LIN 140 - Language, Power, and Ideology

Institution:

West Chester University of Pennsylvania

Subject:

Foreign Languages/linguistics Program

Description:

This course investigates the relationship between language and power as it is manifested in a variety of contexts. It examines the discourse of politics, the language of advertising and journalism, and the discourse of institutions and organizations to uncover ideological biases towards socioeconomic class; sexuality and gender; and race, ethnicity, and age. It also examines how these marginalized groups resist oppression and use language as an agent to speak against and subvert exclusion and discrimination in the United States and globally. Students will look at marginalized groups, including women, immigrants, people of color, LGBTQ individuals, speakers of low prestige dialects, such as Pittsburghese and African American English, and low prestige languages, such as creoles and pidgins, and they will examine how these groups use language to resist and subvert dominant ideologies. The course aims to introduce students to the basic principles of critical discourse analysis, critical stylistics, and sociolinguistics, enabling them to conduct their investigations of issues related to language and power as well as foster an informed and reasoned openness to, and understanding of, difference.

Credits:

3.00

Credit Hours:

Prerequisites:

Corequisites:

Exclusions:

Level:

Instructional Type:

Lecture

Notes:

Additional Information:

Historical Version(s):

Institution Website:

www.wcupa.edu

Phone Number:

(610) 436-1000

Regional Accreditation:

Middle States Association of Colleges and Schools

Calendar System:

Semester

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