UCLA CLIC Conference Announcement

[Adrienne R. Isaac]

The Center for Language, Interaction, and Culture Graduate Student
Association at the University of California, Los Angeles and the Language,
Interaction, and Social Organization Graduate Student Association at the
University of California, Santa Barbara announce

The Fourth Annual Conference on Language, Interaction, and Culture to be
held May 18-20, 2000 at the University of California, Los Angeles.

Plenary Speaker: Dr. Tony Wootton, University of York, U.K.

Pathways into culture: The autistic route

Abstract:
Examination of the interactional practices of young people with autism and
related conditions suggests that they display a particular regard for
knowledge, rules and procedures which operate across a variety of
interactional contexts. This orientation is  illustrated especially with
reference to research on the initiation of interaction sequences, on what is
called `delayed echoing' and on the occurrence of distress and emotional
turbulence. It is contrasted with that displayed by the young non-autistic
child, in which a privileged regard is given to what occurs in the local
sequence of action. The discussion of these matters will have a bearing on
three themes. First, that of how detailed interaction analysis can
contribute to the disclosure of distinctive themes within the lifeworlds of
those people who act in strange ways. Second, the developmental question of
how the cognitive profile peculiar to autistic-like conditions comes about.
Third, the adequacy of more general  approaches to the acquisition of
culture which place emphasis on the central role of script-like components.

In addition to this plenary address, thirteen papers by scholars from the US
and abroad will be presented. These papers span a diverse range of topics
dealing with the relation between language, interaction, and culture.

Please address questions regarding registration to Fazila Bhimji at
fbhimji at ucla.edu. For further information, please visit the CLIC homepage at
http://www.humnet.ucla.edu/humnet/al/clic/.