ANT 260: Language, Culture, and Society
Fall 2005
Class: M/W/F 11:00-11:50
Room: 242 BCA
Instructor: Brigittine French
Office: 306 Goodnow Hall
Office Hours: M and W 1:00-2:00
F 1:00-3:00
and by appointment
E-mail: frenchb@grinnell.edu
Phone: 269-4816
Description
The course provides an overview of linguistic anthropology, the study of human
language in its structural and cultural contexts. Through class lectures, readings, and
discussions, students will become familiar with key issues, themes, and theories about
language in contemporary anthropological and sociolinguistic scholarship. The course
begins by establishing the uniqueness of human language as a biological and cultural
phenomenon. Building upon this understanding, the course addresses several
questions including: How does language operate as a sign system? What are the
relationships between language and culture? How do language and language practices
shape and reflect social identities? How are language issues shaped by systems of
social domination? Overall, the course is designed to encourage students to become
critical thinkers about the ways that language and language use affect and are affected
by grammatical structures, individuals, social groups, cultural practices, and politics.
Objectives
1) To form an holistic understanding of language by integrating its structural,
biological, and social aspects.
2) To become familiar with the theories and methods used in linguistic anthropology.
3) To develop the ability to synthesize and integrate perspectives about course
inquiries related to the language and culture nexus.
Texts
1) Blount, Ben. 1995. Language, Culture, and Society: A Book of Readings 2nd Edition.
Prospect Heights, Illinois: Waveland Heights.
2) Clark, Virginia, Paul Eschholz, and Alfred Rosa. 1998. Language: Readings in
Language and Culture. New York: St. Martin’s Press.
3) Wogan, Peter. 2004. Magical Writing in Salasaca: Literacy and Power in Highland
Ecuador. Boulder, Co: Westview Press.
4) Reserve readings. Available on Blackboard.
Course Requirements:
1) Examinations: There will be two take-home exams. Exams will consist primarily of
essay questions designed to address course materials covered in lectures, readings,
videos, and class discussions.
2) Research Paper/Presentation: There will be one formal (ten page) paper. An
annotated bibliography and class presentation will be due in conjunction with the
paper.
3) Reading Response Papers: Each student will write a brief (one page single-spaced)
response to a set of assigned readings and present it to the class for discussion.
4) Exercises: There will be three empirical exercises dealing with language due on the day
indicated in class.
4) Attendance and Participation: Attendance and participation are essential to a
successful class both individually and collectively. Be attentive and engaged. Question
your ideas and those of class members including the professor.
Grading and Evaluation
Exam one
Exam two
Reading response
Exercises
Annotated bibliography
Final paper presentation
Final paper
Participation
20 percent
20 percent
10 percent
10 percent
5 percent
5 percent
20 percent
10 percent
40 points
40 points
20 points
20 points
10 points
10 points
40 points
20 points
Students with Disabilities:
Anyone who has a disability that may require some modification of seating, testing, or
other class requirements should inform me so that appropriate arrangements may be
made. Please see me after class or during my office hours.
Late Assignments
No late assignments will be accepted without prior approval.
Topic 1: The Nature and Culture of Communication
F Aug 26
Course Introduction
M Aug 29
Bolton, W. “Language: An Introduction” in Clark et.al.
Daniels, H. “Nine Ideas about Language” in Clark et.al.
W Aug 31
Fromkin et al., “The Development of Language in Genie” in Clark, et. al.
Ochs, Elinor and Bambi Schieffelin “Language Acquisitions and
Socialization” in Blount.
F Sept 2
Blount, Ben. “Parental Speech and Language Acquisition: An
Anthropological Perspective” in Blount.
Topic 2: Langue: Structure, Description, and Analysis
M Sept 5
de Saussure, F. Selections from A Course in General Linguistics in
Reserve readings.
STUDENT RESPONSE
W Sept 7
Callary, Edward. “Phonetics” in Clark, et. al.
F Sept 9
OSLF, “The Minimal Units of Meaning: Morphemes” in Clark, et. al.
EXERCISES DUE
M Sept 12
Henry, Frank. “Syntax: The Structure of Sentences” in Clark, et. al.
EXERCISES DUE
Topic 3: Language and Worldview
W Sept 14
Sapir, Edward. "The Unconscious Patterning of Behavior in Society" in
Blount.
STUDENT RESPONSE
F Sept 16
Whorf, B. "The Relation of Habitual Thought and Behavior to Language"
in Blount.
M Sept 19
Frake, Charles. "The Ethnographic Study of Cognitive Systems" in Blount.
Lucy, John “Whorf’s View of the Linguistic Mediation of Thought” in
Blount.
STUDENT RESPONSE
W Sept 21
Lakoff, George. “Metaphors of Terror” and “Metaphors that Kill” in
Reserve readings.
Topic 4: Ethnography of Communication
F Sept 23
Edwards, P. "Speech Communities" in Clark, et. al.
Hymes, Dell. "The Ethnography of Speaking" in Blount.
STUDENT RESPONSE
M Sept 26
Gumperz, John. "Linguistic and Social Interaction in Two Communities"
in Blount.
STUDENT RESPONSE
W Sept 28
Goffman, Erving. "On Face-Work" in Blount.
STUDENT RESPONSE
F Sept 30
Ervin-Tripp, Susan. “Sociolinguistics” in Blount.
STUDENT RESPONSE
Topic 5: Semiotic Approaches to Language and Culture
M Oct 3
EXERICES DUE
Peirce, Charles. S. "Icon, Index, and Symbol" pp. 9-19 in Reserve readings.
Mertz, Elizabeth. "Beyond Symbolic Anthropology: Introducing Semiotic
Mediation" pp. 1-19 in Reserve readings.
W Oct 5
Silverstein, Michael. "Shifters, Linguistic Categories and Culture
Description" in Blount.
STUDENT RESPONSE
Topic 6: Orality, Literacy, and Expressive Culture
F Oct 7
Video: Language You Cry In
TAKE HOME EXAM ONE DUE
FALL BREAK
M Oct 17
Wogan, Peter. “Introduction” and “Witchcraft and Writing” in Wogan.
STUDENT RESPONSE
W Oct 19
Wogan, Peter. “Sources of Magical Beliefs” and “God’s Book” in Wogan
STUDENT RESPONSE
F Oct 21
Wogan, Peter. “The Day of the Dead,” “Weaving and Writing,” and
“Conclusion.” In Wogan
ANNOTATED BIBLIOGRAPHY DUE
M Oct 24
Briggs, Charles and Richard Bauman “Genre, Intertextuality, and Social
Power” in Blount.
Topic 7: Language Variation
W Oct 26
Hong Kingston, Maxine. "Finding a Voice" in Clark, et. al.
Caldas and Caron-Caldas "Rearing Bilingual Children in a Monolingual
Culture: A Louisiana Experience" in Clark, et. al.
STUDENT RESPONSE
F Oct 28
Video: American Tongues
Marckwardt, A. and J. Dillard, “Social and Regional Variation” in Clark,
et. al.
M Oct 31
Labov, William. “The Study of Nonstandard English” in Clark, et.al.
W Nov 2
Cukor-Avila, Patricia. “The Complex Grammatical History of AfricanAmerican and White Vernaculars in the South” in Reserve readings.
STUDENT RESPONSE
F Nov 4
Chun, Elaine. “The Construction of White, Black, and Korean American
Identities through African American Vernacular English” in Reserve
readings.
STUDENT RESPONSE
M Nov 7
Keenan, E. “Norm-Makers, Norm-Breakers: Uses of Speech by Mean and
Women in a Malagasy Community” in Reserve readings.
Tannen, D. "I'll Explain It to You" in Clark, et. al.
STUDENT RESPONSE
W Nov 9
Hall, Kira. “Lip Service on the Fantasy Lines” in Reserve readings.
Topic 8: Political Economy of Language
F Nov 11
Bourdieu, P. "The Economics of Linguistic Exchanges" in Reserve
readings.
M Nov 14
Hill, Jane. "The Grammar of Consciousness and the Consciousness of
Grammar" in Blount.
STUDENT RESPONSE
W Nov 16
Hernandez-Chavez, E. “Language Policy in the United States: A History
of Cultural Genocide?” In Reserve readings.
STUDENT RESPONSE
Topic 9: Language Endangerment, Loss, and Revitalization
F Nov 18
Urdrich, Louise. “The Names of Women” in Clark et. al.
Whittemore, Katherine. “Saving California Languages” in Clark et. al.
STUDENT RESPONSE
M Nov 21
French, Brigittine. “The Politics of Mayan Linguistics in Guatemala:
Native Speakers, Exert Analysts, and the Nation” in Reserve readings
STUDENT RESPONSE
W Nov 23
Dorian, Nancy. “Western Language Ideologies and Small-Language
Prospects” in Reserve readings.
M Nov 28
STUDENT PROJECT PRESENTATIONS
W Nov 30
STUDENT PROJECT PRESENTATIONS
F Dec 2
TAKE HOME EXAM TWO DUE.
M Dec 5
STUDENT PROJECT PRESENTATIONS
W Dec 7
STUDENT PROJECT PRESENTATIONS
F Dec 9
Course synthesis
T Dec 13
FINAL PAPERS DUE IN MY OFFICE BY 12:00 PM.