Promoting Image of Slavic Lgs and Lits

[c. vakareliyska]

    Some of the major issues that have been raised in the current SEELANGS
discussion are being worked on actively by the AATSEEL-affiliated Slavic
Linguistics Task Force ("SLTF"). Although the SLTF focuses specifically on
the linguistics side of the Slavic program, many of its activities are also
germane to literature. We would like to invite any interested colleagues,
including our literature colleagues, to join one of the SLTF subcommittees
and assist directly in our concrete efforts to promote the Slavic field --
we can use your help!
        Three subcommittees of the SLTF are devoted to issues that are
directly connected to the current discussion: the Subcommittee on Media
Relations,the Subcommittee on External Promotion, and the Subcommittee on
Intra-University Promotion.
        The Subcommittee on Media Relations, chaired by Bob Fradkin
(Robert_A_FRADKIN at umail.umd.edu), was created to work directly with the
news media to give more exposure to the role of Slavic languages and
linguistics both within the context of current international affairs (e.g.,
political issues involving language in Bosnia, Belorusia, etc.), and within
the context of broader linguistic issues that are of current domestic news
interest (e.g., Ebonics). Other tasks of the subcommittee include getting
the media to use Slavic linguists as consultants on proper on-air
pronunciation and translation of Slavic names and words, and encouraging
the same degree of efforts by the media in pronouncing Slavic names
correctly as they use for French, Spanish, Italian, or German. Bob is one
of a very few Slavists with expertise on both sides of this issue, having
worked closely with the media in connection with his recently-published
book for radio announcers on the proper pronunciation of Russian names.
        The Subcommittee on External Promotion, chaired by Jeanmarie
Rouhier-Willoughby (jrouhie at pop.uky.edu), focuses on building direct
contacts with high school Russian programs, with the local community, and
with heritage groups, all of which are not only sources for our
enrollments, but also the most readily-accessible segments of the general
public whom we can reach directly in efforts to promote the image of Slavic
linguistics and Slavic languages as significant areas of study.  Jeanmarie
has considerable experience in this area through her position as the high
school and community liaison in her department at the University of
Kentucky. Among other activities, the subcommittee has conducted a survey
of high school Russian teachers concerning perceptions of Slavic
linguistics and enrollment figures (linked to the AATSEEL home page, at
http://clover.slavic.pitt.edu/~aatseel/databases/high-school-survey.html).
        The Subcommittee on Intra-University Promotion, chaired by Keith
Langston (LANGSTON at uga.cc.uga.edu), is concerned with the promotion of
Slavic linguistics and Slavic departments within the university: this
includes strategies for developing closer positive contacts with the
administration, with faculty in other departments, and with faculty in the
literature side of the department program. One area which has been looked
into by the subcommittee in this connection is consultation with public
relations specialists. Other tasks of the subcommittee include conducting
the rolling enrollments survey, which will be posted again over SEELANGS
this spring (last term's responses are posted at
http://clover.slavic.pitt.edu/~aatseel/databases/enrollment-survey.html,
linked to the AATSEEL home page), and the development, in consultation with
a marketing specialist, of a professional-level student market survey
instrument that departments can administer _gratis_ to students at their
institutions in order better to determine effective advertising strategies
for Slavic courses.
        The SLTF also includes the Subcommittee on Graduate Education,
chaired by Olga Yokoyama (OLGA at HUMnet.UCLA.EDU), and the Subcommittee on
Professional Development, chaired by Lenore Grenoble
(lenore.a.grenoble at DARTMOUTH.EDU). These subcommittees are also involved,
albeit perhaps more indirectly, with promoting the image of Slavic
linguistics. The scope of the Subcommittee on Graduate Education includes
investigating ways to include within the graduate curriculum preparation
for non-academic occupations in the current job crisis (e.g., humanities
computing, government, etc.). The Subcommittee on Professional Development
is concerned, among other tasks, with the presentation of Slavic
linguistics research and Slavic language data to a broader
interdisciplinary scholarly audience, by encouraging the publication by
Slavic linguists of scholarly articles in general linguistics journals, and
in related forums such as cognitive science and anthropology journals, in a
form accessible to readers with no prior knowledge of Slavic languages.
        Each of these subcommittees could use more active members to help
with these projects. If you would like to participate in any of these
concrete measures toward promoting the Slavic field, please contact either
me or one of the subcommittee chairs above.

        Cynthia Vakareliyska
        Chair, Slavic Linguistics Task Force


-----------------------------------------------------------------------
C. M. Vakareliyska                           vakarel at oregon.uoregon.edu
Asst. Professor of Slavic Linguistics            tel. (541) 346-4043
Department of Russian                            fax  (541) 346-1327
University of Oregon
Eugene, OR 97403-1262