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Language, Gender, and Sexuality


Course Description

The role of language in the formation and maintenance of the social differentiation of gender and sexuality in society.

Additional Requirements for Graduate Students:
Graduate students will be expected to complete additional readings and a more in-depth final project at the end of the course. Each graduate student will also be expected to give an in-class presentation on an article related to the course material.


Athena Title

Language Gender Sexuality


Prerequisite

LING 3060 or LING 3150 or LING 3150W or LING 3250


Semester Course Offered

Offered every year.


Grading System

A - F (Traditional)


Course Objectives

At the end of the course, students will understand how to analyze the interrelationship between language, gender, and sexuality and the way these connect to both individual identity and social structure. Students will be able to discuss how language connects to overarching theories of gender, as well as how it reflects and challenges the way gender and sexuality are organized within society. Students will also learn how to analyze concrete elements of language, such as pragmatic or phonetic variation, in a performative context.


Topical Outline

The choice and sequence of topics will vary from instructor to instructor and from semester to semester. Topics will consist of readings on the ways in which language influences social structures and vice versa, on a range of gender- and sexuality- based variations found in a number of languages, and on the theoretical ways to interpret the connection between gender, sexuality, and language. A number of graded tasks will be assigned, such as quizzes, tests, and various writing assignments done either in or outside of class.


Syllabus