This seminar introduces a variety of themes and issues in linguistic anthropology, with a particular emphasis on the link between language and power. The seminar highlights that language is a constitutive of social realities, including social relationships and identities, rather than a passive tool for communication. The seminar delves into subjects such as the linguistic construction of gender, class, and race, hate speech, censorship, and the interplay of language and power unique to various institutions such as social media, and also explores the strategies of challenging the linguistic forms of power and domination. Students are expected to develop their own research project that involves empirical data collection and analysis, and thus gain hands-on linguistic anthropological research experience.
3 units · Letter (ABCD/NP)
This seminar introduces a variety of themes and issues in linguistic anthropology, with a particular emphasis on the link between language and power. The seminar highlights that language is a constitutive of social realities, including social relationships and identities, rather than a passive tool for communication. The seminar delves into subjects such as the linguistic construction of gender, class, and race, hate speech, censorship, and the interplay of language and power unique to various institutions such as social media, and also explores the strategies of challenging the linguistic forms of power and domination. Students are expected to develop their own research project that involves empirical data collection and analysis, and thus gain hands-on linguistic anthropological research experience.
Offered in Autumn 2026 at Stanford University.