Fall Semester 2008

Meetings: Mondays 6:50-9:30pm, Room TBA
Office Hours: TBA, or by appt

Course objectives:
To develop familiarity with the range of subfields that fall under sociolinguistics, including language variation, language contact, gendered language, discourse analysis, language planning, and speech acts. A secondary emphasis of the course concerns the research methodologies available in the field.

Textbooks:

1) Spoken Here: Travels among threatened languages by Mark Abley (2003, Mariner Press)

2) The Routledge Companion to Sociolinguistics edited by Llamas, Mullany, and Stockwell (2007, Routledge)

3) Discourses of Endangerment edited by Duchene and Heller (2007, Continuum)

4) Other Readings all on RESERVE in the Burritt Library

Research Ethics:
1. Proper citation of printed sources is required in all assignments. Plagiarism will be severely punished. If you are unsure about what constitutes plagiarism or if you have questions about how to cite a source properly, ask me.
2. Sociolinguistic research often involves the analysis of natural, non-performative language, either spoken or written. If this language is recorded in any way (video, audio, or some exact written forms), you will need to follow ethical norms in dealing with subjects. For instance, you will need to get the subjects' informed consent in writing before their participation. This can affect the results, i.e. change the their behaviors. However, it is necessary. Informed consent minimally includes:

a. An explanation of the research
b. An explanation of potential benefits and risks to the subject
c. A statement that participation is voluntary and may be withdrawn at any time
d. The name(s) of the researchers and how they can be reached.

For further specifics about this course, contact the instructor.