| Course Title: Topics in English: 'Understanding Accent' |
| Start Date: 01/27/2026 End Date: 05/12/2026 |
| Term: Spring Semester 2026 |
| Description: In this course we will study accented language using perspectives from literary studies, linguistics, legal studies, and education. We will consider whether accent is produced by a speaker or signer, or if we create accents when we perceive others' language. We will look at how accent works in written language, and try to account for the impact of language-generating AI on our concept of accent. Authors and artists may include Xiaolu Guo, Harmony Becker, and Elaine Castillo. This course also focuses on developing students' writing skills, and our approach may be particularly effective for students who do not identify as native speakers of English. |
| Distribution(s): I - Humanities , MP - Multicultural Perspectives , SI - Speaking-Intensive , WI - Writing-Intensive , TP - Topics Course |
| Academic Level Of Course: Undergraduate | Credits:4.00 |
| Faculty | Phone | Email address |
| Mark Shea | 413-538-3541 | markshea@mtholyoke.edu |
| Meeting Dates | Method | Meeting days | Meeting times | Building name | Room | Frequency |
| 01/27/2026 - 05/12/2026 | Seminar | Tuesday and Thursday | 10:30AM - 11:45AM | SHTK - Shattuck Hall | 319 | Weekly |
| Requisite Courses | ||
| None |
| Comments |
| Additional Comments |
| Course Tags | ||
| ENGL0003 | ENGL-TM: Theory and Methods | This course has been approved to count towards the English major's Theory and Methods |
| Cross-listed Sections |
| None |
| Course Availability | ||||
| Section status: Closed | Capacity: 18 | Enrollment: 18 | Available: 0 | Waitlist: 0 |
BOOK INFORMATION
| Book List | Required | Publisher Full Price |
| Title: A Concise Chinese-English Dictionary for Lovers Author: Guo, XIaolu Copyright: 2008 Edition: Volume: ISBN: 0307278409 Publisher: Anchor |
Required | 15.95 |
| Title: Himawari House Author: Becker, Harmony Copyright: 2021 Edition: Volume: ISBN: 9781250235572 Publisher: First Second |
Required | 17.99 |
| Additional Book Comments |
| This is the complete book list for this class. |