host institution sought for Fulbright scholar from C=?iso-8859-1?Q?=F4te_?=d'Ivoire

[Mary Bucholtz]

I've been approached by Roland Raoul Kouassi, a Fulbright scholar from Côte d'Ivoire, about hosting him sometime in 2012 as he works on a project regarding language and national identity (abbreviated description below). I'm unable to take this on, but it seems like a valuable project, so I'm checking to see if anyone out there is able to host him. Fulbright will provide all the funding, but as I understand it the host institution should provide office space and computer access, library and course auditing privileges, and regular consultation with the host faculty member. 

Please contact Roland directly if you're interested in hosting him: Roland Raoul KOUASSI <rrkouassi at gmail.com>. Please don't contact me; I'm just the messenger.

Thanks,

Mary
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National identity anchors in Ivorian local language discourses

Roland Raoul KOUASSI
University of Cocody, Abidjan (Cote d’Ivoire)

The relation between language and identity has been the source of substantial debates these recent years. This may be explained by the constructive idea that identity emerges from interactions; that is, the identity of an individual is best viewed not as an ex-nihilo fact originally located in the mind, but constructed in a complex flow of inter-subjective symbolic relations. It is a product of discourses between subjects. And insofar as language is the most important and most practiced symbolic system in human society, it will be the furthermost supplier of semiotic data for identity construction. The study of how discourse (that is language (in) use) in local languages (can) contribute to the emergence of a national identity in Cote d’Ivoire is the gist of this project. My experience as a lecturer of discourse analysis and an active member of the language and citizenship research laboratory will surely help.

In this works, my focus is on the discursive markers that design, set up and maintain national identity. It is not just a discussion on the influence of language-as-a-system. It is on how talks between subjects lead to generate and fix identity national identity. I aim then to unveil the linguistic units that are used (or should be used) by the speakers in interactions to intersubjectively construct and maintain the Ivorian national identity. I will also discuss the possible consequences of the absence of such anchors in local languages. I aim to contribute to the construction of national continuity across cultural diversities which will positively impact on a better national cohesion and alleviate antagonistic relations instigated by ethnic diversity. 

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Mary Bucholtz, Professor
Department of Linguistics
3432 South Hall
University of California, Santa Barbara
Santa Barbara, CA 93106-3100

http://www.linguistics.ucsb.edu/faculty/bucholtz/
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