This course will introduce students to the study of 'Interactional Sociolinguistics' and the methods and findings of the area. It will draw upon a range of approaches that may include sociolinguistic discourse analysis, critical discourse analysis, ethnography of communication and linguistic anthropology. These will then be applied to topical issues such as language and power, language and education, and language and gender.

Upon successful completion of the course students will be able to: 1. Identify and analyze language variation from popular culture texts; 2. Know what innovative features of language typically appear in popular culture texts; and 3. Demonstrate an awareness of popular culture and its relevance to contemporary language in society.