Katherine Morales Lugo

This course explores the profound role of technology in shaping our daily lives, cultures, and societies—with a focus on how digital media transforms communication, identity, and sense-making practices, both online and offline. Digital media has become a dominant form of communication, with tools like social media, mobile phone applications, and artificial intelligence tools profoundly influencing our sense of self and our identities, communication, social networks, information exchange, cultural and behavioral practices, social styles, and language learning. Key topics discussed in this class will include: language socialization and language practices in online communities; the construction of digital personalities, communities and social identities through language and digital “lifestyles”; language ideologies and symbols in digital spaces; language learning, multilingualism, and the evolving role of multimodal communication, including emojis and hashtags; literacy in the digital age and the rise of automated writing; and the ethics of conducting ethnographic research in digital spaces. Case studies include: a critical examination of language and discourse on Black Twitter; hashtag ethnography within the #BlackLivesMatter social movement; multilingual practices of adolescents, both in the United States and abroad, online and offline; language practices in online LGBTQ+ communities; ethical considerations in online ethnographies of dark-web communities; ethnography of data structures and algorithms; and engagement with language-learning apps like Duolingo. Students will also explore methods of online and blended ethnography, developing research skills for data collection and analysis in digital spaces. They will expand their intellectual understanding of language, culture, and communication in the context of technology, gaining insights into the potential research directions that link technology, language, and anthropology. In the conference component, students will engage in blended ethnography, utilizing both online and offline data collection methods. By studying a subject or reflecting on their own experiences, students will explore emerging digital identities and language styles, gaining deeper insights into the intersection of technology and self.

In this course, we will investigate the concept of language ideologies—beliefs and attitudes about language—and their impact on the lived experiences of racial and ethnic groups and other minoritized communities within the United States. Through a series of lectures, discussions, and hands-on projects, students will gain an understanding of how language practices reflect and reinforce social hierarchies, cultural norms, and power dynamics. Special attention will be paid to the meaning accomplished through language use and the informative role of ideologies of language and people in understanding these dynamics. We will delve into diverse language contexts, with a primary focus on the United States, examining case studies to understand how language serves as a site of struggle and resistance. Key linguistic topics will include language attitudes and linguistic discrimination, the politics of race and language, standard language ideologies, the role of language in shaping social and racial identities, language use and its social meaning, and multilingualism and multiculturalism in the United States. Specific examples will include ethnographic case studies of race and language, such as H. Samy Alim’s examination of his own experiences as a Black man or person of color under white gaze (“the white listening subject”); political persona and discourse of US presidential candidates; racialization of Asian-American, Black, and Latinx students in US classroom contexts; language revitalization efforts and identification of the Chickasaw Nation; race, gender, and sexuality performances in RuPaul’s Drag Race; identification practices and language use in indigenous communities such as the “Taino” identity in Puerto Rico. Assessments for this class will involve regular written reflections, a midterm paper, a research proposal, and a final research paper on a topic of the student’s interest related to language use, race, and identity. Core readings for our class will be drawn primarily from US-based, peer-reviewed linguistic journals and foundational texts. All readings will be provided beforehand.