FR 165: French in US Minority Cultures

Course Description

Introduction to the sociolinguistic and cultural history of French as a heritage language in African-American, Native American, and Cajun American communities from early colonial to late modern times. It focuses on the lived experiences and lasting heritage of contact and segregation between colonizers, farmers, refugees, and free and enslaved populations in the American Midwest and South. It features readings, music, heritage sites, and discussions of prejudice and discrimination, language shift and language loss, and the linguistic outcomes of slavery and settler colonialism.