Content outline: The course has a double aim: i) to familiarize students with sociolinguistic research on language and gender, and ii) a preliminary approach to the (still scarcely researched) indexical relation among language, gender, and sexuality. It is, therefore, divided in two component parts. First, focusing on gender as an analytic category in language research, we shall examine the ways in which individual linguistic production is differentiated on the basis of gender, including questions of linguistic inequality and sexism at all levels of linguistic analysis. Meanwhile, we shall underscore the interdependence of linguistic patterns and gender relations as well as linguistic stances of gendered individuals. Obviously, gender and sexuality are not, in principle, indistinct. Nevertheless, examining sexuality and its deep implication in language, we shall realize that any discussion of sexuality without reference to gender is simply irrelevant, while, at the same time, any discussion of sexuality with reference to gender simply comes full circle to the conclusion that, as heteronormativity is institutionalized, whatever the relation among language-gender-sexuality, it is, to a large extent, preempted on the basis of powerful and enduring stereotypes. Yet, to the extent that language does not simply reflect society but alsthe o has a role in shaping it, there is, invariably, some space for negotiation. This negotiation—and the social cost it incurs—is obvious in the discourse of individuals (and groups) who refuse to align themselves with the dictates of institutionalized heteronormativity, distancing themselves from gendered stereotypes while taking the risk inherent in non-conformist linguistic, gendered or/and sexual behavior.
Learning outcomes : The course aims at familiarizing students with key-concepts in the study of language, gender, and sexuality from a linguistic point of view (taking into consideration the contributions of scholarship in relevant fields). The knowledge acquired in this course promotes an understanding of the crucial role of language in the constitution (self- and other-respresentation) of gendered and sexed subjects, while the relevant skills enable students to analyze relevant linguistic data in a systematic way.
Prerequisites : None
Recommended Reading:
a) Basic Textbooks : None
b) Additional References :
Bucholtz, M. & K. Hall. 2004. Theorizing identity in language and sexuality research. Language in Society 33(4): 469-515.
Cameron, D. & D. Kulick. 2003. Language and Sexuality. OUP.
Cameron, D. & D. Kulick (επιμ.). 2006. The Language and Sexuality Reader. London: Routledge.
Canakis, C., Kantsa, V. & K. Yannakopoulos (eds.). 2010. Language and Sexuality: (Through and) beyond Gender. Newcastle upon Tyne: Cambridge Scholars Press.
Eckert, P. & S. McConnell-Ginet. 1992. Think practically and look locally: Language and gender as community-based practice. Annual Review of Anthropology 21, 461-490.
Κανάκης, Κ. (επιμ.). 2011. Γλώσσα και σεξουαλικότητα: Γλωσσολογικές και ανθρωπολογικές προσεγγίσεις. Αθήνα: Εικοστός Πρώτος.
Lakoff, R. 1973. Language and woman’s place. Language in Society 2: 45-79.
Μακρή-Τσιλιπάκου, Μ. 2012. Η γυναικεία γλώσσα και η γλώσσα των γυναικών. Στο Ε. Παπαταξιάρχης, Β. Μουτάφη & Β. Καντσά (επιμ.) Το φύλο τόπος συνάντησης των επιστημών: Ένας πρώτος ελληνικός απολογισμός. Αθήνα: Αλεξάνδρεια.
Ochs, E. 1992. Indexing gender. In A. Duranti & C. Goodwin (eds.), Rethinking Context: Language as an Interactive Phenomenon. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 335-358.
Παυλίδου, Θ.-Σ. (επιμ). 2002. Γλώσσα – γένος – φύλο. Θεσσαλονίκη: Παρατηρητής
Learning Activities and Teaching Methods: Lectures, discussion, student presentations
Assessment/Grading Methods : Written assignment, two papers, oral presentation
Language of Instruction: Greek • Μode of delivery (face-to-face, distance learning): Face-to-face