Courses at Bryn Mawr

See the Bryn Mawr College website for currently offered courses. For questions about these courses, please contact Professor Amanda Weidman (aweidman@brynmawr.edu).

ANTH 281:

The Power in Language

Recent controversies over free expression, hate speech, and changing norms of public and political discourse have heightened our awareness of language and its power, prompting us to realize that language does not just reflect the world or convey an already-existing meaning; it plays an active role in constructing that world and that meaning. This course uses the tools of linguistic anthropology to build an understanding of how language is used to construct social and political identities, and to create, reinforce, and sometimes challenge hierarchies.

ANTH 246:

Field Research in Linguistic Anthropology

This course provides hands-on experience in linguistic anthropological methods of data collection and analysis. We explore various methods employed by linguistic anthropologists, including: ethnographic observation of language use in context; audio-recording of spoken discourse; working with a linguistic corpus; online research methods; conducting linguistic and ethnographic interviews; and learning how to create a detailed transcript to use as the basis for ethnographic analysis.