EPS 590: Language, Identity, and the Politics of Schooling
FALL 2014
Mondays 4-6:50
242 Education
Crn: 54894
Instructor: Anne Dyson (ahdyson@illinois.edu)
Language is, in one way or the other, at the root of our identities, our relationships with others, and, indeed our world view. Moreover, in school, language use—discourse—is a site of sociocultural differences and of gross inequities. Indeed, it is impossible to understand how schools become places of privilege and oppression without this understanding. How is language linked to the sociocultural history and political structure of a country, and to the identity of a speaker? What do basic questions about language, development, and variation have to do with education in a multidialectal, multilingual world? Through readings from classics in the field, to textbook definitional chapters, to read aloud fiction capturing language’s variety, the course aims to provide a conceptual foundation for those interested in these questions (no previous linguistic education required) and a place to explore key language concepts. Although emphasis will be placed on the situation in the U.S., the politics of Englishes globally will be included, as will changing visions of oral/written relationships, code-switching/meshing (and communicative hybrids like spoken word). All students will be allowed intellectual space to pursue their interests.
