vowel system. The other
three quizzes will be set up on D2L and will be true-false/multiple-choice. You will
need to complete the D2L quizzes by 11:55 pm on Sunday of the week they are on
the schedule. (See the schedule below.)
3. Examinations: There will be a comprehensive final exam.
4. Debate/Panel Presentation: During the semester, you will be working in groups of
four or six researching a topic in order to do a panel presentation (four participants) or
a debate (six participants). Each group will be responsible for making a handout or
PowerPoint presentation that will be presented in class and posted on the D2L site so
that everyone in the class can review it later. Note that you will need to work
together in order to produce this document. In other words, it is not acceptable to
produce four (or six) separate handouts. I will be distributing a more specific
assignment sheet about the presentations before they begin. Ten days before your
presentation, your group will need to submit a draft of your handout or PowerPoint on
D2L so that I can give you feedback before your presentation. Note also that the
schedule for the presentations listed below is meant to be flexible. We will probably
end up moving things around depending on how many groups there are and which
topics we end up using.
5. Final Papers (Graduate Students Only): In order to receive graduate credit for this
course, you must write a paper. There are two options for this paper, which should be
about 12-14 pages, double-spaced:
a. a literature review in which you come up with a question that you will try to
answer by discussing relevant literature on the topic
b. a research paper in which you try to answer a question concerning some
aspect of the relationship between language and society. For this option, you
will need to collect linguistic data (or use data already available to you),
analyze it, and present your findings in a research paper format.
A more detailed assignment sheet is available on the D2L site in the Course
Documents folder. You will also need to make an appointment with me to discuss
your topic prior to turning in your paper proposal.
Grading
Undergraduates
Attendance & Participation
Debate/Panel Presentation
Homework Assignments
Quizzes
Final Exam
10%
20%
25%
20%
25%
2
Graduates
Attendance & Participation
Debate /Panel Presentation
Homework Assignments
Quizzes
Final Exam
Final Paper
5%
15%
20%
20%
20%
20%
Course Policies
1. Attendance: Your participation grade will be adversely affected if you do not attend
class, and if you are absent more than three times, your grade will be dropped by one
letter grade for each additional class missed. In addition, you are responsible for
obtaining materials distributed during class and for submitting assignments on time.
2. Assignments: I do not accept emailed assignments. Electronic copies are acceptable,
but they must be submitted in the dropbox on D2L, not sent by email. Electronic
submissions should be in Word or PDF format. (RTF is also acceptable.) You can also
hand in hard (paper) copies in class. Copies of all course documents will be made
available on the course D2L site in the Content folder. Please be sure to put your
name on all of your assignments, even if it is in the dropbox as a file saved under your
name. I will not grade assignments without names on them! Also, note that it is your
responsibility to make sure that I have received your work, either by handing it to me
or by checking to make sure that it actually appears in the dropbox after you have
submitted it.
3. Late assignments, incompletes, etc: The policies stated below (in italics) have been
determined by UWM. I will simply follow them:
The principle of equal treatment of all students shall be a fundamental guide in
responding to requests for special consideration. No student should be given an
opportunity to improve a grade that is not made available to all members of the
class. This policy is not intended to exclude reasonable accommodation of
verified student disability, or the completion of work missed as the result of
religious observance, verified illness, or justified absence due to circumstances
beyond the student's control. … Examples of unacceptable opportunities for an
individual student include extra work, retaking an examination, taking an extra
examination, or an extension of time on an assignment or examination.
If you will be unable to complete an assignment on time as the result of one of the
acceptable causes listed above, I will expect you to contact me as soon as the problem
becomes apparent. This means that, except in extraordinary circumstances (like
being in an emergency room somewhere, or stranded on a roadside), you should
notify me before you actually miss the due date. If you follow the procedures for
notifying me, and if the reason for the absence meets the criteria outlined above, I
will arrange for you to make up the exam or turn in the assignment late. Otherwise,
you will not receive any credit for the exam or assignment.
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An incomplete may be given to a student who has carried a subject successfully
until near the end of the semester but, because of illness or other unusual and
substantiated cause beyond that student's control, has been unable to take or
complete the final examination or to complete some limited amount of term work.
An incomplete is not given unless the student proves to the instructor that s/he
was prevented from completing course requirements for just cause as indicated
above.
If you need special accommodation due to a disability, religious observance, or military
duty, contact me as soon as possible. For more information on university policies, go to
the following web site: http://www.uwm.edu/Dept/SecU/SyllabusLinks.pdf
Tentative Schedule
Note: The readings and assignments should be done before class on the date they are
listed.
Week 1 (9/7): The relationship between language and social structure
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Lippi-Green (1997) Chapter 1: “The linguistic facts of life”
Finegan (1985) Chapter 5: “Unconscious attitudes toward linguistic variation”
Week 2 (9/14): The role of language in the construction of social identity
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Bucholtz & Hall (2005) “Identity and interaction: A sociocultural linguistic
approach”
Mishoe (1998) “Styleswitching in southern English”
Due: Homework Assignment #1
Week 3 (9/21): The role of language in the creation and maintenance of power
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van Dijk (1986) “Structures of discourse and structures of power” Read only pp.
18-39
Lakoff (1990) Chapter 15: “Language Bosses”
Additional Reading (Optional): Lippi-Green (1997) Chapter 5: “Teaching children
how to discriminate”
Quiz 1 (in-class)
Week 4 (9/28): The linguistic construction of social groups: Languages, dialects, and
codes
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Wardhaugh (2002) pp. 27-32 & 87-94
Wolfram & Schilling-Estes (2006) Chapter 5: “Regional dialects
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Due: Homework Assignment #2
Week 5 (10/5): Language standards
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Leith (1997) “Standardisation and writing”
Romaine (2000) “Standardisation and its effects in Papua New Guinea”
pp. 92-99
Lippi-Green (1997) Chapter 3: “The standard language myth”
Quiz 2 (D2L): Deadline is Sun (10/9) at 11:55 pm.
Week 6 (10/12): The linguistic construction of social class
 Wardhaugh (2002) pp. 144-150; 333-338
 Atherton, J. (2002) “Language codes”
 Eckert (1989) “Introduction”
 Eckert (1989) “Symbols of category membership”
Additional Reading (Optional): Bernstein (1971) “Genesis, maintenance, and
change of linguistic codes,” pp. 472-497
Due: Homework Assignment #3
Week 7 (10/19): The linguistic construction of ethnicity
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Molesky (1988) “Understanding the American linguistic mosaic: A historical
overview of language maintenance and language shift” Read only pp. 29-34
Valdés, Guadalupe (2000) “Bilingualism and language use among Mexican
Americans” Read only pp. 99-120
Scollon & Scollon (1990) “Athabaskan-English interethnic communication”
Group Presentation:
Quiz 3 (D2L): Deadline is Sun (10/23) at 11:55 pm
Week 8 (10/26): The linguistic construction of ethnicity (AAE/AAL)
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Morgan (2002) Chapter 2: “Forms of speech: Verbal styles, discourse and
interaction”
Morgan (2002) Chapter 3: “Language norms and practices”
Group Presentation:
Due: Final Paper Proposal (Graduate Students)
Week 9 (11/2): Language and public policy in the U.S.
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Schmid (2001) Chapter 3: “Immigrant exclusion and language restriction in the
twentieth century”
Cummins, Jim (2000) Chapter 1: “Issues and contexts”
Cummins, Jim (2000) Chapter 2: “Language interactions in the classroom: From
coercive to collaborative relations of power”
Due: Homework Assignment #4
Week 10 (11/9): Language and public policy in the U.S. (continued)
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Morgan (1999) “US language planning and policies for social dialect speakers”
DeBose (2007) “The Ebonics phenomenon, language planning, and the hegemony
of standard English”
The Original Oakland Resolution
Group Presentation:
Week 11 (11/16): The linguistic construction of gender
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Eckert & McConnell-Ginet (2003) “Introduction” Read only pp. 1-5
Eckert & McConnell-Ginet (2003) Chapter 1: “Constructing, deconstructing, and
reconstructing gender”
Group Presentation:
Quiz 4 (D2L): Deadline is Sunday (11/20) at 11:55 pm
Week 12 (11/23): Thanksgiving Recess – No Class
Week 13 (11/30): The linguistic construction of gender
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Bucholtz (1999) “Purchasing Power: The Gender and Class Imaginary on the
Shopping Channel”
Group Presentation:
Due: Homework Assignment #5
Week 14 (12/7): The use of language to choose and switch social identities
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Smitherman (2000) “‘The chain remain the same’: Communicative practices in
the hip hop nation”
Anzaldúa (1997) “How to tame a wild tongue”
Group Presentation:
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Week 15 (12/14): The future of linguistic diversity/Final exam review
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Chafe (1997) “The importance of Native American languages”
Final Exam: Friday (12/16) 3- 5 pm in CRT 108
Final (Grad) Papers Due: Friday (12/16) by 5 pm
Materials on E-Reserve at the Library
Note: If you print any of the materials on this site, be sure to check that the pages are the
ones you want before printing. Some of the articles include a lot of pages of references
that you probably won’t need.
1. Lippi-Green, Rosina. (1997). Chapter 1: “The linguistic facts of life.” English with an
Accent (pp. 7-40). London: Routledge.
2. Finegan, Edward. (1985). Chapter 5: “Unconscious attitudes toward linguistic
variation.” In Sidney Greenbaum (Ed.), The English language today (pp. 92-98).
Oxford: Pergamon.
3. Bucholtz, Mary & Hall, Kira. (2005). “Identity and interaction: A sociocultural
linguistic approach.” Discourse Studies 7 (4-5), pp. 585-614.
4. Mishoe, Margaret. (1998) “Styleswitching in southern English.” In Carol MyersScotton (Ed.), Codes and consequences (pp. 162-177). Oxford: Oxford University
Press.
5. van Dijk, Teun. (1986). Excerpt from “Structures of discourse and structures of power”
Communication Yearbook 12, pp. 18-53.
6. Lakoff, Robin. (1990). Chapter 15: “Language Bosses.” Talking power (pp. 283-302).
New York: Basic Books (Harper-Collins).
7. Lippi-Green, Rosina. (1997). Chapter 5: “Teaching children how to discriminate.”
English with an Accent (pp. 79-103). London: Routledge.
8. Wardhaugh, Ronald. (2002). An Introduction to Sociolinguistics, fourth edition (pp.
27-32 & 87-94). Malden, MA: Blackwell.
9. Wolfram, Walt & Schilling-Estes, Natalie (2006) Chapter 5: “Regional dialects.”
American English: Dialects and variation, second edition (pp. 134-166). Malden, MA:
Blackwell.
10. Leith, Dick. (1997). Chapter 2: “Standardisation and writing.” A social history of
English, second edition (pp. 31-51). London: Routledge.
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11. Romaine, Suzanne. (2000). “Standardization and its effects in Papua New Guinea.”
Excerpt from Language in Society: An Introduction to Sociolinguistics, second
edition (pp. 92-99). Oxford: Oxford University Press.
12. Lippi-Green, Rosina. (1997). Chapter 3: “The standard language myth.” English with
an accent (pp. 53-62). London: Routledge.
13. Wardhaugh, Ronald. (2002). An Introduction to Sociolinguistics, fourth edition (pp.
144-150 & 333-338). Malden, MA: Blackwell.
14. Atherton, J. (2002). “Language codes”
http://www.doceo.co.uk/background/language_codes.htm
15. Eckert, Penelope. (1989). Chapter 1: “Introduction.” Jocks and burnouts: Social
categories and identity in the high school (pp. 1-24). New York: Teachers College
Press.
16. Eckert, Penelope. (1989). Chapter 4: “Symbols of category membership.” Jocks and
burnouts: Social categories and identity in the high school (pp. 49-72). New York:
Teachers College Press.
17. Bernstein, Basil. (1972). Chapter 17: “A sociolinguistic approach to socialization
with some reference to educability.” In John Gumperz & Dell Hymes (Eds.)
Directions in sociolinguistics: The ethnography of communication (pp. 465-497).
New York: Holt, Rinehart, & Winston.
18. Molesky, Jean (1988) “Understanding the American linguistic mosaic: A historical
overview of language maintenance and language shift.” In Sandra McKay & Sau-ling
Cynthia Wong (Eds.) Language diversity: Problem or resource? (pp. 29-68).
Cambridge: Newbury House.
19. Valdés, Guadalupe. (2000). “Bilingualism and language use among Mexican
Americans.” In Sandra McKay & Sau-ling Cynthia Wong (Eds.) New immigrants in
the United States (pp. 99-136). Cambridge: Cambridge University Press.
20. Scollon, Ronald & Wong-Scollon, Suzanne. (1990). “Athabaskan-English interethnic
communication.” In Donal Carbaugh (Ed.) Cultural communication and interethnic
contact (pp. 259-286). Hillsdale, NJ: Lawrence Erlbaum.
21. Morgan, Marcyliena. (2002). Chapter 2: “Forms of speech: Verbal styles, discourse
and interaction.” Language, discourse and power in African American culture (pp.
35-61). Cambridge: Cambridge University Press.
22. Morgan, Marcyliena. (2002). Chapter 3: “Language norms and practices.” Language,
discourse and power in African American culture (pp. 62-83). Cambridge: Cambridge
University Press.
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23. Rickford, John Russell Rickford & Rickford, Russell John. (2000). Chapter 6:
“Vocabulary and pronunciation.” Spoken soul: The story of Black English (pp. 91108). New York: John Wiley & Sons.
24. Schmid, Carol L. (2001). Chapter 3: “Immigrant exclusion and language restriction in
the twentieth century.” The politics of language: Conflict, identity, and cultural
pluralism in comparative perspective (pp. 32-56). Oxford: Oxford University Press.
25. Cummins, Jim. (2000). Chapter 1: “Issues and contexts.” Language, power and
pedagogy (pp. 8-30). Clevedon: Multilingual Matters.
26. Cummins, Jim. (2000). Chapter 2: “Language interactions in the classroom: From
coercive to collaborative relations of power.” Language, power and pedagogy (pp.
31-52). Clevedon: Multilingual Matters.
27. Morgan, Marcyliena. (1999). “US language planning and policies for social dialect
speakers.” In Huebner & Davis (Eds.), Sociopolitical perspectives on language policy
and planning in the USA (pp. 173-191).
28. DeBose, Charles E. (2007). “The Ebonics phenomenon, language planning, and the
hegemony of standard English.” In Alim & Baugh (Eds.), Talkin black talk:
Language, education, and social change (pp.30-42).
29. The Original Oakland Resolution http://www.linguistlist.org/topics/ebonics/ebonicsres1.html
30. Eckert, Penelope & McConnell-Ginet, Sally. (2003). Introduction. Language and
gender (pp. 1-8). Cambridge: Cambridge University Press.
31. Eckert, Penelope & McConnell-Ginet, Sally. (2003). Chapter 1: “Constructing,
deconstructing, and reconstructing gender.” Language and gender (pp. 9-51).
Cambridge: Cambridge University Press.
32. Bucholtz, Mary. (1999). “Purchasing Power: The Gender and Class Imaginary on the
Shopping Channel.” In Mary Bucholtz, A.C. Liang, & Laurel Sutton (Eds.)
Reinventing identities: The gendered self in discourse (pp. 348-368). Oxford: Oxford
University Press.
33. Smitherman, Geneva. (2000). Chapter 15: “‘The chain remain the same’:
Communicative practices in the hip hop nation.” Talking that talk (pp. 268-283).
London: Routledge.
34. Anzaldúa, Gloria. (1997). “How to tame a wild tongue.” In Nancy Buffington et al.
(Eds.) Living languages (pp. 29-39). Upper Saddle River, NJ: Prentice-Hall.
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35. Chafe, Wallace. (1997). “The importance of Native American languages.” The David
Skomp Distinguished Lectures in Anthropology, Indiana University.
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