been fun

Though this is probably one of the more challenging classes I've ever taken, I feel it has also been one of the most valuable. I took the class as a requirement for the Associates of Arts in Humanities that I am working towards. So in the aspect of what it is to be human, language is undoubtedly a key part of the study. I was always very interested in the topics of the class, but the amount of reading (or the time to do it) was probably the hardest aspect of the class for me to keep up on.

I enjoyed the metaphors in language the most, and I also enjoyed thinking about how language use evolves in such examples as Ebonics, Spanglish and Texting.

I know these blog assignments were not loved by everyone, but I liked it. I thought that through reading everyone's post that it helped me to grasp the ideas being taught, and it accomplished this even better when the responses became mandatory.

Thanks to everyone.

Exit Post

This class had some concepts that were challenging, as well as ideology I was not aware of until I took the course. There were indeed elements of the course that I liked as well as disliked. The readings I felt were almost irrelevant, as they were too difficult for me to get through most of the time that I rarely saw the point in time to analyze the ideas against what I read. The discussions we had I felt I could have participated in just as well without the corresponding readings. Written work is important for language analysis and some were good, but the selection overall should be edited.

The blog was easy for me at first, but I feel like I was just saying the same thing everytime I posted. Did I read what Tiffany wrote and respond? Or should I have given feedback on someone elses post? I realize that we were supposed to do both toward the end but honestly, between my other homework and the reading assignments we already had for the class, I was not about to spend time reading through what everyone wrote for something that excited a reaction out of me.

What I did like about the class were the discussions we had, where everyone gave an opinion and backed it up (or not in some cases) as well as Tiffany's lectures. I really enjoyed the lectures, as the course made the most sense with her writing on the board and us applying the concepts to real situations as a class. Discourse is not the easiest thing to understand. It was a stretch for my mind to make the connections involved in language use and talking about the philosophies of it in class was intriguing. There is a lot to be discovered when we open our minds and look at something from another angle. While I cannot say I cared much for Spanglish or black english (those really belong in a sociology class), I enjoyed exploring the effects of linguistics and discourse on our society.

the end of blogs

overall, i really enjoyed this class. i signed up for it just for the diversity credit with no expectations. It quickly became one of my favorite subjects. i love the discussions we were able to have and all the great people in the class who made them work. It was challenging at first to start to look at language more critically, but now i see myself analyzing situations more often. And being able to look at Ebonics to see how it allows those who use it to come together and have a common langauge. It was really interesting.
I liked many of the readings we had, they helped to give us some background before class. Some of them were longer and harder to read, but i think we discussed those in class already! The language analysis assignments were a little difficult to get the more critical analysis part out of it, but i think most of us finally got it by the last project.
Thanks to everyone in the class for a great semester and thanks to Tiffany for bieng a great instructor. Good luck to everyone!!
Carlene

Farewell

As I exit my 5th semester at SLCC, I want to note that this class changed the way I view everyday life. When I met you, Tiffany, for the first time in your office I recall telling you, "I didn't ever think of that before" and it did open a new door for me. I used to analyze how people communicated all the time, but it was more their tone or meaning not the language use. It's pretty awesome to say the least. I have never realized the variety of social groups I converse with on a daily basis. I enjoyed learning critical discourse, I criticize all kinds of things such as naturalized ideologies everywhere I go now. Getting started on the papers was my biggest hurdle, overall the semester was a little difficult for me , due to circumstances and the overload of other classes, but you we're so understanding and lenient. I truly thank you for that!!

To the class, I think I've made some pretty amazing friends. Thank you all for being real. My favorite day was when everyone got angry and upset in the heated debate. It was very intriguing to watch. I'm hoping to see you all again. Please make sure to say 'Hi' If you ever see me wandering the halls!

Take Care,
Amanda ;D

Exit Music

So I had this thing all semester long, where I would tell myself that when I went to this class, I would just hang out in the back, taking it easy and not participate in the discussion. That never happened. I couldn't even do it once. I suppose that's a good measure of how engaging this class was for me.

As an aspiring writer, I was already aware of the power of language. This class taught me about the language of power. I remain skeptical of some of the larger theoretical underpinnings of Critical Discourse Analysis. I maintain that the formulation "social construction of reality" in practice boils down to the "social construction of society", a tautology, but nevertheless the class helped me to understand what a significant role language plays in this. My mind was definitely opened up on the subjects of language correctness and the relativity of language.

I often wished that we had spent more time on some of the theoretical aspects of lingustics, but at the same time my girlfriend was taking a linguistics class at the U (she was an English major before switching to political science, so we have some of the same interests), and complained all the time about how boring it was.

I want to thank you Tiffany, for pushing us to engage with each other every class, despite our sluggish resistance.

As for everyone else:

We'll meet again,
Don't know where,
Don't know when,
But I know we'll meet again
Some sunny day . . .

A Fond Adeus...

... to awesome peers, an amazing professor, and to a class I'll not soon forget. I can sincerely say that in my 3 years of attending college courses thus far, this was one of the greatest classes I have ever taken.

More to your point, Tiffany, I don't know what I could suggest that I (or others) haven't already suggested in the past; this, or course, speaks to your mastery of the art of teaching, for which I am very grateful.

Although such sentimentalism could be perceived as inappropriate, I'd like to impart a few words to some of our classmates:

- Jairo: your quiet wisdom, coupled with your desire and resolve to make good things happen in the world, were a source of admiration for me this semester; I honestly believe that society (U.S., in particular) could benefit from your sage-like manner.

- The libertarian, Ray (man, I hope I got your name right finally... sorry about that): you have a very sharp wit, and an acute attention to detail. These, coupled with your apparent passion for freedom, make you a dangerous man for those who wish to exercise control unchecked. I hope you act on your personal philosophy in the future.

- Miriam: How could I pass through without mentioning you? Your friendship has been wonderful to me, and very intellectually stimulating. I know that your brilliance will be the mechanism by which you will accomplish great things in your life, and in the lives of many, many others. You are the first person I have met that rises each day fully acknowledging that, for you, the world is new again, and there is always more life to be lived.

- "Bethaknee": Shalom! Thank you for your insightful comments, and for reminding me of how important curiousity still is, no matter what phase of life we are entering. You are a bit of a gadfly, of sorts, but it suits you, and I think you enjoy it. That sort of nature, when channeled well, can be an invaluable resource to those who would ordinarily never ask the important questions, or be skeptical of the answers.

Although I could continue on for much longer with gratitude to everyone in our class really, I'll stop for now, and merely say thank you all so much for an absolutely fantastic experience in erudition!

Skip

HEY HEY PEEPS WE DID IT! We made it through another semester of what I call life training! Thanks Tiffany for your patience and understanding! I thought the class was great. I will admit there were some bumps, mostly caused by myself. I learned alot about language in this class. It opened my eyes to alot of things I had never thought of before. I really loved the group discussions alot they really got me to think. Even though I seemed mad I wasn't no worries. I think this class was one of a few that really made me think and ponder alot of things I never did before. I enjoyed the ethnographys even though I struggld alot with them. I have never been pushed so much. We really do indentify ourselves through speech along with every other person in the world it was very interesting to disect why and how this takes place! Thanks to you all it was a great learning experience I will never forget! Good luck to you all!
Kevin Olsen!

Everything?

It's hard to talk about everything I've learned this semester, but i can say that i have learned just how powerful language can be. The first day of class I didn't think to much of language. (it's just something you do.) But as we've gone through the semester I've realized how powerful language can be. It tells us who we are, and even how we act. Language creates reality. I've noticed how language is used outside of the classroom, and i often times catch myself trying to see what is taken for granted in that setting. I've noticed that every group I associate with has a different way of speaking. It truly is amazing!
I'm glad we talked about Ebonics and other language varieties. I used to think that these varieties were just bad grammar, but now i think "hey they make a lot of sense, and who am I to say that they are wrong."

December 3--Last Blog Post

Hi everyone,

Here is the last post of the semseter. I want you to use it to reflect on the course and what you've learned, not learned, encountered, been challenged by, etc.

To get us started, I will reflect first for you, and then want you to do the same.

In case you don't remember, the course description read as follows: "Language impacts everything we do: how we think, how we learn, how we view ourselves and interact with others. We will look carefully at the patterns and functions of language to gain a better sense of how language establishes our cultural identities and social allegiances, how language creates and disseminates knowledge, how it develops and maintains power. We will interrogate the functions of language and consider how simple alterations in language use might lead to distinctly different outcomes, both in terms of meaning and cultural impact."

As I read this, I think about the semester and what I feel worked well in the course and what didn't work so well. I don't think we got to the last part of the course description at all, the 'how simple alterations...might lead to distinctly different outcomes.' But, I do think we got at most of the rest of the items in the course description.

For me, I wish we had spent more time on the concepts of the course, perhaps earlier on so that we had more time to work with them through the different 'content' readings. And, I wish I'd organized the schedule differently so that you were working on one concept at a time, rather than working on your ethnographies while we were introducing critical discourse analysis. Also, I wasn't terribly happy with the book, and have made significant revisions to the course for next semester. I've selected a bunch of new readings (which I'll happily make available to you if you want them) and have reorganized the schedule.

I have really enjoyed reading what you put together for the assignments. I think those worked pretty well in terms of encouraging you to think analytically about language and society and power. I can tell that most of you were stretched by the processes in the assignments, and that's a good thing.

I learned that talking about and analyzing language is a tough thing to get started on. It is so much the 'water that we swim in' that it's very hard to see analytically and critically. However, I do feel that you were able to make this leap and see language through a newly-conscious lens. Some were able to do it more than others, some struggled with it, which is normal for all courses. But, everyone seemed to get to a new level of interpretation and understanding. Most, if not all, of you have said to me at some point, "I didn't ever think of that before." which is the beginning of becoming critical viewers of the communities in which we live. Being critical gives you a power that you may not have had before, because then you can interpret your worlds with intention.

So, all in all, I am pleased with the course and with being able to share the semester with you all, but I have had a nice critical look at the experience and going to revise many things about this course in hopes of improving the learning experience for students in the future.

Thanks,
Tiffany