Lecture, three hours; discussion, one hour. Required as preparation for both bachelor's degrees. Introduction to study of communication from anthropological perspective. Formal linguistic methods compared with ethnographically oriented methods focused on context-bound temporal unfolding of communicative activities. Topics include language in everyday life and ritual events, socialization, literacy, multilingualism, miscommunication, political discourse, and art-making as cultural activity. P/NP or letter grading.

Review Summary

Clarity
8.3 / 10
Organization
5.0 / 10
Time
5-10 hrs/week
Overall
6.7 / 10

Reviews

    Quarter Taken: Fall 2021 Online
    Grade: A+

    The class was pretty interesting, but the readings are very dense and there is quite a bit of it. If you end up having to skim, Professor Alim's lectures track the important info very closely. He focused on raciolinguistics a lot, since that's his area of study, but generally I did find myself thinking about language in new and useful ways. The exams are easy if you watch the lectures, and if you have a good TA the essay rubrics are clear. I'd take this class if you're truly interested in the topic and willing to work for it, but maybe not as GE.

    Quarter Taken: Fall 2022 In-Person
    Grade: A+

    easy & fun class. complex readings but main points are discussed in lecture. straightforward tests.

Course

Instructor
Hesham Alim
Previously taught
24F 24S 23F 22F 21F 20F 18F

Grading Information

  • No group projects

  • Attendance required

  • 1 midterm

  • Finals week final

  • 100% recommend the textbook

Previous Grades

Grade distributions not available.