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LING 101-000: History of the American Languages
Tamasi, MWF 11:45am - 12:35pm, Limit 70
4 credits
Content: This course presents a linguistic view of the history, society, and
culture of the United States. It discusses the many languages and forms of
language that have been used in this country over its history, including
standard and nonstandard forms of English, different social and geographical
dialects, African American English, creoles, Native American languages, and
immigrant languages from Asia and Europe.
Students examine the inherent diversity of these communicative systems both
as a form of cultural enrichment and as the basis for socio-political conflict,
and also investigate possible solutions to these problems through class discussion
and debate. In addition, students study the universal phenomenon of language change
and explore how it affects understanding of language behavior.
Students are introduced to the basic concepts of linguistics with an emphasis on
sociolinguistics and the politics of language. They examine historical and contemporary
political dimensions of several issues, including: the "English-Only" controversy;
ideologies of standardization and nationalism; bilingualism and bilingual education;
language and ethnicity; language and age; and language and gender.
Texts:
- The Study of Language, 3rd ed. George Yule. 2006. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press.
- Language in the USA. E. Finegan and J. Rickford. 2004. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press.
- Various articles on electronic reserve.
Particulars: Grading will be based on homework, field assignments, in-class debate, tests, and participation.
There are no prerequisites.
LING 190-000: Freshman Seminar:
Popular Culture and Literacy
Section 000, Fisher, W 1:00-4:00pm, Limit 8
Cross-listed as EDS 190-000, Limit 8
4 credits
Content:
In this seminar, we will critically examine the intersections of popular culture, literacy, and youth culture in school and in out-of-school contexts. The seminar is divided into four sections: Part I-Unpacking Popular Culture, Part II-Theories and Issues in Literacy, Part III-Popular Culture and Literacy at the Crossroads and Part IV-Implications for Education. Throughout the seminar we will examine how popular culture and literacy have been theorized and seek to understand who and what defines literacy in the context of the lived experiences of youth. Additionally, we will identify the forms of power that have been ascribed to literacy throughout history. Required experiences include posting reflections from the class readings to our Blackboard website, group presentations for class readings, a research paper, and research presentations. All readings must be completed prior to class meetings.
Texts:
- Alim, H. Samy & Baugh, John. (2006). Talkin Black Talk. Teachers College Press:
New York.
- Dyson, Anne Haas. (2003). The Brothers and Sisters Learn to Write: Popular
Literacies in Childhood and School Cultures. Teachers College Press: New
York.
- Fisher, Maisha T. (2007). Writing in Rhythm: Spoken word poetry in urban
classrooms. Teachers College Press: New York.
- Morrell, Ernest (2004). Linking Literacy and Popular Culture: Finding connections
For lifelong learning. Norwood, Massachusetts: Christopher-Gordon
Publishers, Inc.
LING 301WR-000: Language, Mind & Society
Tamasi, TuTh 11:30 - 12:45pm, Limit 18
Cross-listed as PHIL 345WR-000, Limit 7
Content: Why is language structured the way it is? How and why is it limited in what
it can express? Answers to questions such as these usually stem from two opposing views.
One focuses on language and meaning as products of how the mind works. The other stresses
language as a product of social interaction. In this course, we will consider a series of
questions to better understand these two views. Topics will include what the sources of
linguistic structure might be; whether (or how much of) language is innate in humans; how
language reflects categories, and helps us form categories; how our use of language is
informed by shared schemas.
Texts: The course will be based around discussion of, and writing about, the readings.
Articles and book chapters for the course will be placed on electronic reserve for downloading.
They will include, for example, chapters from books such as: Wittgenstein, Philosophical
Investigations; Pinker, The Language Instinct; Tomasello, Constructing a Language; Lakoff,
Women, Fire and Dangerous Things: What Categories Reveal about the Mind.
Particulars: Grades will be based on class participation; five short quizzes on the readings;
and five essays, one at the end of each major topic in the course. Four of the essays will be short
(three pages) and the last one will be developed and revised during the semester and be longer (ten pages).
There are no prerequisites, but a previous course in linguistics, psychology, or cultural anthropology
is recommended.
LING 309-000: Brain and Language
Alexander, MWF 10:40 - 11:30am, Limit 10
Cross-listed as PSYC 309-000, Limit 30
4 credits
Content: The purpose of this course is to examine language in a biological context and to
investigate the relationship between brain mechanisms and language behavior. Topics covered will include
aphasia and other language disorders; hemispheric specialization; aphasia in the deaf; critical periods and
aphasia in children; and gender differences in brain organization and cognitive abilities.
The format of the
course will be primarily lecture with some discussion. Students will read primary source material as well as
relevant background reading from a selection of books and journals. Both theoretical and methodological issues
will be covered.
LING 335WR-000: South Asia: Language, Politics and Identity
Ranjan, TuTh 2:30-3:45pm, Limit 6
Cross-listed as MESAS 335WR-000, Limit 6
Cross-listed as ASIA 375WR-000, Limit 6
4 credits
Content: South Asia is an area of staggering linguistic diversity. Twenty two official languages and hundreds of other
languages/dialects make the region linguistically, socially and culturally very complex. This course will focus on the emergence of
modern languages in South Asia, the development of multilingualism, and the use of different languages in different social and cultural
settings. It will also discuss the relationship between language-dialect, issues related to political decisions and their effects on the
status of a language and the identity of a speaker in the multilayered, multilingual mobile environment. Special topics will include the
role of films in constructing regional and national identities and the Indian identity in Indian diaspora. By the end of the course,
students will have been exposed to the basic questions and analytic categories of the sociolinguistic landscape of South Asia.
Texts:
- Nehru and the Language Politics of India. Robert D. King. 1998. Delhi: OUP
- Course Packet
Particulars: Participation and attendance (30%), three response papers (30%),
mid-term research project (15%) and final paper (25%).
LING 340S-000: Topics in Sociolinguistics: Sociolinguistics,
Bilingualism and Multilingualism
Tuten, TuTh 1:00 - 2:15pm, Limit 10
Cross-listed as: ANT 340S-000, Limit 4
* Cross-listed as: SPAN 410S-000, Limit 4
4 credits
Content: The field of sociolinguistics focuses on the study of language in social context. In this
course, we will begin with a brief review of sociolinguistic questions, concepts and methods, and then focus on the
study of bilingualism and multilingualism (including multidialectalism). The course will consider linguistic, individual,
social, cultural, political, and historical aspects of these phenomena. Specific attention will be given to topics such as
linguistic variation, the nature of verbal interaction, code-switching/code-mixing, language attitudes and ideologies, and
the politics of language. We will explore a range of different questions/issues, including the links between social
(and institutional) factors and language use, the reasons for variation within and between speech communities, the factors
which affect linguistic choices in multilingual contexts, and the reasons why different speech communities experience and
conceive of multilingualism in different ways. Students will be expected to design an original research project on some aspect
of language variation and use within a particular speech community. Potential research methods will be presented and discussed
in the course.
Texts: TBA
Particulars: No knowledge of any specific language is required. There is no prerequisite for this class, but
students who have not taken any coursework in Linguistics should consult with the instructor before enrolling in the course.
Students enrolling under SPAN410 will be required to carry out a research project relating to Spanish and to write their final paper
in Spanish.
* Students may enroll in SPAN410 only with permission of instructor.
LING 362WR-000: Beowulf
Morey, TuTh 10:00 - 11:15am, Limit 5
Cross-listed as ENG 301WR-000, Limit 20
4 credits
Content: The poem known as Beowulf constitutes approximately one-tenth of the extant corpus of Old English
poetry and it survives in only one manuscript. This fraction and number disguise the importance of the poem to scholars from
Elizabethan to modern times, from its emergence as an antiquarian curiosity to the ongoing investigations of its historic, mythic,
and literary dimensions. Classes will consist of prepared translation, short lectures, and spontaneous discussion. Reading in relevant
scholarship will provide a basis for discussion and for term papers.
Texts:
- Beowulf: An Edition, ed. Mitchell and Fred C. Robinson. Blackwell, 1998.
- Beowulf: A New Verse Translation, Roy Liuzza. Broadview, 2000.
- A Critical Companion to Beowulf, Andy Orchard. D. S. Brewer, 2003.
Particulars: midterm (translation), term paper (approximately 15 pages), and final examination (translation). Introductory
Old English (English 300) or equivalent preparation in reading Old English (please see the instructor) is required. While proficiency in
class translation is not graded per se, regular attendance and preparation of the material are crucial to success in the course.
LING 385-000: Egyptian Art and Hieroglyphs
Robins MWF 9:35 - 10:25am, Limit 5
Cross-listed as ARTHIST 319-000, Limit 15
4 credits
Content: Egyptian hieroglyphs form a pictorial script used on monuments, in contrast to
the cursive, non-pictorial hieratic and demotic scripts employed on official and literary
documents written on papyrus. Hieroglyphs, created according to the same principles that
underlie two-dimensional Egyptian art, are a fundamental element in Egyptian
representations. Not only do they serve to identify figures and actions, but they are an
integral part of the whole composition. This course explores the form, function and
symbolism of this beautiful script and its relationship to Egyptian art, and introduces
students to the basic grammar of Middle Egyptian, the classical language of ancient
Egypt, to enable them to read standard monumental inscriptions.
Texts:
- How To Read Egyptian Hieroglyphs, Revised Edition. Mark Collier and Bill Manley. 2003. University of California Press.
- Additional readings on reserve.
Particulars: sessions will include language exercises and in-class tests, reading of
prepared and unprepared texts, analysis of monumental scenes and their associated texts,
discussions of readings, museum visits, mid-term and final exams.
cancelled LING 385S-000: Special Topics in Linguistics:
Narrative and Events:
A Research Workshop
Franzosi, TuTh 4:00 - 5:15pm, Limit 5
Cross-listed as SOC 389S-002, Limit 7
4 credits
Content: This is not your typical course offering. It is a workshop. What does that mean? Basically,
you learn by doing. You start with a problem: How can we study events (in particular, protest or violent events as found
in social movements)? How can we learn something about the Civil Rights movement (we are in Atlanta after all ...)? Or the
Feminist movement? Or violence around us? What we know about those social issues mostly comes from texts (e.g., newspaper
articles, police reports, letters). The question then is: How can we study those texts in systematic ways to extract meaningful
information? In this course, we will pursue answer(s) to those questions. And that may require us to take different routes, from
some knowledge of the substantive problems (we will focus on lynchings and race riots and on the actions of the second wave of
the feminist movement), to linguistics (the discipline best equipped to deal with texts), to computer science (if all you have
is a short document, there is little need for a computer; your memory can cope with it; what if you have a thousand, or tens
of thousands of documents? A computer will help, in particular relational databases!), to statistics (if you quantify, and deal
with numbers, statistics will help you find patterns in your data). That's a lot of ground to cover. And . . . you will have to cover
that ground mostly on your own, doing most of the work yourself. Yes! Unfortunately, "workshop" means that you roll up your sleeves
and get your hands dirty with research. Are you up for it? Lecture courses do have an advantage: as the captain says, you can sit
back, relax, and perhaps even think about something else, while professors spew out words as if there were no tomorrow. . . Not here!
You'll be the one spewing out words. No place to hide . . .
So, confronted with a problem, we will start by looking at documents and see what we can do with them. Then, we organize class participants
into sub-groups, each pursuing different paths (substance, linguistics, computer science, statistics). We will be doing some real data
collection and analysis on lynchings, race riots, and the feminist movement. The sub-groups will be in charge of sharing what they find
as they go along (lecturing to the rest of the class!). In the end, the sub-groups will make recommendations on how best to approach the
problem and we will put it all together . . . hopefully! Of course . . . It may also all go pear shaped!
Particulars: The course requires: 1) leading class discussions based on readings and research; 2) weekly lab work;
3) coding of textual material; 4) a mid-term exam based on readings; 5) a final publishable-quality research paper based on the
analysis of chosen text data.
LING 385S-001: Special Topics in Linguistics:
Performing Language: Metaphor, Conceptual Blending,
and Performativity
Cook, MW (occasional Fridays TBA) 10:40 - 11:30am, Limit 10
Cross-listed as THEA 389S-000, Limit 5
4 credits
Content: This class will investigate the relationship between language and performance, beginning with
the assumption that the performance context of speech impacts meaning. We will read contemporary theorists in cognitive
linguistics such as George Lakoff, Gilles Fauconnier, Rafael Núñez, and Eve Sweetser as well as performance studies theorists
such as Richard Schechner and Philip Auslander. We will conduct our own cognitive linguistic performance analysis on Bush's final
State of the Union address and Ethan Hawke's "to be or not to be" speech in Almereyda's film of Hamlet from 2000. The class will include special
guest speakers and will be interdisciplinary in focus.
Texts:
- Philosophy in the Flesh. George Lakoff and Mark Johnson
- The Way We Think. Gilles Fauconnier and Mark Turner
- Glam Rock. Philip Auslander
Particulars:This course will be part lecture and part seminar. We will use occasional Friday sessions for group projects and presentations.
Grades will be based on participation, short response papers, and a final paper/project.
LING 385S-002: Sociology of Mass Media
Franzosi, TuTh 4:00-5:15pm, Limit 5
Cross-listed as SOC 389S, Limit 15
4 credits
Content: This course provides an introduction to the mass media in modern societies.
Different aspects of media will be covered, ranging from the political economy of the media, to the
media as news and entertainment. We will look at the world of advertising, its language, its messages,
and its images. We will investigate the notion of media bias or the selection and presentation of news.
We will pay particular attention to issues of media representation of gender, race, class, and nation state.
Finally, we will look at the internet as a new medium, its potential for the democratization of communication
in a context of globalization. In the course, we will take up a range of question: Who owns the media? Does
ownership affect media content? Can advertisers influence media programs? Is there more to the selection of
news than time, space, and cultural constraints? Does the internet weaken large media companies' control over
information and empower people with unlimited access to alternative information? In attempting to answer these
questions we will take up broader concepts, such as hegemony and ideology, and the role of language in shaping people's consciousness.
Texts: Selected books and articles.
Particulars: The course requires: 1) two presentations of readings to the class; 2) mid-term exam based on the readings; 3) final exam based on the readings.
LING 497R-00P: Directed Reading
Faculty, TBA, TBA
Variable credit
Content: Readings on selected topics in Linguistics as arranged between individual
student(s) and a specific member of the linguistics faculty who consents to guide the student(s)
in a particular area of study, arrange requirements and appointments. Credit hours vary between 2-8 hours.
Particulars: Written permission of the instructor is required prior to pre-registration.
LING 499R-00P: Directed Research
Faculty, TBA, TBA
Variable credit
Content: This course will allow students to conduct independent research under the
direction of a faculty member. Students will have the opportunity to observe how
linguistic theories and models are applied, learn research methods, and may elect
to apply them in their own research project, developed under the close supervision of
a faculty member. The number of credit hours varies between 1-4.
Particulars: Written permission of the instructor is required prior to pre-registration.
GRADUATE COURSES
LING 585S: Content Analysis
Franzosi, Tu 1:00 - 4:00pm, Limit 3
Cross-listed as SOC 585S, Limit 7
(permission only)
Content: This course aims to provide an introduction to Content Analysis, a social science
technique for the analysis of text data. Although the course ultimately aims to quantify information, some
attention will also be devoted to the linguistic features of texts and to the nuances of language (e.g.,
gendered language, metaphors, narrative, rhetoric). Two types of quantitative approaches will be illustrated:
traditional content analysis — both thematic and referential — and narrative analysis. Through a mixture of
lectures and labs, students will be taught both the theoretical and practical aspects of content analysis.
This is a very labor-intensive course, requiring a large amount of coding and the writing of a research paper to be
submitted for publication — the paper will have to meet the same exacting standards of a journal publication
in terms of sources, sampling, coding scheme design, reliability, analyses, and writing. Do not enroll in
the course unless you have the time to dedicate to such course. Students enrolling in the class must come
into the course already knowing which topic to research and which documents to use as data sources for content
analysis. No auditors will be admitted to the course.
Texts: Selected books and articles.
Particulars: The course requires: 1) leading one class discussion based on assigned readings; 2) weekly memos on the readings; 3) weekly lab work; 4) coding of textual material; 5) a final publishable-quality research paper based on the analysis of chosen text data.
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