Making Sense of Language: Readings in Culture and Communication - Softcover

Blum, Susan D.

Softcover

ISBN 10: 0190456981 ISBN 13: 9780190456986

Publisher: Oxford University Press, 2016

Synopsis

Chosen for their accessibility and variety, the readings in Making Sense of Language: Readings in Culture and Communication, Third Edition, engage students in thinking about the nature of language--arguably the most uniquely human of all our characteristics--and its involvement in every aspect of human society and experience. Instead of taking an ideological stance on specific issues, the text presents a range of theoretical and disciplinary perspectives and bolsters them with pedagogical support, including unit and chapter introductions; critical-thinking, reading, and application questions; suggested further reading; and a comprehensive glossary. Questions of power, identity, interaction, ideology, and the nature of language and other semiotic systems are woven throughout the third edition of Making Sense of Language, making it an exemplary text for courses in language and culture, linguistic anthropology, sociolinguistics, and four-field anthropology.

About this title

About the Author:

Susan D. Blum is Professor of Anthropology at the University of Notre Dame. She is the author of several books, including "I Love Learning: I Hate School": An Anthropology of College (2016) and My Word! Plagiarism and College Culture (2009).

Review:

"Blum has done an excellent job of including a range of articles featuring classics alongside new research and new queries. It is a superior resource."--Jack C. Shoemaker, Southern Methodist University

"Making Sense of Language displays a breadth and depth I have not seen in similar books on linguistic anthropology. Blum includes influential scholars outside of the field and her introductions really help place each part, each unit, and each article into a larger discussion. I appreciate the guidance provided by the questions, and how well-suited the book is overall to organizing an introductory course in linguistic anthropology."--Sherina Feliciano-Santos, University of South Carolina, Columbia

"Blum has done a remarkable service in identifying readings that are accessible to undergraduate audiences, and in intermixing these successfully with canonical texts in linguistic anthropology. I often recommend this text to colleagues and I'm thrilled that it's now available in a new edition."--Kathryn E. Graber, Indiana University

"I appreciate that Blum has approached the book from the perspective and experience of someone who has worked in four-field anthropology. That shines through in the selection of readings, which collectively cross a range of topical and even disciplinary concerns. Her introductions to each of the sections and the chapters are readable and conversational with a 'voice' that many will be able to relate to. Making Sense of Language simplifies the task of searching for and selecting relevant readings that are interesting--yet rigorous--to include in the course syllabi."--Rosalyn Negrón, University of Massachusetts, Boston

About this edition

• Publisher: Oxford University Press
• Publication date: 2016
• ISBN 10: 0190456981
• ISBN 13: 9780190456986
• Binding: Paperback
• Edition number: 3
• Number of pages: 656