Penelope Eckert   |   Miyako Inoue   |   Jerry Zee, TA   |   Course Requirements   |   Bibliography   |   Slides



LSA 348
Social Theory and Variation


The roots of variation in the study of linguistic change and dialectology have led to a focus on the distribution and spread of linguistic variability across large populations. This study, therefore, has benefited from sociological theories suited to large populations. And while this study has recognized, and speculated about, the meaning of variation, meaning has never been central. This course focuses on the the meaning of variation, and on the social theories that can best help us understand and study meaning. Some students may have ethnographic variation projects that they're currently working on or developing. We invite those students to offer these projects as material for discussion as we progress through the course. If you have such a project and would like to offer it up, please get in touch with us.


Date Topic (click on title
to access class slides)
Readings to be discussed
on this day
Additional recommended
readings

July 5 Introduction Eckert (2005)

July 9 Indexicality Ochs (1991)
Woolard (in press)
Labov (1963)
Silverstein (2003)
Irvine and Gal (2000).

July 12 Persona Podesva (in press) Irvine (2001)

July 16 Space Eckert (2000)
Zhang (2005)
Johnstone (2004)
Pratt (1987)
Koven (ms)

July 19 Social Reproduction Hanks 2005

July 23 Indexicality Redux

July 26 Conclusions Stop Release Indexical Field


Links to readings that we consider particularly crucial to the topics we're discussing are on the syllabus. The Bibliography page contains full references to these readings and to all other sources that we discuss in class.