Language and the Human I

The Autumn Quarter of this sequence explores the role of language in articulating, maintaining, and subverting power relations in society. Some of the questions we discuss include: How does language support structures of power and privilege? How does language shape our assumptions and beliefs? How does language motivate us to act or keep us from acting? Is language a basic human right? How does language influence the ways we think about race, gender, sexual orientation, and species? How do we use language to perceive or shape the identity of others? Typical texts used include George Bernard Shaw’s Pygmalion, Shakespeare’s The Tempest, and Margaret Atwood’s The Handmaid’s Tale.