Summer 2025: June 9 — July 18
Subject: ANTH
Course Level: 200
Number of Credits: 3 U.S. / 6 ECTS
Max Enrollment: 22
Schedule: Wed, Fri 17:10 – 18:30 CET (Berlin) | 11:10 AM – 12:30 PM EDT (New York)
Distribution Area: Social Analysis
Language of Instruction: English
Course Prerequisites: English B2 / Equivalent or higher

This course is focused on linguistic diversity existed in modern societies and how we use languages in our everyday life. The course will introduce classic and modern theories of linguistic anthropology and cover a wide range of problems connected with the legal status and social prestige of different idioms. We will examine the specificity of language choice in different ethnic, religious, and regional communities, as well as generations and political groups.
During the course, we will study the language as the object of state policy. The students will explore the role of state institutions and different social actors included into language policy, as well as its types, stages and results. During the classes, students will read and discuss the crucial papers in the field of sociolinguistics, dedicated to the language contact situations and the constructions of “new languages” and their impact on social identity. Based on the course materials, the students will learn how to describe and estimate the language situation, and will be able to analyze language hierarchies and attitudes, linguistic conflicts, phenomenon of code switching and diglossia, language shift, language death and revitalization practices in different speech communities.
Besides the participation in theoretical discussions, the students will be required to prepare two projects during the course: 1) description and public presentation of language landscape of their city/town/district/region; 2) report on language regime in officially bilingual/multilingual region (state or province), and write a book review, based on the list of proposed works in the field of linguistic anthropology.

Guidelines for the Statement of Purpose:
Craft a reflective statement of purpose explaining your interest in the Smolny Beyond Borders online course. The file should be saved with your name and course title as the filename and uploaded accordingly. Your statement’s clarity and substance will significantly influence our selection. Convey your motivations and aspirations for this course succinctly but thoroughly. Kindly write your statement in the course’s Language of Instruction.

Application Portal Instructions:
1) Use the Latin alphabet for all entries on the portal, including your name. If the Language of Instruction is Russian, you may use Cyrillic only within the Statement of Purpose file, and the title of the file should still be in English.
2) Refrain from using email addresses associated with Russian or Belarusian educational institutions.
3) While completing the “Required Information” section, ensure you fill in the “Province” field for your address.
4) Provide an address outside Russia or Belarus in both the “Required Information” and “Geographic Location Confirmation” sections of the “Online Course Application”. This ensures we can send your transcript.
5) You must press the “Sign” button twice during the application.
6) If you hold a bachelor’s degree, select “4th+” in the “Academic Year (online)” section.
7) Applicants either unaffiliated or affiliated with educational institutions in Russia and Belarus should list ‘Smolny Beyond Borders’ as their educational institution.
8) In the student ID section, enter ‘SBB’.
9) Consider drafting your motivation letter ahead of time. Save it as a separate file with this format: LastName_FirstName_CourseTitle for a smoother application process.