Interdisciplinary survey of people of African descent that draws on the overlapping approaches of history, literature, anthropology, legal studies, media studies, performance, linguistics, and creative writing. This course connects the experiences of African-Americans and of other American minorities, focusing on social, political, and cultural histories, and on linguistic patterns.

Interdisciplinary survey of people of African descent that draws on the overlapping approaches of history, literature, anthropology, legal studies, media studies, performance, linguistics, and creative writing. This course connects the experiences of African-Americans and of other American minorities, focusing on social, political, and cultural histories, and on linguistic patterns.

Caribbean Creole languages result from language contact via colonization and the slave trade. In this course we explore the history of Creole languages from cognitive, historical and comparative perspectives. We evaluate popular theories about “Creole genesis” and the role of language acquisition. Then we explore the non-linguistic aspects of Creole formation, using sources from literature, religion and music. We also look into issues of Caribbean identities as we examine Creole speakers’ and others’ beliefs and attitudes toward their cultures. We also make comparisons with relevant aspects of African-American culture in the U.S.

This course is concerned with the concepts and principles which have been of central significance in the recent development of syntactic theory, with special focus on the “Government and Binding” (GB) / “Principles and Parameters” (P&P) / “Minimalist Program” (MP) approach.
It is the first of a series of two courses (24.951 is taught during the Fall and 24.952 is taught in the Spring). This course deals mostly with phrase structure, argument structure and its syntactic expression, including “A-movement”. Though other issues (e.g. wh-movement, antecedent-contained deletion, extraposition) may be mentioned during the semester, the course will not systematically investigate these topics in class until 24.952.
The goal of the course is to understand why certain problems have been treated in certain ways. Thus, on many occasions a variety of approaches will be discussed, and the (recent) historical development of these approaches are emphasized.

Linguists take it for granted that all languages, including languages in the Global South, are worthy of study. Yet some 40% of children in the world are prevented from studying in and valorizing their home languages—including some of the very languages that linguists study with such fondness. So much research in linguistics and the benefits thereof remain inaccessible to the bulk of the very speech communities whose languages linguists study. This seminar examines efforts by linguists and educators to make their research more inclusive, accessible, and hospitable, and to reduce linguistic-discrimination practices in various communities world-wide.

The mission of the MIT-Haiti Initiative is to promote active learning in Kreyòl so that Haitians can have universal access to quality education in the language that most of them speak at home. 
Platfòm MIT-Ayiti, launched in 2019, offers a wealth of freely accessible educational resources in Kreyòl, including downloadable lesson plans and picture books categorized by topic, alongside official curricula from Haiti’s Ministry of National Education. The target audience for these resources includes students at all levels from pre-kindergarten through high school, and we offer materials in all disciplines. We also host and invite contributions from all educators who are willing to submit their own materials in Kreyòl. We work with these contributions, in konbit (collaborative) mode, to improve these submissions before publication. Men anpil, chay pa lou! (That is, many hands make light work!)
The Initiative’s original website, launched in 2010, includes software tools for math, physics, genetics, and biochemistry education, as well as a preliminary (work-in-progress) glossary of Kreyòl equivalents for English words commonly used in the STEM disciplines.