ENGL/WGS 3134: Gender and Linguistics

This course explores the difference – real and imagined – in the speech of people of different genders, and the relationship between these differences to culture. Students will examine how language can reflect and reinforce gender inequality and discrimination, but how it is also a powerful tool for self-expression and cultural change. We will look at linguistic phenomena like pitch, vocabulary, pronouns, sound change, language ideologies, and discourse strategies and types.

Why take it?

Language is arguably the defining feature of the human species. By examining the ways in which language and gender intersect and influence one another, students not only learn more about the science of both gender and language, but also about how perceptions and attitudes about gender language are informed by societal ideologies and power structures. This course will enable students to identify those narratives when they encounter them in their classrooms, their personal lives, their careers, and in the media.

ENGL/WGS 3134 fulfills an introductory requirement in the Language Sciences Pathways minor.

Requirements

Prerequisite: ENGL 1106 or COMM 1016.

This course fulfills Pathways requirements in Advanced Discourse and Intercultural and Global Awareness.

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