LIN 491
INSTRUCTOR: DR. DENISE TROUTMAN, SPRING SEMESTER 2016
Im/politeness Interrogations and Theorizing
What is politeness? impoliteness? Who is polite? impolite? How do we know? Does politeness work differently in the African American speech community? If so, how?
What is politeness REALLY about? What will happen in LIN 491 (section 001)?
Quiet as it's kept, politeness and impoliteness really index our humanity. From a broad scope, scholars are interested in what makes us humans. Politeness research helps to address that core area, ultimately identifying common components within human politeness systems worldwide. Just imagine! Humans are connected throughout the world due to some common strategies used to show politeness or impoliteness.
Unfortunately, not much is written about politeness/impoliteness in the African American speech community. In LIN 491, we will examine major theories, exploring their adequacy in addressing human behaviors. Specifically, we will devote attention to interrogating politeness/impoliteness within the African American speech community. Students will work on academic-style writing, generating an analytical paper and a digital project at the end of the course.