121-232 Anthropological Perspectives on Language

This subject provides an introduction to linguistic anthropology. Lectures and reading will treat the following topics: the evolutionary origins and development of the capacity for speech in humans, the anatomy of speech, language and the human brain, language and cognition, language and culture, rhetoric and the poiesis of language, and the transition from orality to literacy.

• have practice in conducting research and speaking articulately;

• have practice in writing clearly in a variety of formats and reading with attention to detail;

• have experience of systematically evaluating a body of empirical data and identifying its theoretical context;

• have experience of methods of critical inquiry and argument leading to improved analytical skills;

• have acquired awareness of issues relating to cross-cultural communication.

Three tutorial papers totalling 40% (due during semester) and a research paper or essay 60% (due at the end of the week after the last lecture).