Course Details

The key questions that are addressed in the Ways of Feeling class are: • Are there “emotional universals”, that is, feelings that all people share independent of language, culture, gender, and race? and • Are there “culture-specific” emotions? • Are there “gender-specific” emotions? The class is suitable for all students who are interested in Language, languages, and meaning. Ways of Feeling is a comparative course, with enough Slavic content for it to be relevant for Slavic majors and graduate students, yet accessible to those interested in other languages. Students will be introduced to research methods in semantics, pragmatics and discourse, and will be required to produce a thorough examination of underlying conceptualizations and a semantic analysis of a linguistic expression of emotion in a language of their choice. They will gain an appreciation of the social and cultural underpinnings of their own language and other languages.

Honors students:

Term paper (7-10 pages) INSTEAD OF SHORT PAPER #5: Honors students will work with the instructor to plan the final term paper. The final project includes an oral presentation of your research with handout.