This course is designed to challenge students to read,
discuss, and write analytically; to learn how to revise their work; and to
introduce them to college-level research.
This section will be organized around questions of language(s): which
languages do we speak, and in what contexts do we speak them, whether they are
“standard” languages like English, Tagalog, Japanese, etc., or Creoles and
pidgins? What are the effects of gender on the way we talk? How do we spell,
and why should it matter? What is the relationship between language and
identity in our lives? What is the significance of English as a language used
across the globe? How will technology affect our uses of language? Students will read a cluster of essays on
each question, and write (and revise) essays on them. These will include
analytical/argument essays as well as descriptive and narrative work.
Occasionally, video clips and poems will be brought into class for purposes of
amplifying the material.
Our central text will be What’s
Language Got to Do with It?(Norton). Students will also be required to
bookmark the Purdue OWL site and to visit it frequently. Class participation and attendance will be
crucial to good performance in the course.