Social Semiotic Theory

[Graduate]
Instructor of Record
Taught Spring 2022, Spring 2020
University of Colorado Boulder

Course Description:

Semiotics is the study of signs, how they are used, and how they are interpreted. What is a sign? What are the components of a sign? How do people use signs in social, cultural, and linguistic practice and what purpose do these signs serve? What are the connections between objects and social meanings and how do these connections arise and transform? How do social meanings of signs stem from and transform social and cultural practice more broadly? This course engages with key topics and concepts in the study of semiotic theory—e.g., indexicality, iconicity, enregisterment, embodiment, agency— and how these topics bear on research in sociocultural linguistics and linguistic anthropology. We read key works in the field and engage in critical discussions.

Sociolinguistic Analysis

[Graduate]
Instructor of Record
Taught Fall 2020, Fall 2018
University of Colorado Boulder

Course Description:

This course serves as a graduate-level introduction to the study of sociolinguistic variation. We explore language variation and its social implications, and how differences in language use connect with larger ideological categories such as race, ethnicity, class, gender, sexuality, and locality. This course explores sociolinguistics from a quantitative variationist point of view, providing both the theoretical background and methodological skills to conduct quantitative sociophonetic research in the field and to interrogate developments in the field of sociolinguistic variation.

Language, Gender, and Sexuality

[Undergraduate]
Instructor of Record
Taught Spring 2021, Spring 2020
University of Colorado Boulder

Course Description:

This course provides a foundational overview of the study of language, gender, and sexuality, exploring how language contributes to the construction of gender difference and the gender order. We will view gendered linguistic ideologies with a critical eye, and explore the roles of language varieties in contributing to conceptualizations of gender and sexual identity. How do speakers use language to signal gender differences, and what are the social implications of the use of different gendered linguistic varieties? How does speaking in a particular way contribute to the construction of stereotypes related to queerness and sexual identity? How is language used in the expression of desire? What are the social consequences of speaking in a socially stigmatized way that doesn’t conform with normative gender ideals?

Race, Ethnicity, and Language

[Undergraduate]
Instructor of Record
Taught Spring 2023, Fall 2021, Fall 2020, Fall 2019
University of Colorado Boulder

Course Description:

This course serves as an undergraduate introduction to the study of race, ethnicity, and language. We explore the ways that speakers of different racial and ethnic groups use language differently, as well as the social implications of the use of different racialized linguistic varieties. How does speaking a racialized variety contribute to the construction of stereotypes and ideas of race and ethnicity more broadly? What are the social consequences of speaking in a racialized way, e.g. in matters of education, the media, access to capital, and the law?