What does it mean to speak American? With all our social and regional diversity, "American" comprises many linguistic varieties and social identities. We will work on developing your writing skills while interrogating the relationship between language and society through readings, writing assignments, and discussions that focus on American dialects and their speakers. While much of the course content addresses spoken language, the course focuses on your writing, and will help train you to produce clear, convincing, and sophisticated prose. You will develop your voice as a writer through a series of formal and informal writing assignments and workshops.