Language & Nationalism

In this course, we will explore the nationalist agendas that are frequently employed surrounding issues of language planning and language policy. We will discover how social and political actors manipulate language issues to further specific political aims, especially minority rights, policies towards immigrants, bilingual education, nationalist-inspired language laws, and the relationship between languages and dialects. We will focus primarily on the United States, Canada and Europe. Topics will range from the official English movement in the United States to the conflict between Belgium's linguistic communities. We will also devote time to a better understanding of Europe's largest ethnic group, the Slavs, for whom language has been a key marker of nationality in the modern era. It is in the Slavic world, especially the Balkans, where Europe's newest nations and languages have emerged.