Tag(s)
GC, HI, PA, ID
Admission Requirements
100-level courses in GC, HI, PA, and ID give access to this course, which in turn gives access to similarly 300-level courses.
Description
This course will offer students an opportunity to identify, map out and understand the problematic territory at the intersection of language and politics. Ever since Socrates drew attention to the art of deception mastered by the Sophists, who employed language to rhetorical effect instead of in the pursuit of truth, a lingering suspicion has persisted in our culture that our use of words might not be as transparent and innocuous a representation of the world as some might have implicitly or explicitly claimed. Thinkers of the past century have most intensely scrutinized language as the medium of representation – that is, political representation – of variously situated individuals or groups. Enlisting the help of critical theorists, fiction writers, sociologists, anthropologists, and philosophers, in the course of this semester we will ponder questions such as: What does it mean to speak about, as or in the name of citizens of a country, women of color, disabled persons, natives of former colonies, children, environment activists? In other words, how does the language we use in everyday life, in legal documents, in laws and regulations, shape our perceptions of the world around us, position us with respect to other people, and help us create a sustainable community with them? What difference does it make to privilege one language over others, how does such a choice bear on the dynamic of power relations among various individuals and groups?
Course Objectives
The purpose of this course is twofold: first, students will gain familiarity with a broad range of views on the workings of language and its political implications, both diachronically (from Plato to twentieth century linguists) and synchronically (with a focus on debates that dominated the past century). In this latter sense, it could be regarded as an introduction to critical theory: students will develop a critical vocabulary instrumental in broadening what is generally understood by the term “politics.” Second, the nuanced analyses of texts in various genres and of numerous case-studies will fine-tune the students’ awareness of the subtle political implications of various language uses, from seemingly innocuous conversations in daily life to broader issues and challenges specific to a global world.
Mode of Instruction
The course will unfold as a series of conversations on various themes related to the course topic, prompted by weekly readings of no longer than 50 pages. Typically, the first part of our meeting will be dedicated to a discussion of the required texts for the day based on the responses posted by students on blackboard the night before class. A student or two will then be in charge of presenting the optional reading on the syllabus, first by explaining to the rest of the class the main concepts and ideas developed by the author, then by illustrating how those notions could be applied to the analysis of a text (a film excerpt, a historical case, a very brief fictional text, etc) of their own choice (to be discussed in advance with the course instructor).
Assessment
A thorough and thoughtful engagement with the texts on the syllabus is essential to the pedagogy of this course, as is an active participation in class-discussion; in a certain way, the class itself will have to be an ongoing performance of the difficulties posed by our topic, language and politics: students will be expected to articulate eloquently, yet tactfully, their views, and take seriously the differences expressed by others. Class participation will count for 20% of the final grade.
Blackboard postings will focus on one or several key-terms or ideas developed in the required text for the day. Revised, by the end of the semester these will have to be re-submitted in the form of a dictionary of politically charged keywords (ex: identity, subaltern, nationalism, multiculturalism, etc) – 25%.
One presentation of an optional reading and case-study – this should take the form of a brief lecture followed by a discussion in which the rest of the class should be encouraged to participate actively – *15%8.
Final paper proposal (1 page) and annotated bibliography (at least 5 items selected from the list of optional readings or otherwise chosen by the student) due in class at the end of week 5 – 10% – to be developed into…
A final research essay of 2500-3000 words (Times New Roman, double-spaced) on a topic related to the course theme, due on week 8, Friday at 17:00 – 30%.
Literature
Course reader: All reading materials will be made available electronically via our course website on blackboard.
Recommended text: John E. Joseph, Language and Politics, Edinburgh: Edinburgh University Press, 2006.
Contact Information
Students are welcome to contact the instructor with any questions regarding the course outline at corina@lucresearch.nl.
Weekly Overview
Weeks 1 and 2
Do we mean what we say? Language in history: truth, rhetoric, propaganda, play; theories of language
Week 3
Speaking as, speaking for: the stakes of linguistic and political representation (Case-studies: Communism, National Socialism)
Week 4
Language and the politics of everyday life
Week 5
Politics of sexual difference: biological determinism, linguistic normativity, and the theatrics of social performativity
Week 6
Speaking as, speaking for (continued): colonialism and decolonization
Week 7
Nationalism, multiculturalism, globalization
Preparation for first session
The first chapter of John Joseph’s book Language and Politics, entitled “Overview: How politics permeates language (and vice versa)”, offers a good introduction to some of the topics we will address in this course. Students should come to the first class either with a copy of the text (available as a .pdf on the course website) or with their own copy of the book, and prepared to discuss the ideas presented in this chapter.