Linguistic Anthropology
Linguistic anthropology is the study of contemporary culture and society through the lens of language. Language is both a human universal as well as thoroughly culturally specific: how we use language across modalities (speech, writing, in mediated contexts) is a reflection of who we are and a way we enact particular types of selves. Courses in linguistic anthropology at Brooklyn College explore how people use language in their everyday lives, how they think about and evaluate the use of language, and how these two are connected in important ways. Whether it's gossiping, texting, giving a speech, reciting a poem, greeting a friend, or baby-talking, language is an important part of what we do everyday that makes us who we are. Professor Jillian R. Cavanaugh, the department's linguistic anthropologist, does fieldwork in Italy on how language and social, economic, and political changes are connected. She has published many of her findings in various peer-reviewed journals as well as in her book, Living Memory: The Social Aesthetics of Language in a Northern Italian Town (Wiley-Blackwell).
