call for abstracts: AAA panel on engagement in linguistic anthropology

[Mary Bucholtz]

CALL FOR PANEL ABSTRACTS

Engaging Language: Linguistic Anthropologists as Agents of Social Change

Anthropology's longstanding commitment to addressing social justice issues in research has recently been matched by a growing call for anthropologists not only to document, analyze, and critique social inequities in their published work but also to take up positions within local communities and wider publics as agents of social change in their own right (e.g., Low 2011; Low & Merry 2010). While advocacy and activist undertakings have long been central to anthropological practice, discussions of these efforts have only occasionally been the focus of research monographs and journal articles, for they are often perceived as at worst incompatible with scholarly objectivity or at best ancillary to the "real work" of theory building. Within linguistic anthropology, too, scholars have a strong tradition of forging transformative partnerships with communities and of acting as public advocates on their behalf (see discussion in Black forthcoming). Yet with key exceptions these projects of social transformation and their implications for the subfield as a whole have likewise remained largely undiscussed (but see, e.g., Alim 2004; Briggs 2004, 2011; Hinton 2002; Zentella 1997; Zentella, Urciuoli, & Graham 2007, inter alia). This panel aims to highlight the sociopolitical engagements of linguistic anthropologists in a variety of settings and to explore the possibilities as well as the challenges of placing such work at the center of linguistic-anthropological theory and practice.

Papers are sought that illustrate the transformative impact of linguistic anthropology in local communities and/or in public discourse and policy.  Contributions should address activist, advocacy, outreach, and similar undertakings that use the ideas of linguistic anthropology for the direct benefit of sociopolitically subordinated groups. A range of topics are welcome, including but not limited to educational equality, economic and labor issues, immigration, the legal system, health, the environment, and language revitalization. Coauthored papers, including those involving community partners, are encouraged.

Please send a 250-word abstract by no later than April 7 to Mary Bucholtz (bucholtz at linguistics.ucsb.edu) and/or Laura Graham (laura-graham at uiowa.edu).

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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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