Language, Culture, and Society: Linguistic Anthropology for Educators - OEBXO2106Z
Title: Language, Culture, and Society: Linguistic Anthropology for Educators
Guaranteed by: Katedra občanské výchovy a filosofie (41-KOVF)
Faculty: Faculty of Education
Actual: from 2024
Semester: winter
E-Credits: 3
Examination process: winter s.:
Hours per week, examination: winter s.:1/1, Ex [HT]
Capacity: 18 / 18 (18)
Min. number of students: unlimited
4EU+: no
Virtual mobility / capacity: no
State of the course: taught
Language: English
Teaching methods: full-time
Note: enabled for web enrollment
priority enrollment if the course is part of the study plan
Guarantor: Mgr. Tomáš Samek, M.A., Ph.D.
Teacher(s): Mgr. Tomáš Samek, M.A., Ph.D.
Opinion survey results   Examination dates   WS schedule   Noticeboard   
Annotation -
This course is open to students of all kinds of educational background and does not presuppose any previous knowledge of linguistics, anthropology or any other social sciences. Education is largely based on communication. Therefore, educators need to understand all fundamental elements and functions of communication. Teachers should know the ways in which those elements and functions can be used in classroom settings and other education situations. Linguistic anthropology focuses on all facets of communication behavior both within and across speech communities. The course introduces to all substantial aspects of communication including those that often escape our conscious awareness. Based on concrete examples, we will study and practice the ways in which communication contributes to the sense of belonging to a community, which is crucial for making education successful. The course clarifies the complex relationships between language, culture and society by emphasizing those theories and practices that are relevant for future educators.
Last update: Samek Tomáš, Mgr., M.A., Ph.D. (25.07.2023)
Aim of the course -
The goal is given by the course description as provided above.
Last update: Samek Tomáš, Mgr., M.A., Ph.D. (04.08.2022)
Course completion requirements -
  1. Minimal attendance 70 percent
  2. Reading during the seminar
  3. Formulation of a question about the content of the reading is expected to be submitted every week – the final grade reflects the quality of those questions
Last update: Samek Tomáš, Mgr., M.A., Ph.D. (21.04.2022)
Literature -
  • Anderson, B. Imagined Communities: Reflections on the Origin and Spread of Nationalism. London and New York: Verso 1991.
  • Blount, B. G. (ed.) Language, Culture, and Society: A Book of Readings. Prospect Heights 1995: Waveland Press.
  • Duranti, A.  (ed.) Linguistic Anthropology: A Reader. Oxford: Blackwell 2001.
  • Foley, W. A. Anthropological Linguistics: An Introduction. Oxford: Blackwell 2000. 
  • Jaworski, A., N. Coupland (eds.), The Discourse Reader. London and New York: Routledge 2001.
  • Waugh, L. R. Marked and unmarked: A choice between unequals in semiotic structure. Semiotica 1982, 38: 299 – 318.
Last update: Samek Tomáš, Mgr., M.A., Ph.D. (04.08.2022)
Requirements to the exam -
  1. Minimal attendance 70 percent
  2. Reading during the seminar
  3. Formulation of a question about the content of the reading is expected to be submitted every week – the final grade reflects the quality of those questions
Last update: Samek Tomáš, Mgr., M.A., Ph.D. (21.04.2022)
Syllabus -
  • Course organization. Linguistic anthropology as a field of inquiry
  • Language and morality
  • Communication functions
  • Language, culture, and ethnicity
  • Fashion of speaking? How language shapes our world-view
  • Language as system, use, and ideology
  • Speech communities. Boundaries between languages and language contact
  • Gender and markedness
  • Children and language socialization
  • Communication in classroom 
  • Standard and variation. Language and social stratification
  • Discourse
  • How to use language in school settings: final discussion
Last update: Samek Tomáš, Mgr., M.A., Ph.D. (25.07.2023)
Learning outcomes

Student:

·      is able to recognize the potential of non-native speakers for education environment in the classroom

·      knows about communication functions and understands how to use them in education

·      understands the relationship between language, culture and ethnicity

·      can explain the ways in which language shapes our world-view

·      is able to describe the differences among language use, language system and language ideology

·      understands the roles that language plays in human socialization

·      knows how to utilize language in multicultural classroom

Last update: Samek Tomáš, Mgr., M.A., Ph.D. (19.09.2024)