Language and Race

This course explores the relationship between language and race by introducing students to a range of ethnolectal models adopted by sociolinguists and linguistic anthropologists. In order to consider the contributions and limitations of these models, the course focuses on cultural sites across the United States and beyond that may complicate traditional conceptions of language and race, including communities that defy easy categorization within a black-white racial paradigm, speakers who use features associated with racial outgroups, and linguistic personas that are simultaneously associated with gendered, classed, and racialized meanings. The course will additionally emphasize the political relevance of studying language and race, namely by considering racist and anti-racist language practices in institutional and media contexts.