Fall 2009

E 364T • English Language and Its Social Context

Course Description

Please refer to the course schedule for course days, time, room location, prerequisites and possible cross-listings: http://registrar.utexas.edu/schedules/

The English Language and Its Social Context is a course designed for English majors, future teachers of English and rhetoric, and other language-oriented students who want to know more about the English language, especially about its social meanings and political uses. The course aims to acquaint students with the language theory, history, and research most relevant to teachers of literature and rhetoric. Specifically, we will study: basic principles of language structure and change; the social dimensions of language variety; the linguistic history and linguistic diversity of the U.S.; English and commercial culture; language attitudes; pedagogical issues involving language acquisition and linguistic difference; linguistic diversity and the teaching of English language and literature; and problems of language and public policy. The course aims not solely to convey information, though of course this will be important, but to encourage students to think in new ways about the language(s) they speak.

Grading Policy

Minimum requirements are: 1) satisfactory work on (possible) quizzes and on linguistics problems; 2) satisfactory work on two papers (one 2-3 pages; one 4-6 pages); 3) a passing average score on exams (three; no exam may be missed); 4) discussion informed by familiarity with the required readings; and 5) regular attendance. Note that these are minimum requirements. Grades are based on: quizzes and problems (10%); exams (60%, 20% for each of three) and papers (one 10%, one 20%). Discussion and attendance are considered essential, and unsatisfactory marks in these areas are deducted from the final average.

Texts

Adger, Carolyn Temple, Walt Wolfram, and Donna Chistian, Dialects in Schools and Communities, Lawrence Erlbaum, 2nd ed., 2007; Delpit, Lisa, and Joanne Kilgour Dowdy, The Skin That We Speak: Thoughts on Language and Culture in the Classroom, New Press, 2002; Lippi-Green, Rosina, English with an Accent: Language, Ideology, and Discrimination in the United States, Routledge, 1997; Tse, Lucy, Why Don't They Learn English?: Separating Fact From Fallacy in the U. S. Language Debate, Teacher's College Press, 2001; Course packet (available at Speedway Copy in Dobie Mall).

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