4/27/2024 11:03:13 PM	ANTHRO 5 Course Outline as of Fall 2024	New Course (First Version)
CATALOG INFORMATION
Discipline and Nbr:  ANTHRO 5	Title:  ANTH OF LANG, COMM & CUL
Full Title:  The Anthropology of Language, Communication, and Culture
Last Reviewed:3/13/2023

Units		Course Hours per Week			Nbr of Weeks	Course Hours Total
Maximum	3.00	Lecture Scheduled	3.00		17.5 max.	Lecture Scheduled	52.50
Minimum	3.00	Lab Scheduled	0		6 min.	Lab Scheduled	0
		Contact DHR	0			Contact DHR	0
		Contact Total	3.00			Contact Total	52.50
		Non-contact DHR	0			Non-contact DHR Total	0

Total Out of Class Hours:  105.00

Total Student Learning Hours: 157.50

Title 5 Category:  AA Degree Applicable
Grading:  Grade or P/NP
Repeatability:  00 - Two Repeats if Grade was D, F, NC, or NP
Also Listed As: 
Formerly: 

Catalog Description:

Language is fundamental to our human lives. Creating meals, providing shelter, expressing humor and love, provoking fights and forging agreements, people communicate how they perceive and navigate the world. Students in this course use an anthropological perspective to study how the power of culture fashions language between and among the smallest communities to the largest societies. We delve into the structure of language, including the bio-cultural basis of how sounds are made and produced, and we study the unique culture histories of our global language families. We explore how language changes over time by means of cultural acts and social mingling. Importantly, we study issues of language loss and conservation.

Prerequisites/Corequisites:

Recommended Preparation:
Eligibility for ENGL 1A or equivalent

Limits on Enrollment:

Schedule of Classes Information
Description:

Language is fundamental to our human lives. Creating meals, providing shelter, expressing humor and love, provoking fights and forging agreements, people communicate how they perceive and navigate the world. Students in this course use an anthropological perspective to study how the power of culture fashions language between and among the smallest communities to the largest societies. We delve into the structure of language, including the bio-cultural basis of how sounds are made and produced, and we study the unique culture histories of our global language families. We explore how language changes over time by means of cultural acts and social mingling. Importantly, we study issues of language loss and conservation.

(Grade or P/NP)
Prerequisites:
Recommended:Eligibility for ENGL 1A or equivalent
Limits on Enrollment:
Transfer Credit:CSU;UC.
Repeatability:00 - Two Repeats if Grade was D, F, NC, or NP

ARTICULATION, MAJOR, and CERTIFICATION INFORMATION

Associate Degree:		Effective:		Inactive:
Area:
CSU GE:	Transfer Area			Effective:	Inactive:
IGETC:	Transfer Area			Effective:	Inactive:
CSU Transfer:	Transferable	Effective:	Fall 2024	Inactive:
UC Transfer:	Transferable	Effective:	Fall 2024	Inactive:
C-ID:

Certificate/Major Applicable: Major Applicable Course

COURSE CONTENT

Student Learning Outcomes:
At the conclusion of this course, the student should be able to:

1. Describe key features of language structures and methods of linguistic anthropology.

2. Identify historical roots and cultural regions using histories of language families.

3. Use key anthropological terms to demonstrate knowledge of language acquisition and transformation over time.

 

Objectives:

At the conclusion of this course, the student should be able to:

1. Explain the anthropological approach to language and communication.

2. Analyze and exemplify how language and culture are acquired and interrelated.

3. Identify the structural properties of language.

4. Analyze non-verbal communication cross-culturally.

5. Describe the bio-cultural origins and development of language through time.

6. Describe the ways in which beliefs about languages and speakers have social consequences.

7. Describe factors and consequences of language change (including loss) over time.

Topics and Scope

I. Cultural Life of Language and Communication

    A. Terminology and definitions of human language

    B. Culture and lexicons of anthropology

    C. Signs, symbols, and indices

II. Language as a Formal System

    A. Structural components of language

    B. Phonology, morphology, and syntax

    C. International Phonetic Alphabet (IPA)

    D. Pragmatism

    E. Sign Language and non-verbal forms of communication

III. Methods of Language Study

    A. Ethnographic approach

    B. Material culture of archaeology

    C. Biological basis of language

IV. Historical Linguistics: Regional Language Families and Evolution, may Include Regions of:

     A. Indus Valley

    B. Africa

    C. South Pacific and Southeast Asia

    D. East Asia

    E. North and South Americas

V. Language and Worldviews

    A. Sapir-Whorf hypothesis

    B. Language acquisition and socialization

    C. Communicative styles and genres

    D. Social differentiation, status and social hierarchies

     E. Multilingualism

VI. Communities of Language

    A. Language emergence and language relationships

    B. Gender and communication

    C. Identity, status, power, and agency

    D. Language technologies and media platforms

    E. Code-switching

VII. Language Loss and Preservation

    A. Language death

    B. Revitalization

    C. Language shift

    D. Language loss factors

    E. Maintenance of linguistic diversity

Assignments:

1. Reading assignments in the course textbook(s) (1-2 chapters/week)

2. Writing assignments (1,500-2,500 words total), such as

     A. Summaries

    B. Responses

    C. Short ethnographies

    D. Research papers

3. Quizzes (3-5)

4. Comprehensive examinations (2-5)

5. Presentations (optional)

Methods of Evaluation/Basis of Grade.

Writing: Assessment tools that demonstrate writing skill and/or require students to select, organize and explain ideas in writing.		Writing 30 - 65%
Writing assignments
Problem solving: Assessment tools, other than exams, that demonstrate competence in computational or non-computational problem solving skills.		Problem Solving 0 - 0%
None
Skill Demonstrations: All skill-based and physical demonstrations used for assessment purposes including skill performance exams.		Skill Demonstrations 0 - 0%
None
Exams: All forms of formal testing, other than skill performance exams.		Exams 30 - 65%
Quizzes; examinations
Other: Includes any assessment tools that do not logically fit into the above categories.		Other Category 5 - 15%
Attendance and participation; presentations (optional)

Representative Textbooks and Materials:

The Anthropology of Language: An Introduction to Linguistic Anthropology. 4th ed. Ottenheimer, Harriet. Cengage. 2018.

Bravo for the Marshallese: Regaining Control in a Post-Nuclear, Post-Colonial World. 2nd ed. Barker, Holly. Wadsworth. 2012 (classic).

Concise Introduction to Linguistics. 6th ed. Rowe, Bruce and Levine, Diane. Prentice-Hall. 2022.

From the Kitchen to the Parlor: Language and Becoming in African American Women's Hair Care. Jacobs-Huey, Lanita. Oxford University Press. 2006 (classic).

Language, Culture, and Communication: The Meaning of Messages. 8th ed. Bonvillain, Nancy. Prentice Hall. 2019.

Language, Culture, and Society: An Introduction to Linguistic Anthropology. 7th ed. Salzmann, Zdenek, and Stanlaw, James and Adachi, Nobuko. Westview. 2017 (classic).

Living Language: An Introduction to Linguistic Anthropology. 3rd ed. Ahearn, Laura. Wiley Blackwell. 2011 (classic).

Magical Writing in the Salasaca. Wogan, Peter. Westview Press. 2002 (classic).

Western Apache Language and Culture. Basso, Keith. University of Arizona Press.1990 (classic).

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