B8013 - ANTROPOLOGIA LINGUISTICA (1)

Learning outcomes

By the end of the course, students will possess the key theoretical notions and analytical tools to interpret language as a cultural practice and a form of social action. They will be able to formulate problems and identify relevant themes of cultural and social analysis deploying the conceptual categories prevalent in contemporary critical reflection. In oral communication, they will have good expository and argumentative skills. They will have achieved good reading skills and will be able to demostrate a critical understanding of the basic bibliography in relation to the topics addressed in the course, as well as good control of the technical terminology of the discipline.

Course contents

How should we conceive of the relationship between language and society? What is the relationship between cultural practices and “fashions of speaking” (Whorf 1956: 148)? How do the grammatical categories and morphosyntactic structures of a language influence the collective imagination and conceptual frameworks of its speakers? How do linguistic variation and modes of communicative interaction reflect and influence a community’s political organization and its forms of social inequality? Why do the ideas and prejudices that speakers hold regarding their own (or others’) linguistic repertoire have significant consequences, contributing to processes of linguistic erosion or loss? Through a curated bibliography comprising introductory theoretical texts and ethnographic accounts, this course aims to demonstrate how communication between humans (and between humans and non-humans) is much more than a simple activity of decoding messages and transmitting information. We will see how reading, writing, and speaking are activities deeply intertwined with specific cultural contexts. We will come to appreciate how to comprehend the ways of life of distant communities, it is necessary to study the languages they speak and their underlying vernacular philosophies of language. Throughout 5 weeks of instruction, we will explore how the ethnographic methods traditionally used by scholars of sociocultural processes can be combined with discourse analysis, grammatical analysis, and pragmatics (the analysis of language in use) to gain a better understanding of the interface between linguistic practices, cultural forms, and social structures. In this way, students will be introduced to linguistic anthropology—that is, the field of anthropology that studies language as a cultural practice and as a tool through which human beings formulate patterns of social behavior.

Readings/Bibliography

Although not a mandatory requirement, attending class is highly recommended. This said, there is no difference in the reading list for attending and non attending students. All students will have to study four books: a textbook (Cardona), two essays on ethnopragmatics (Duranti) and linguistic relativity (Sapir and Whorf), and one ethnographic monograph (Feld). 

 

Cardona, Giorgio Raimondo. [1987] 2024. Introduzione alla sociolinguistica. Torino: UTET, 217 pp.

 

Sapir, Edward e Benjamin L. Whorf. 2017. Linguaggio e relatività, a cura di Marco Carassai, Enrico Crucianelli. Castelvecchi, 145 pp.

 

Duranti, Alessandro. 2007. Etnopragmatica: La Forza nel Parlare. Carocci: Roma, pp. 153 pp.

 

Feld, Steven. [1982] 2009, Suono e sentimento: Uccelli, lamento, poetica e canzone nell'espressione kaluli. Milano: Il Saggiatore.

Teaching methods

Teaching will be performed through frontal lectures. Occasionally the instructor will use audiovisual material to give more tangibility to the topics under discussion. Students will be encouraged to ask questions and open up debates on the issues addressed in the course. 

 

A syllabus detailing the topics covered in each of the 15 classes will be made available on VIRTUALE a few weeks prior to the beginning of the course.

Assessment methods

Assessment will be performed through oral exams, held periodically throughout the academic year. At the end of this section is provided a tentative exam schedule for the 2026-2026. Students may sign up for an exam session on ALMAESAMI where they may also check that their status is up to date and that they have all the prerequisites to undertake the exam. Please be reminded that in order to ensure an efficient management of the exam logistics and to the preemptive scheduling of individual exam times, registration closes 7–10 days before the exam date.

During the exam, students must demonstrate their ability to present the content of the texts they have studied and discuss them in a dynamic dialogue with the instructor. To successfully pass the exam, you must read the books and not limit yourself to consulting summaries or notes available online. A thorough and in-depth reading of the assigned texts is necessary to be able to sustain an articulate and mature discussion of  the texts. The exam is not an oral version of a multiple-choice questionnaire, but a dynamic conversation between the instructor and the student. This means being prepared to answer open-ended questions, propose lines of reflection, make connections between the various books that make up the syllabus, be prepared to critically reflect on the texts and discuss them in an original way during the exam, and occasionally be prepared to express doubts or articulate theoretical or methodological reservations about the texts you have read.

Put differently, you should not aim at to mechanically memorizing simplistic summaries prepared by others. Rather, you should aim for  a careful and in-depth reading of the texts, selecting passages that have struck you and that you are interested in reflecting on. If you wish, you may bring along your annotated texts, your notes, or specific quotations you wish to discuss during the exam. The ability to identify common themes that connect the various texts, to highlight connections or contrasts between the positions and methodologies of different authors, as well as the ability to contextualize the readings in a historical perspective and to reflect on the links between theory and specific ethnographic cases will be highly valued.

Furthermore, students must be able to communicate in the course’s medium of instruction: Italian.


The exam consists of one question for each volume on the syllabus.


An exam in which the student demonstrates the ability to discuss, using appropriate language, the themes covered in the exam texts, establishing connections among them, will result in a grade of excellent/very good.


An exam in which the student demonstrates the ability to summarize the topics covered in the exam texts using acceptable language will result in a grade of “sufficient” or “good.”

Failure to meet the minimum standard of a courseIf, demonstrate adequate mastery of the “knowledge and skills to be acquired” specified as learning objectives, or inability to master the academic register and/or the Italian language, will result in a failing grade. 

Also, the exam entails a question on each of the items of the exam's reading list. Failure to answer even one of the four exam questions, will result in a failing grade and will require re-taking the exam at a later date.

Students with special needs are encouraged to contact the instructor to determine the assessment method best suited to their needs.


For information on exam dates and to register for exams, please refer to the Almaesami schedule at the following URL [http://www.unibo.it/Portale/Guida/AlmaEsami.htm].


The exam procedures are the same for both attending and non-attending students.

For the 2026–2027 academic year, oral exams will be held with exam sessions scheduled in the months of


April,

May,

June,

July,

September,

December,

and February.


The exact date of each exam session will be published at least one or two months in advance on Almaesami. Registration typically closes 7–10 days before the exam session may last several days, depending on the number of students who sign up.


NOTE on the Use of Generative Artificial Intelligence

AI can be a useful tool to support independent study by providing in-depth analysis, summaries, and self-assessment exercises. However, with regard to assessment, the use of AI is prohibited during exams. Any use constitutes a violation of academic integrity.

Teaching tools

The instructor will occasionally use audio-visual sources (documentaries, maps and photos)

Students who attend class are requested to subscribe to the following mailing list (“Teachers-students” distribution list) through which they can receive any urgent communications about changes to the timetable or location of the lectures:

aurora.donzelli.Linguistic_Anthropology_ARCO

To register: go to https://www.dsa.unibo.it/default.aspx
Go to SDA, log in and look for "teacher-student lists" on the left drop-down list, then write aurora.donzelli.Antropologia_Sociale and register

 

Inclusivity and Reasonable Accommodation

Students with learning disorders and/or temporary or permanent disabilities: please, contact the office responsible (https://site.unibo.it/studenti-con-disabilita-e-dsa/en/for-students ) as soon as possible so that they can propose acceptable adjustments. The request for adaptation must be submitted in advance (15 days before the exam date) to the lecturer, who will assess the appropriateness of the adjustments, taking into account the teaching objectives.

Office hours

See the website of Aurora Donzelli