Course Description
History and structure of the speech and language styles used in the African American community; examination of linguistic and cultural issues that confront the majority of African Americans; the role of the vernacular language of African Americans in society.
Athena Title
AFR AMER LANG USE
Prerequisite
ENGL(LING) 3030 or ENGL(LING) 4005/6005 or LING 2100
Semester Course Offered
Not offered on a regular basis.
Grading System
A - F (Traditional)
Course Objectives
At the end of the course, students will have developed the ability to answer two primary questions that guided the course: "What is African American English (AAE)?" and "Why is studying the language of American Slave Descendants important?" To answer these questions, students will survey, examine, and discuss theory-based and research-oriented texts as well as critical essays that address language use in the African American community in the sociocultural and historical contexts of its American Slave Descendants and the implications of those contexts (e.g., educationally, politically, and ideologically) for African Americans in particular and society in general. Students will be expected to critically think about texts and class discussions in order to analyze, synthesize, and build texts-including their own.
Topical Outline
Topics will include definitions and history of African American English, variation and structure, African American English in relation to language variation in the US, and attitudes toward and policy implications for African American English. Specific topics vary by instructor and at different times. Periodically during the semester, students will perform a number of graded tasks, including some combination of tests and out-of-class papers. In-class exams and the final exam will require essays as well as objective questions and problems. Substantial out-of-class writing will be required, including at least one short paper (c. 5 pages), and a prospectus (c. 3-5 pages) that proposes an idea for a major paper due at the end of the term (c. 20 pages).