Language, Power, and Identity

AL 1100 develops an awareness of language as an important component of culture and communication. Students investigate the relationship between language, power, and identity by (1) examining how political, historical, and social factors that have shaped or challenged language conventions and standards, (2) analyzing how language choices can express unspoken viewpoints and ideologies and influence thought, and (3) studying how language is used to construct identities such as gender, ethnicity, Deaf, and national identity in domestic and global contexts. Through readings, multimedia, field observations, discussions, and writing, students relate these topics to their own language use.