The Linguistic Legacy of the African Slave Trade in Interdisciplinary Perspective

This course explores the linguistic consequences of the African slave trade, and in so doing introduces students to basic concepts in linguistic science that are relevant to human language development and controversial educational theories that are based on race. Anthropological, linguistic, and psychological dimensions of African American culture are embedded within complementary evaluations of educational controversies surrounding the teaching of (standard) English to American slave descendants, including the Ebonics controversy and its relevance to larger questions of social efficacy, and the affirmative action debate that has consumed the nation. Students will work individually or in groups to produce a major intellectual artifact (e.g., a term paper, a scholarly web page, or a project pertaining to the linguistic plight of citizens within this African Diaspora). Students will be introduced to foundational African American studies in anthropology, education, English, linguistics, and psychology.
Course Attributes: EN S; BU BA; AS SSC; AS SD I; FA SSC; AR SSC; UC CD; UC ML

The Linguistic Legacy of the African Slave Trade in Interdisciplinary Perspective

AFRICAN AND AFRICAN-AMERICAN STUDIES 210

Section 01