This course offers an introduction to contemporary linguistic anthropology by means of a survey of some dissertations and ethnographic monographs. This year the focus will be on Southeast Asia. In our reading of each book or dissertation we will consider their theoretical foundations, analytic goals, and methodological orientations, thereby tracking alternative approaches to foundational questions and, at the same time, mapping some key intellectual genealogies of the field. The idea is to provide a survey of contemporary work and an overview of disciplinary foundations while at the same time providing an opportunity to read some dissertations and ethnographies that might inspire students in their own PhD research.