This course examines the interplay between language and education from a range of discourse analytic approaches, including interactional sociolinguistics, conversation analysis, critical discourse analysis, and multimodal discourse analysis. We will consider how educational identities, norms, and values are enacted in and through language in teacher–student and peer interactions, curricular materials, and policies. In addition to reviewing assigned readings and participating in class discussions, you will take part in data sessions and engage in self-directed research on topics related to language and education. You will apply your knowledge of the field by conducting short independent projects on educational discourse.
This course examines the complex interplay between language and the political sphere. Drawing on conversation analysis, interactional sociolinguistics, critical discourse analysis, and multimodal discourse analysis, we will investigate how various linguistic features relate to political identities and ideologies across genres of political discourse, including speeches, interviews, debates, campaign ads, and the media. In addition to reviewing assigned readings and participating in class discussions, you will take part in data analysis and peer review workshopsand engage in self-directed research on topics related to language and politics. The course will culminate in a final empirical research project, in which you will research a course topic of your choice and present your findings in an academic paper and presentation.
This course examines the intersection of language with gender and sexuality. By integrating a variety of theoretical and analytical perspectives from sociolinguistics and gender theory, we will explore how gender and sexual identities and ideologies are enacted in and through language use across contexts. Through readings, lectures, group discussions, and hands-on data workshops, we will cover topics such as: the discursive construction of gender, the (re)production of and resistance to (hetero)sexism in interaction, the intersectionality of language, gender, sexuality, race, ethnicity, and class, and the growth of language and gender research over time. By completing assignments on a short, self-selected piece of discursive data throughout the semester, you will gradually complete an independent study on language, gender, and sexuality.
This course offers a general overview of the most pertinent issues of diversity in schooling through a discourse analytic lens.The course examines the nature of classroom interaction and student identity construction, issues in and approaches to scaffolding learning among minoritized student populations, and the reinforcement of and resistance to dominant ideologies and social structures in the classroom. We will explore how differences in language, culture, race, ethnicity, gender, sexuality, and ability are enacted and discussed in classrooms in the U.S. and abroad, with the goal of developing a deeper understanding of the issues teachers and students face in diverse educational contexts. In addition to taking part in reading discussionsand data sessions,youwill conductindependent projects on diversity in classroom interaction.
This course focuses on discourse analytic approaches to the study of inclusion and exclusion in social interaction. We will explore how interactants engage in (tacitly) inclusive and exclusionary practices as they enact and orient to constructs such as race, ethnicity, class, gender, sexuality, age, ability. We will review classic and current research on inclusion/exclusion across contexts (e.g., ordinary interaction, education, media, etc.) and within a range of discourse analytic frameworks, including conversation analysis, membership categorization analysis, discursive psychology, critical discourse analysis, and interactional sociolinguistics. In addition to taking part in reading discussions and data sessions, you will design and carry out your own study oninclusion/exclusion in interaction using your own data or data from archived sources.
This course explores how interactants integrate an array of visual and auditory resources, including gestures, facial expressions, physical materials, space, images, and sounds, to pursue social actions. We will survey multimodal research on video-recorded interactions in a variety of settings (e.g., casual gatherings, service encounters, health care, education, entertainment, etc.). Through this process, we will build skills for collecting, transcribing, editing, analyzing, and presenting multimodal data. In addition to taking part in reading discussions, analyses, and data sessions, students will conduct independent projects on multimodal interaction based on their own or publicly available data.
This seminar investigates discourse in a variety of institutional contexts, including educational, medical, and legal settings. Drawing on conversation analysis, interactional sociolinguistics, multimodal analysis, and critical discourse analysis, we will explore how institutional roles and objectives shape institutional discursive practices, the problems such discursive practices can reflect and engender, and the solutions that discourse analysts can offer. In this process, we will reflect on key methodological issues, analytical concepts and procedures, and practical concerns in conducting institutional discourse research. In addition to taking part in reading discussions and data sessions, you will design and carry out your own investigation of discourse in an institutional context of your choice.