[Linganth] Proposed Roundtable: World Anthros Approaches to Teaching Lang and Culture

[Evelyn Dean Olmsted]

I’m seeking participants for a roundtable called “Teaching Language and
Culture: Approaches from World Anthropologies” at the 2015 AAA Meetings in
Denver.  Below is a draft of the abstract:


Instructors of language and culture teaching outside of the mainland United
States  - or teaching students of immigrant backgrounds - face challenges
such as finding readings in local languages and incorporating ethnographic
and theoretical material produced by scholars from the same country or
region. While mitigating the U.S. American biases in anthropology textbooks
and other pedagogical materials is a challenge for the discipline as a
whole, contemporary linguistic anthropology is particularly heavy in
U.S.-based theories and theorists, whose constructs don't always travel
well.  Empowering students to analyze their own linguistic-cultural milieu
is a central goal of teaching linguistic anthropology, especially at the
undergraduate level.  However, some common ways of framing course topics –
for example, “Language and Race/Ethnicity” – are inherently tied to the
U.S. experience, and therefore of little relevance to students attempting
to grasp local entanglements of language, power and social categories.


This roundtable seeks to bring together scholars who have grappled with
such challenges, including *but not limited to *those who have taught
language and culture-related courses outside of the mainland United States.
Participants would speak briefly (10-15 minutes) on any or all of the
following:

-        - The state of  linguistic anthropology (or the
anthropological/ethnographic study of language, however it is construed) in
the region where the participant has taught (including a brief history and
how it is positioned with regards to other disciplines – sociocultural
anthropology, linguistics, communication, etc.)

-        - Concrete examples of challenges faced in teaching and strategies
toward overcoming them.

-        -Discussion of “fit” between dominant theoretical perspectives in
linguistic anthropology and participant’s local context.

-       - Suggestions for “internationalizing” linguistic anthropology
curricula, including possible reformulations of popular topics and
incorporating the work of non-US-based scholars

-       - Other suggestions for creating more opportunities for
constructive, horizontal exchanges between language and culture scholars
working in different national contexts.


If you are interested in participating in this roundtable, please email me
at evelyn.dean at upr.edu.  I plan to solicit co-sponsorship of the Society
for Linguistic Anthropology and the Committee on World Anthropologies.  Dr.
Kerim Friedman of National DongHwa University in Taiwan has graciously
agreed to serve as chair.
Roundtable participants do not need to submit individual abstracts; the
organizer simply lists their names in the submission.


Note: AAA meeting attendees can EITHER present on a panel OR participate in
a roundtable; they may not do both.  (They can, however, serve as chairs in
unlimited sessions – for more info on presentation policies, see
http://www.aaanet.org/meetings/For-Paper-and-Poster-Presenters.cfm)


Many thanks,

Evelyn


-- 
Dra. Evelyn Dean-Olmsted
Catedrática Auxiliar, Departamento de Sociología y Antropología
Universidad de Puerto Rico, Recinto Río Piedras
evelyn.dean at upr.edu
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