Sections offered SPRING 2020:
#30943 |
STEVEN FRANKS |
TR 9:30am-10:45am |
HU 217 |
CLASS NOTES: IUB GenEd S&H credit; COLL (CASE) S&H Breadth of Inquiry credit
This course surveys the broad question of the complex relationship between language and thought, both in the individual and the species, from diverse perspectives. The course is loosely organized around the topic of linguistic relativity and the extent to which the structure of human language impacts non-linguistic cognitive activities. It introduces concepts from diverse disciplines, including anthropology, biology, cognitive science, and linguistics. In addition to studying how language is structured, students will learn about ways in which language and other hidden forces shape our thinking and behavior, about how language is acquired by children and what happens when linguistic ability is impaired, about animal communication and whether language is a uniquely human capacity, about how languages can differ and what properties they all share, and about creoles and signed languages. A major theme of the course is that, although language and thought are independent, language provides essential scaffolding for reasoning. Students will address this theme in a variety of assignments, including homework problems, design of a “thought experiment,” and a short paper or book review. There will be regular quizzes and a final exam, but no midterm.