ISF 100C Language and Identity
This course examines the role of language in the construction of social identities, and how language is tied to various forms of symbolic power at the national and international levels. As the saying goes, “A language is a dialect with an army and navy” – but how so? Questions about language have been central to national culture and identity, and the languages we speak often prove, upon close examination, not to be the tongues of ancestors but invented traditions of political significance. People have also encoded resistance into non-official and ambiguous languages even as the state has attempted to devalue them as inferior forms of expression. Drawing on case studies from Southeast Asia, Europe, Canada, and the U.S., we will pay special attention to topics such as the legitimization of a national language, the political use of language in nation-building processes, the endangerment of indigenous languages, and processes of linguistic subordination and domination. This course will be interdisciplinary in its attempt to understand language in terms of history, politics, anthropology and sociology. We will not only study how language has been envisioned in planning documents and official language policy, but also analyze how speakers enact, project, and contest their culturally specific subject positions according to their embodied linguistic capital.
Assignment Example
This course was developed from my doctoral dissertation, which investigates sociolinguistic transformation in Shanghai, China from an interdisciplinary approach. To provide students with firsthand experience of empirical research on the topic of language and identity, I created an assignment asking them to interview an adult resident in the United States who does not speak English as their first language. The interview questions I provided the students cover the languages used in both private and public settings, and the interviewees’ opinions on the saying, “Be American, speak English.” I guided students to string concepts together and apply them to the immediate reality of verbalized hostility towards minorities of various regards.
Many students at Berkeley come from immigrant backgrounds, or as international students who speak more than one language. Every semester, a good proportion of students interviewed their immigrant parents and reportedly deepened their understanding of not only course materials, but also language- or accent-based discrimination first generation immigrants experience in this country. Through this assignment, students gained a broader understanding of social justice which includes linguistic justice.
What Students Say
“Professor Xu is probably the best professor I’ve had at Berkeley. She is extremely attentive of and thoughtful to her students, and she is an excellent lecturer. Her course is the most organized I have encountered, and she also adapted it exceedingly well to a completely virtual setting; I never felt like any aspect of the class was lost because we had to migrate to a completely virtual semester, since she includes a variety of information, media, and discussions to engage with – I think it is all very well-balanced and serves to create a very engaging curriculum. Professor Xu’ selection of information, presentation structure, and skill as a presenter really sets this class apart for me as one of the best, most enriching classes I’ve taken at Berkeley.” – Spring 2021
“Professor Xu is an absolute gem! I can only speak highly about her. She is the most friendliest, approachable and clear professor. She is extremely smart and whenever you have a question or a comment in class, she not only validates it but summarizes for the class to make everyone understand what the student meant or referred to. I never met someone who can think so fast and can connect the dots. If you spoke about your experiences she could directly relate it to course material which was a huge help to understand larger social theories. Her sociology background and own research shows in her teaching and its great for students who are not from the same background, it widens your horizon immensely. We need more professors like her and I hope she will be able to teach more classes ! The topic of Language & Identity can be very intimidating to teach since it is very broad! It is hard to fit in all subfields but she did such an awesome job. I like that her focus was not only the usual 'dominant' countries but also smaller speech communities and nations. She is very great in educating people about social and political issues and bringing awareness to past and also current issues in the world. For example, when there was Indigenous Peoples Day she took the time at the beginning of class to explain why such day is important and the history of it. SHE MAKES CLASS AN EXTREMELY SAFE ENVIRONMENT FOR ANYONE REGARDLESS BACKGROUND!!!! I would also like to highlight that she is not just the 'educator' but you can genuinely see how she likes to learn with us. She is very eager to implement new things. For example in the student presentations, we made little QR codes for the class to engage and have a short survey and she was shift in wanting to do the same! There is so much more to say but overall, Professor Xu is 1000/10 !!!! Love her!” – Fall 2022