Language, Globalization and the Self

Semester and Year	SP 2012
Course Number	IDSEM-UG1342
Section	001
Instructor	Maria-Luisa Achino-Loeb
Days	Mon
Time	11:00 AM - 1:45 PM
Units	4.0
Level	U
Foundation Requirement	SOC

Description

This course is intended as an exploration of language as vehicle for processes of globalization. What role did language play in the changes wrought by early capitalist transformations and the colonial expansion? Conversely, how have these global changes affected localized communities and the languages that identify them? And why should we care? To answer these questions we will examine how the colonial experience has given rise to value-laden linguistic practices that mirror and sustain the racializing of privilege; and how the experience of language-loss encountered by voluntary and involuntary migrants can attack the integrity of the self. While ultimately concerned with language, our discussions will have a wide scope ranging from issues of political economy to collective consciousness and individual psychology. Readings will include Achino-Loeb's Silence: The Currency of Power, Anderson's Imagined Communities, Wolf's Europe and the People Without History, Hoffman's Lost in Translation, Dangarembga's Nervous Conditions, Richard Rodriguez’ Hunger of Memory as well as selected excerpts from other sources.

Course Type

Interdisciplinary Seminars (IDSEM-UG)