Abstract 6C

Sunday, July 9 4:55pm

Reimagining Introductory Linguistics through Raciolinguistics

Iara Mantenuto imantenuto@csudh.ed
California State University Dominguez Hills, Carson, USA

Lynnette Arnold larnold@umass.edu
University of Massachusetts Amherst, Amherst, USA

Aris Clemons aclemon8@utk.ed
University of Tennessee Knoxville, Knoxville, USA

In this paper, we take up calls for an “interdisciplinarily informed theoretical engagement with race and racism” in linguistics (Charity et al. 2020) and apply them to teaching. We draw inspiration from Calhoun’s restructuring of introductory linguistics classes (2021) to develop a curricular model that supports students in introductory courses in undertaking a study of raciolinguistics, which theorizes language through the lens of race and race through the lens of language (Alim et al. 2016). We propose that learning to theorize race through linguistic analysis helps students better understand the power of language in shaping social difference and inequality. 

In particular, our curricula help students explore local manifestations of language, race, and power, providing socio-historical foundations that are often obscured in U.S. public education curricula (Ladson-Billings 2003; Brown & Brown 2010; Ortiz 2018 ). Through this approach, we foster global understanding and appreciation of cultural diversity, while also helping students better understand inequality. The curricula develop linguistic reasoning and analytical skills that can be applied to other subjects, highlighting transferability of skills for navigating the college experience, language related career paths, and community-oriented interventions.

In this paper, we outline our curricular approach and share its impacts during our pilot study in Spring 2022, conducted in introductory linguistics courses in three distinct contexts: (i) in an English department in a minority serving and Hispanic serving institute in California (20 students per class); (ii) in a Spanish department in a public university in Tennessee (20 students per class); (iii) in an Anthropology department in a public university in Massachusetts (66 students per class). We demonstrate the versatility of our approach and offer recommendations for other instructors and for the field as a whole. 

References:

Alim, S.H., Ball, A., & Rickford, J. R. (eds.) (2016). Raciolinguistics: How language shapes our ideas about race. Oxford University Press.

Brown, K. D., & Brown, A. L. (2010). Silenced memories: An examination of the sociocultural knowledge on race and racial violence in official school curriculum. Equity & Excellence in Education, 43(2), 139-154.

Calhoun, K., Hudley, A. H. C., Bucholtz, M., Exford, J., & Johnson, B. (2021). Attracting Black students to linguistics through a Black-centered Introduction to Linguistics course. Language, 97(1), e12-e38.

Charity Hudley, A.H., Mallinson, C., & Bucholtz, M. (2020). Toward racial justice in linguistics: Interdisciplinary insights into theorizing race in the discipline and diversifying the profession. Language 96(4), e200-e235. doi:10.1353/lan.2020.0074.

Ladson-Billings, G. (2003). Lies my teacher still tells. Developing a critical race perspective toward the social studies. In G. Ladson-Billings (Ed.), Critical race theories perspectives on social studies: The profession, policies, and curriculum (pp. 1-11). Information Age Publishing.

Ortiz, P. (2018). An African American and Latinx History of the United States (Vol. 4). Beacon Press.