Psycholinguistics:
Language and the development of identity
ANTH 3603
T-Th 3.45-5.00 Monroe 110
CRN: 57001
Professor Joel Kuipers
Office hours Wednesdays 9.30-11.30
2112 G Street NW room 201
What is the role of language in the development of human identity? After a brief sketch of the field of cultural psychology, we examine evolutionary approaches to the human language and psyche, the role of the brain in the organization of language and selfhood, the role of extreme deprivation, private speech, “primitive languages,” bilingualism, reported speech and new media on the development of identity. What are the ways in which language facilitates a child’s development of an identity? What is the relation between biological and cognitive development on the one hand, and social and cultural expectations for participation on the other? How do these expectations guide the development of oneself as “rational,” “disabled,” or even “a good student”? How does the extraordinary technological development of “mediational means” (learning tools e.g. new media) impact how we produce, circulate and consume information? Course prerequisite: Anth 1004 or SPHR 1071.
Introductory perspectives: From Cultural Psychology to Cultural Psycholinguistics
1) January 17 Introduction – Psycholinguistics: An ethnographic and linguistic perspective on identity.
2) January 19 Perspectives on cultural psychology
Read: 1) “Indexicality” William Hanks 2) “Function” Michael Silverstein 3) “Cultural Psychology: What is it?” Richard Schweder in Cultural Psychology ; Optional : “Sociocultural Psychology” Hazel Rose Markus and Miryam Rose Hamedani, (2007) Handbook of Cultural Psychology*
3) January 24 Perspectives on Language Socialization
Read: 1) Ochs and Schieffelin “Language Acquisition and Socialization: Three Developmental Stories and their implications” 2) chapters 1 and 2 in Give and Take of Everyday Life* 3) Rogoff Cultural Nature of Human Development Chapter 1 “Orienting Concepts”
Neurobiological and Cognitive foundations
4) January 26 Debates in the biological study of language
Read: 1) Terence Deacon – “Evolutionary Perspectives on Language and Brain Plasticity” Journal of Communicative Disorders 33:273-291 (2000). 2) Stowe, H.L. et al “Rethinking the neurological basis of language” Lingua 115:997-1042 (2005);
5) January 31 Evolutionary psychology: Some critical perspectives
Read: 1) McKinnon Neo-Liberal Genetics: The Myths and Moral Tales of Evolutionary Psychology pp. 1-71; 2) “What comes naturally” by Louis Menand (review of Pinker)
6) February 2 Pirahã – Exceptional?
Read: 1) “The Interpreter” – John Colapinto. 2) Nevins et al “Pirahã Exceptionalism”
(Optional) See also: https://www.edge.org/conversation/daniel_l_everett-recursion-and-human-thought
7) Feburary 7: “Feral” Children
Read: 1) Language Intervention after Thirty Years of Isolation: A Case Study of a Feral Child” Kenneally, Shannon M; 1998,.2) “The Development ofLanguageinGenie: A Case ofLanguageAcquisitionbeyond the 'Critical Period'” Fromkin et al
8) February 9. The Enduring Appeal of “Wild Children”
Read: 1) Encounters with Wild Children:Temptation and Disappointment in the Study of Human Nature Adriana Benzaquén (read online at GW library) (excerpts); In class film: wild child
Assignment due February 6th: How do the neurological features of the brain interact with language and vice versa over the course of the child’s development? 3 pages.
Vygotsky, Piaget and Sociocultural Approaches to Cognitive Development
8) February 14 Vygotsky
Read: 1) “Introduction” in Mind in Society; 2) Chapter 1 “Tool and Symbol in Child Development”
9) February 16 Vygotsky, Piaget and the Private Speech debate
Read: 1) Laura Berk “Children’s Private Speech: An overview of theory and the status of research” and 2) Diaz “Methodological Concerns” in Private Speech.
10) February 21 The development of reasoning and argumentation
Read: 1) Scribner, Sylvia “Modes of Thinking and Ways of Speaking: Culture and Logic Reconsidered” in Thinking and Cultural Systems 2) Vygotsky chapter 4.
11) February 23 Scientific argumentation
Read: 1) “Argumentation and the Negotiation of Scientific Authority in Classrooms” Wright, Kuipers and Viechnicki in Pollock and Levinson eds. 2011 2) Erduran S, “Tapping into Argumentation: developments in the application of Toulmin’s argument pattern” Science Education 2004; 3) (excerpts from) Andriessen “Arguing to Learn” 4) (skim) Lein and Brenneis “Children’s Disputes in Three communities”
Assignment due: February 27th: Select the video labeled “because of a push or a pull.” Consult the transcript (supplied separately); watch the video very carefully, at least 3-4 times. As you watch – and consulting the discussion of the Toulmin Argument Pattern in both the Andriessen and Erduran essays, 1) identify the claims, backing, warrants, rebuttals etc. made in the video. 2) How discrete reasoning episodes do you find in the video? Are there episodes within the episodes? How can you tell when they begin? When they end? 3) what is the role of “mediational means” (e.g. printed material, lab materials, etc) in the process of argumentation? How does it affect the sequence of the conversation? 4) Reflect on what guides the flow of the conversation in the videotape: is it guided by the requirements – order of questions – in the worksheet? Is it guided by interactional demands (i.e. the need to produce an “answer” to a speaking partner’s “question”)? By the constraints of Toulminian Argument Pattern – e.g. Claim, Data, Warrant, Rebuttal, etc.? 3 p. If you use the transcript to code on directly, scan that and post it on BB also with your paper.
12) February 28 Kaluli Models of Language Development
Read: Chapter 3. Give and take
13) March 2 Kaluli Reported Speech
Read: 1) Chapter 4 in Give and Take 2) M. Hickmann “The Boundaries of Reported Speech in Narrative Discourse: Some Developmental Aspects” in J. Lucy, ed. Reflexive Language (1993).
14) March 7 Kaluli The Role of exchange
Read: Chapter 5, 6 and 7 in Give and Take
15) March 9 Kaluli Gender Roles in Comparative Context
Read: 1) Chapter 8. in Give and Take; 2) McKinnon chapters 4 and 5 in Neo-liberal Genetics
Spring Break March 13-18
16) March 21 Midterm – ID and Essay
17) March 23. Learning tools
Read: 1) Rogoff Chapters 6 and 7. 2) McDermott “Acquisition of a Child by a Learning Disability”
18) March 28: Learning in Schools
Read: 1) Rogoff Chapters 8 and 9; 2) McDermott “Does Learning Exist”?
3) Wortham “Interdependence of Learning and Social Identification”
19) March 30 Literacy, Mediation and Thought
Read; “The Prehistory of Written Language” in Mind and Society Vygotsky
20) April 4 Schools and New Media
Read: Cope, Bill, and Mary Kalantzis. "New media, new learning."Multiliteracies in motion: Current theory and practice(2009): 87-103.
21) April 6 Schools and Big Pharma
Read: 1) Mehan, “Beneath the Skin and Between the Ears: A Case Study in the Politics of Representation” 2) Alan Schwarz, ADHDnation : children, doctors, big pharma, and the making of an American epidemic(excerpts).
Assignment due April 10: Are drugs like Ritalin and Adderall just another variety of Vygotskian “meditational means”? Discuss.
22) April 11 New Relations between Language and Thought in a New Media Age
Read: Messing et al Hanging Out, Messing Around, and Geeking Out: Kids Living and Learning (2009). [excerpts]
23) April 13 Presentations
24) April 18 Presentations
25) April 20 Presentations
26) April 25 Summary and conclusions
Final Paper: Choose a topic that addresses themes of the course. Base your argument on data, preferably a transcribed videorecording of actual speech use (e.g. from YouTube). 15 pages plus bibliography.
Required books
The Give and Take of Everyday Life Schieffelin
The Cultural Nature of Human Development Rogoff
Neo-liberal Genetics McKinnon
Mind and Society Vygotsky
Course requirements:
3 short paper assignments 30%
Midterm 25%
Final paper (including presentation) 30%
Course participation (including attendance) 15%
You must attend all classes. You must come to class having read the materials assigned for that day on the syllabus and ready to discuss them. If you cannot come to class, you must notify me; absences are permitted with written medical excuse and for religious holidays.
Papers should use the APA style. I strongly recommend that you use citation software such as Refworks (supported by GW) or Endnote.
In your final papers, you must have an argument. Please consult the Turabian chapters on formulating a research problem when writing a research paper.
ACADEMIC INTEGRITY
I personally support the GW Code of Academic Integrity. It states:: “Academic dishonesty is defined as cheating of any kind, including misrepresenting one's own work, taking credit for the work of others without crediting them and without appropriate authorization, and the fabrication of information.” For the remainder of the code, see: http://www.gwu.edu/~ntegrity/code.html
SUPPORT FOR STUDENTS OUTSIDE THE CLASSROOM
DISABILITY SUPPORT SERVICES (DSS)
Any student who may need an accommodation based on the potential impact of a disability should contact the Disability Support Services office at 202-994-8250 in the Marvin Center, Suite 242, to establish eligibility and to coordinate reasonable accommodations. For additional information please refer to: http://gwired.gwu.edu/dss/
UNIVERSITY COUNSELING CENTER (UCC) 202-994-5300
The University Counseling Center (UCC) offers 24/7 assistance and referral to addressstudents'personal, social, career, and study skillsproblems. Services for students include:
- crisis and emergency mental health consultations
- confidential assessment, counseling services (individual and small group), and referrals
http://gwired.gwu.edu/counsel/CounselingServices/AcademicSupportServices
SECURITY
In the case of an emergency, if at all possible, the class should shelter in place. If the building that the class is in is affected, follow the evacuation procedures for the building. After evacuation, seek shelter at a predetermined rendezvous location.
CREDIT HOURS
Over 15 weeks, students will spend 3 hours (150 minutes) per week in class, (37.5 hours for the semester). Homework and other out-of- class work is estimated at around 300 minutes per week (75 hours for the semester) and includes a 15 page final paper for which approximately 15 hours of work are expected.