Language and Social Justice
Language and Social Justice In this seminar we will explore questions such as the following: What is the relationship between language and power? How does linguistic prejudice contribute to social inequality? Is language a human right, and if so, what are the implications? We will engage with scholarly, journalistic, and literary works, including writing by Julia Alvarez, James Baldwin, John Baugh, Lisa Delpit, Rosina Lippi-Green, Jamila Lyiscott, Richard Rodriguez, Debora Tannen, and others. Students will develop a range of reading, writing, and oral presentation skills, and will receive feedback on their work throughout the semester.
Professor Shapiro is clearly very passionate about her work and also about meeting with students and seeing them improve. She is very accommodating with deadlines as long as you tell her in advance, and she provides helpful feedback on essays with a chance to reassess if you don't like your initial grade. This class was helpful for improving core essay writing skills. However, the class felt quite repetitive; once we got through the first couple of weeks of readings, they all started to sound very similar, and this persisted for the rest of the semester. The level of organization of the class definitely varied; class discussions did not always feel particularly productive, and the course calendar was changing (in terms of due dates, what the assignments were, etc.) right up until the end of the semester.
Professor Shapiro is clearly very passionate about her work and also about meeting with students and seeing them improve. She is very accommodating with deadlines as long as you tell her in advance, and she provides helpful feedback on essays with a chance to reassess if you don't like your initial grade. This class was helpful for i …Read more
This class will definitely help you improve your writing skills, thanks to peer editing and good feedback from the professor. Class consisted of mainly discussions about the readings, which became a bit repetitive. Additionally, many class meetings lacked structure or prior planning so at times we did not cover much material during class.