PSYCH 4060 - [Language and Social Groups]

(crosslisted) HD 4060
(SBA-AS)

Fall. Next Offered: 2019-2020. 4 credits. Student option grading.

Enrollment limited to: 15 students. Co-meets with PSYCH 6060.

K. Kinzler.

Beyond the literal communication it conveys, language provides social meaning. This course explores the myriad ways in which people’s language and accent serve to mark, unite, and divide social groups. Language and accent matter for identity, for social relationships, for politics, and for intergroup relationships. Focusing on developmental, social, and evolutionary psychology, but drawing on a broad interdisciplinary literature including linguistics, anthropology, and the law, this course explores the origins and nature of language as a maker of human social groups.