01:574:250 Korean Language in Culture and Society

This is a survey course of Korean language in relation to its culture and society. As an important window through which one understands the culture and society of the people who use it, language reflects people’s social-cultural behaviors, attitudes, thoughts and world-views. The topics include different forms of diglossia in the history of Korea, the cultural background and implication of the Korean writing system, linguistic divergences in the two Koreas, politeness, terms of address, language and gender, structure of folk narratives, literary language, advertisement, and the Korean language in the age of globalization.

Each student is required to complete all assigned reading before class and is responsible for presenting on the week’s readings and leading discussion at least two times in the semester. A class presentation schedule will be finalized by the second week of the semester. Specific guidelines for appropriate class presentations will be given.

Students are responsible for submitting five written responses no later than 1:00 AM the day of the class, will be collected in individual student portfolios that serve to document the student’s evolving insights into the subject matter of the course as well as their ability to convey their thoughts, both orally and in written form, in a mode appropriate to the field of East Asian Studies and Korean Studies. Three of the five written responses will be peer-reviewed through the peer-review function on Canvas. The instructor feedback will be made within a week of the submission directly on the canvas assignment folder. There will be a small group project that involves writing two paragraphs on relevant wiki entries, due on Nov. 5th (Wed.) Each group of 2-3 students will contribute at least three paragraphs to wikipedia on entries on Korean language and culture: (1) each group peruse existing entries, write a one-page rationale for expansion and modification, and share it with class, (2) conduct research, (3) write three paragraphs for peer-editing, (4) contribute the three paragraphs to wikipedia, and (5) write a detailed report on the project (a summary of the above process and a screenshot of your contribution). For small group discussions, the students will be using the Chatroom during the class session.

Throughout the semester ten quizzes will be given in order to evaluate students’ understanding of course readings and their ability to assimilate critical interpretations of the materials. They will be available and will be automatically graded on Canvas. The midterm consisting of six essay questions will be given on October 20th (Tuesday), to be finished within 80 minutes. The typed answer files will be submitted to the Midterm folder on canvas. Grading will be done directly on exam files on Canvas.

A one-page research proposal (with the title, an abstract and a list of references) will be submitted and individual meetings will be held via BBB to discuss each proposal. Each student will be given 15 minutes to receive instructor feedback on the feasibility of the project and help with literature search. In addition, there will be a session in class, devoted to go over detailed guidelines for writing a research paper.

The presentation of the proposal will be scheduled in Weeks 14 & 15. Each student will prepare 10 slides to present their research and two discussants will be assigned to comment on the presentation. The presenter-discussant pairing will be announced one week before presentation so that there will be enough time for discussion and feedback. Final research paper (8-12 page double-spaced) is due on December 14th (Monday). All written assignments will be evaluated based on the logical presentation of the ideas and issues covered in class reading and discussion, as well as on the originality of critical reflection of these issues.

Grading: Class Attendance and Participation: 10%, Midterm: 25%, Quizzes: 10%, Written Assignments: 20%, Class Presentations: 10%, Final Project: 25%