28.895, Confs: Linguistic Theories, Syntax/Spain

[The LINGUIST List]

LINGUIST List: Vol-28-895. Thu Feb 16 2017. ISSN: 1069 - 4875.

Subject: 28.895, Confs: Linguistic Theories, Syntax/Spain

Moderators: linguist at linguistlist.org (Damir Cavar, Malgorzata E. Cavar)
Reviews: reviews at linguistlist.org (Helen Aristar-Dry, Robert Coté,
                                   Michael Czerniakowski)
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Editor for this issue: Kenneth Steimel <ken at linguistlist.org>
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Date: Thu, 16 Feb 2017 14:07:51
From: Dennis Ott [dennis.ott at post.harvard.edu]
Subject: Generative Syntax: Questions, Crossroads, and Challenges

 
Generative Syntax: Questions, Crossroads, and Challenges 
Short Title: GenSyn2017 

Date: 21-Jun-2017 - 23-Jun-2017 
Location: Barcelona, Spain 
Contact: Dennis Ott 
Contact Email: generativesyntax17 at gmail.com 
Meeting URL: http://gensyn17.wixsite.com/gensyn17 

Linguistic Field(s): Linguistic Theories; Syntax 

Meeting Description: 

For the last sixty years, Generative Grammar (GG) has been the dominant
approach in the formal study of human language within the cognitive sciences.
Building on classical ideas developed in a new context, GG provided the basis
for a new wave of investigations that gave rise to significant theoretical and
empirical discoveries, establishing a fertile ground for synergies with other
disciplines.

In terms of doctorates, jobs, and programs in universities across the globe,
the success of the enterprise is undeniable. There can also be no doubt that
the steady increase in researchers, resources, and methods has led to a
massive expansion of the empirical database accessible to GG. At the same
time, however, one needs to keep asking whether these developments have
yielded a corresponding increase in the explanatory depth of the theory. Has
cross-fertilization with other disciplines benefited theorizing? Have novel
methods of investigation helped unify theoretical and experimental aspects of
the field? Are new ideas and ideals in sight to push the enterprise forward?
Should we view present-day specialization and concomitant heterogeneity as the
sign of a new synthesis brewing, or rather as the deplorable end of an era of
normal science?

The present workshop extends an invitation, especially - but not exclusively -
to young researchers in the field, to pause and reflect on these and related
questions, with the goal of assessing where we are headed, why there, and what
the best way is of getting there (or nearby). Where have we made real progress
and what questions should most urgently be addressed? What achievements in the
field have been underappreciated, which failures customarily ignored? What are
the principal obstacles on the road ahead, and how can they be
circumnavigated? Where is more data needed, and where does a focus on data
coverage thwart theoretical progress? Unlike regular conferences in
linguistics, this event seeks to provide a venue for reflections and
discussions of questions of this general kind, which often take a back seat in
more traditional formats.

The workshop will be structured around the contributions of a number of
invited participants, who will submit a position paper ahead of time (to be
published ahead of the event) and give short informal talks, which will serve
to kickstart open discussion. Rather than featuring the usual presentations on
specifics of individual research, the event will thus be designed to spur
informal discussion, in which audience members are explicitly encouraged to
engage.

Students of all levels as well as professional linguists of any persuasion are
encouraged to actively participate in the event, either in person or by using
other modes of communication (Facebook, Twitter, etc.). 

Please sign up on the conference website. Registration is free!

Invited Keynote Speakers:

Noam Chomsky
Juan Uriagereka
Riny Huybregts

Invited Participants:

Roberta D'Alessandro
Theresa Biberauer
Alba Cerrudo (student speaker)
Brandon Fry (student speaker)
Tim Hunter
Aritz Irurtzun
Brooke Larson
Marc Richards
Dan Siddiqi
Masaya Yoshida
 






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