Make sure to do the readings and understand them because they are the basis of basically everything on the exams.

I was surprised how applicable and interesting this material was, it definitely changed the way I look at a lot of things. That being said, I was also surprised by how difficult it was. It's your standard amount of reading, but it can be pretty dense (The material is really interesting if you can actually decipher what these articles are trying to say). The tests are no joke; go over the study guide carefully because she really expects you to understand and apply the material to outside scenarios. In the end I would still recommend this class because Contini-Morova is a good lecturer and the subject is interesting; but allocate the time to study for tests. Also. If you can, get Michael Wenzel as a TA; he is awesome.

This lady is the definition of a cunt.

Fairly easy class, do the readings or get summaries of them at least! The only hard thing really are the linguistic analysis problems

The class was really boring for me. I don't agree that it should be a requirement for cog. sci and anth majors at the same time. 2/3 of the class focused on science material which was extremely difficult for. There is a reason why I'm not a science major! The last 1/3 was cultural stuff and much easier! Always do the reading or she'll get you with those reading quizzes. Overall, don't like this class and will not recommend it.

Contini-Morava's pretty good; very knowledgeable. But, the grading system for the midterms and final is very strict. You do get review sheets, but it's definitely not enough to only review them. My TA especially (Dannah Dennis) was looking for very complete, specific answers despite the test stressing brevity.

Really interesting and engaging class. Tests are pretty straightforward and based on both readings and lecture. Julie is a laid-back T.A. but is really helpful and nice.

Yes, there's a significant amount of readings (which are hit or miss), but absolutely nothing I couldn't handle. Sometimes lectures were just readings in verb form (but you had to read & go just in case there was a reading check). Ellen is pretty cool. Just three non-cumulative tests on the readings/lectures. Overall a really interesting class because it's so darn applicable and pointed out things I'd never thought of before. I took this class with friends, which was fun and awesome for group studying, and the class often became a topic of conversation outside of class. LOVED this class by the end of it.

Incredibly interesting and readily applicable course. There is, of course, a lot of reading (though a manageable amount if you do it when it's assigned) and some of it is a tad dry, the majority is actually rather intriguing. I feel like before I took this class I must have been embarrassingly ignorant about so many things that have to do with language (but it's okay, because so are 90% of people, probably). This class definitely stimulated me to think differently about such a common, everyday thing as language. Really glad I chose to take this course. Definitely recommended!

Ms. Contini-Morava is a great teacher! The subject material is really interesting (e.g. we learned about the language characteristics of phone sex workers) and she brings in some great guest speakers. The tests are exactly the way the study guide is written, so she prepares you really well. I strongly recommend this class!