LING 002. First-Year Seminar: Taboo (W)

The main goal of this course is for us to examine together taboo and the ways people communicate taboo information in natural languages - spoken and sign. In doing this, we hope to learn about linguistic structures and how communication is shaped (or not) by the larger context. The materials we look at touch on many disciplines, thus our discussions will go in many directions. We will be mindful of each other’s needs and respectful of each other at all times, however we will not censor our readings, viewings, or discussion. Thus, students should be ready to talk about religion, death and disease, sex and gender, violence and abuse, prejudice based on race, ethnicity, linguistic factors, abilities and disabilities, as well as other topics students decide to explore. We examine swearing and slurs. In the process of all this, we will study the power and contexts of profanities, as well as their creativity (morphological and syntactic) and role in language change over time.

This is a collaborative class – we work in pairs and help each other grapple with the topics that come up.
Social sciences.
Writing course.
1 credit.
Eligible for Interpretation Theory and Global Studies.
Fall 2025. Napoli.
Catalog chapter: Linguistics
Department website: http://www.swarthmore.edu/linguistics

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