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Root number
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505721 |
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Semester
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HS2025 |
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Type of course
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Lecture |
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Allocation to subject
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English Languages and Literatures |
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Type of exam
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not defined |
| Title |
Language and Materiality (BA FM Language and Linguistics: The Economies of Language, BA FS Lecture and MA Lecture Language and Linguistics)(UNGRADED)(Open to CSLS) |
| Description |
Words really do matter. They are not simply symbolic representations of the material; they are material. They are bodily and concrete. When we speak, it is sound waves that beat against our eardrums; when we write, it is ink that is scratched, struck or pressed onto paper. Words also have material consequences. It is with strings of words, bundles of texts, that we name and distinguish people so as to categorize and regulate them. We deploy our words and texts also to punish people, to harm them, to exterminate them, even. (Thurlow, 2023, p. 153)
This lecture series considers a range of ways in which language has material consequences for our everyday lives. By the same token, we will also examine how language is itself something material and how it shapes and is shaped by material culture. We will start by thinking through the “hardcore” economies and politics of language/s nowadays, before looking at how language functions multimodally as a spatial, embodied, and sensory practice. In this regard, and following an initial introductory lecture, the course will be organized into bi-weekly cycles addressing five major thematics: commodification, global semioscape, stuff/objects, space/place, and embodiment. Lectures will be organized around a series of framing readings and case-study readings; every other week, class time will involve a short in-class exercise in order to apply some of the ideas covered in the readings.
Required Reading: The course hinges on a series of core theoretical framing readings and more applied case-study readings; these will be posted as PDFs on ILIAS. Your success in the course depends heavily on your having completed the reading and having demonstrated a core understanding. NOTE: The following core reading and case-study reading must be read before the first session:
Cavanaugh, J.R. & Shankar, S. (2017, extract). Toward a theory of language materiality:
An introduction. In Language and Materiality: Ethnographical and Theoretical Explorations. Cambridge University Press.
Jaworski, A. (2015). Word cities and language objects. “Love” sculptures and signs as shifters. Linguistic Landscape, 1(1): 75–94.
For the core reading (Cavanaugh & Shankar) you must prepare two hard-copy summaries following the instructions under Assessment; for the case-study reading, you must complete the first three questions of Reading Quiz 1 (printed out and with handwritten answers). Bring the summaries (stapled) and quiz to class on the first day. |
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ILIAS-Link (Learning resource for course)
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Registrations are transmitted from CTS to ILIAS (no admission in ILIAS possible).
ILIAS
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Link to another web site
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| Lecturers |
Prof. Dr.
Crispin Thurlow, Institute of English Languages and Literatures ✉
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Charmaine Kong, Institute of English Languages and Literatures ✉
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Alessandro Pellanda, Institute of English Languages and Literatures ✉
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Laura Valérie Wohlgemuth, Institute of English Languages and Literatures ✉
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ECTS
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3 |
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Recognition as optional course possible
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Yes |
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Grading
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passed/failed |
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| Dates |
Tuesday 14:15-16:00 Weekly
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Tuesday 14:15-17:00 Weekly
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| Rooms |
Seminarraum F -114, Hörraumgebäude Unitobler
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Hörraum F 021, Hörraumgebäude Unitobler
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| Students please consult the detailed view for complete information on dates, rooms and planned podcasts. |
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