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ANSC 205

I. Course Title: Introduction to Sociolinguistics (GE) 

II. Course Number: ANSC 205

III. Credit Hours: 3 credits

IV. Prerequisites: None

V. Course Description: 

Course to introduce students to the major concepts of Sociolinguistics and how they affect human communication in different contexts and cultures. 

Note(s): General Education and Humanistic or Artistic Expression designated course.

VI. Detailed Description of Content of the Course:

Course will cover the following topics: Basic Vocabulary of Linguistics, Register Shifting, Global Dialects, American Dialects, Multilingualism and Power Dynamics, Gender and Language, Cognition and Culture, briefly Methodology of Sociolinguistics, African American Vernacular English, and Dialect Rights

VI. Detailed Description of Conduct of Course:

The course will include a mixture of lecture, discussion, and student driven research and presentation on a topic in sociolinguistics.  This course will introduce students to the major concepts of Sociolinguistics and how they affect human communication in different contexts and cultures.  Students will research and write a fully AAA cited complete sentence outline and give a presentation to the class on their research.  Students will also create games and activities to help their peers remember the information.  Each week, students will work in groups to answer discussion questions about their perceptions and experiences related to the week’s topics or consider case studies.    

VII. Goals and Objectives of the Course:

This course is designated as E (Humanistic or Artistic Expression) Area for the REAL Curriculum and fulfills the learning goal: To explore humanistic or artistic expression through inquiry or creativity. Students will fulfill the learning outcomes in this area: demonstrate understanding of diverse ideas, languages, products, or processes of humanistic inquiry or artistic expression and critically evaluate, synthesize, or create forms of human expression or inquiry.

This course may be applied to the REAL Studies Minor in Humanistic/Artistic Expression.

  1. Students will acquire the basic concepts of linguistics and sociolinguistics
  2. Students will build the vocabulary and conceptual frameworks to be able to recognize and discourse about how language is used. 
  3. Students will analyze the dynamic relationship between culture and language use. 
  4. Students will become more aware of their own communication behaviors, as well as that of others.

VIII. Assessment Measures:

In class assignments and group discussion, quizzes, exams, and presentations.

Review and Approval

August, 2020

August, 2021

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