FRS 001P — Sec. 001 — (1 unit) — CRN 55882 — W 12:10-2:00pm — 104 Sproul
Language and Cultural Identity

Instructor: Julia Menard-Warwick, Department of Linguistics, College of Letter and Science

Description: As California becomes increasingly diverse, it is important for all students to understand the interconnections between their own sense of themselves, the communities they belong to, and the language(s) or language varieties that they speak. In this course, we will work to define such slippery terms as “language,” “culture” and “identity” through relating autobiographical, ethnographic, and cinematic texts to students’ own experiences. By exploring the complexities of their own identities and those of their classmates in this way, students will gain practice in communicating across linguistic and cultural differences. As a final project, each student will give a class presentation and write a short paper describing the language variet(ies) used by a cultural or subcultural community with which s/he identifies.
1. Students will gain a clearer understanding of the connections between language, culture, and identity.
2. Students will practice developing their own academically-sound definitions for complex concepts, such as identity and culture.
3. Students will recognize the multiplicity of their own cultural identities and those of their classmates.
4. Students will deepen their appreciation for the cultural diversity of contemporary California.
5. Students will learn to critically evaluate their own experiences in the light of course texts, and also to critically evaluate course texts in the light of their own experiences.
6. Students will learn to discuss, present, and write about their own experiences in an academically sound and appropriate manner.

Format: The course will meet two hours per week for five weeks. The first four classes will primarily consist of instructor-guided discussions of course texts. The fifth week will be devoted to student presentations. Students will read a total of eight short articles/chapters, and write brief journal entries summarizing and reacting to them. These will be discussed in class during Weeks Two and Three. They will watch a two-hour film outside of class before Week Four, and write a journal entry summarizing and reacting to it. They will write a 4-6 page paper describing the language variet(ies) used in a (sub)cultural community with which they identify, and prepare a 10 minute presentation of this paper. These will be due in Week Five. Grading: The grades will be based on Classroom attendance and participation in discussion (20%); Journal summarizing and reacting to course texts (30%); Final Presentation (10%); and the Paper (40%).

About the Instructor: Dr. Menard-Warwick is an assistant professor in the Department of Linguistics, where she primarily teaches classes on second language acquisition and development. Her research interests include the connections between cultural identities and second language instruction, language learning and gender, life-history narratives, bilingual and bicultural family literacy, and discourse in multicultural and multilingual classrooms.