[Linganth] SLA Greetings and Updates
E. Summerson Carr
esc at uchicago.edu
Sat Feb 10 16:59:10 UTC 2024
[Logo]
[cid:image002.png at 01DA5C10.2BC342E0]
Greetings linguistic anthropologists!
One of the lessons from the SLA Futures event, held last autumn and summarized below, is that many SLA members prefer communications that land in our inboxes via our listserv.
Accordingly, and in conjunction with existing vehicles of communication–including the SLA website, SLA social media posts, and project-specific email missives from extended board members–we hope to provide more regular communication from the SLA executive board moving forward.
Please read on if you are interested in the following topics:
1. The current composition of the board and extended board
2. A report from the SLA Futures event
3. Announcement and call for applications for new positions (Accessibility coordinator; Mentoring coordinator; Virtual programming coordinator)
4. Early planning for the next SLA conference and other in-person gatherings
5. Prizes: Winners and upcoming deadlines
6. News and greetings from the JLA, care of the new Editor-in-Chief
1. 2024 Board and Extended Board
The continued health and vibrancy of the SLA depends on the volunteer work of our membership. Many members have served on paper and book award panels, organized in-person and online events for fellow members, participated in language and social justice (LSJ) initiatives, and have otherwise extended the reach and impact of SLA members’ work. Thank you!
There is also the labor-intensive work of the extended board, who also volunteer their time. Many thanks to those who recently rotated off the extended board as well as those who have agreed to fill these positions and have already gotten to work.
Extended board
Anthropology Newsletter Column Editors
Sara Muir<https://www.gc.cuny.edu/people/sarah-muir> (2022-2025)
Michael Wroblewski<https://www.gvsu.edu/anthropology/dr-michael-wroblewski-55.htm> (2021-2024)
Committee on Language and Social Justice
Kyle Fraser (co-chair)
Mara Green, she/her (co-chair)
Nadxieli Toledo Bustamante, she/her/ella (co-chair)
Digital Media Directors
Shannon Ward<https://ccgs.ok.ubc.ca/about/contact/shannon-ward/> (2023-2026)
Catherine Tebaldi<https://wwwfr.uni.lu/recherche/fhse/dhum/people/catherine_tebaldi> (2023-2026)
Journal of Linguistic Anthropology Editors
Anna Babel<https://sppo.osu.edu/people/babel.6> (Editor-in-chief) (2018-2023)
Nominations Committee
Georgia Ennis<https://www.georgiaennis.com/> (2021-2024)
Jocelyn Ahlers<https://faculty.csusm.edu/jahlers/index.html> (2022-2025)
Britta Ingebretson<https://www.fordham.edu/info/20831/modern_languages_and_literatures_faculty/11064/britta_ingebretson> (2023-2026)
Section Program Chair
Sandhya Krittika Narayanan<https://www.unr.edu/anthropology/faculty/sandhya-narayanan> (2021-2023)
Section Program Chair-Elect
Andrew Carruthers<https://anthropology.sas.upenn.edu/people/andrew-carruthers>
SLA Graduate Student Representative to the AAA
Joseph Marks (2022-2025)
SLA Social Media Manager
Nora Tyeklar<https://utexas.academia.edu/NoraTyeklar> (2023-2026)
AAA representatives
AAA Nominations Committee, Linguistic Seat
Elise Berman<https://anthropology.charlotte.edu/elise-berman/> (2023-2026)
AAA Executive Board, Linguistic Seat
Joel Kuipers<https://anthropology.columbian.gwu.edu/joel-c-kuipers> (2023-2026)
Executive Board
President
Summerson Carr<https://crownschool.uchicago.edu/crownscholars/e-carr#:~:text=Summerson%20Carr%20is%20an%20Associate,social%20work%20and%20allied%20professions.> (2023-2025)
President-Elect
Jillian Cavanaugh<https://www.brooklyn.cuny.edu/web/academics/faculty/faculty_profile.jsp?faculty=547> (2023-2025)
Secretary-Treasurer
Netta Avineri<https://www.middlebury.edu/institute/people/netta-avineri> (2023-2026)
Members at Large
Lynnette Arnold<https://www.umass.edu/anthro/lynnette-arnold> (2021-2024)
Xochitl Marshilli-Vargas<http://spanport.emory.edu/home/people/faculty/marsilivargas-xochitl.html> (2022-2025)
Kate Graber<https://anthropology.indiana.edu/about/faculty/graber-kathryn.html> (2023-2026)
Many thanks to Bernard Perley, the outgoing president, and Adrienne Lo, outgoing Member-at-Large, for their service.
Please consider nominations, self-nominations, and expressions of interest in these roles, all of which are vital to the work of the SLA, now and in the future.
2. SLA Futures report
On October 17, 2023, the SLA executive board convened an open, virtual meeting with the membership to discuss the future of the field and the organization, which we called “SLA Futures.” The purpose of the meeting was to provide an open forum in which SLA members could gather to share their ideas about the future of SLA and its priorities moving forward.
About fifty people participated in the meeting. After introductory remarks from SLA president Bernard Perley, treasurer Jack Sidnell, and president-elect Summerson Carr, participants split up into five discussion groups. Each group consisted of approximately eight SLA members and a member of the executive board tasked with taking notes and guiding the discussion. Participants tackled two main questions: 1) Over the next two years, given constraints, what should be our top priorities? 2) What are the best ways for SLA members to communicate and convene?
In these discussion groups, members voiced a wide variety of interests and priorities. Sometimes, these concerns were at potential odds, such as the widely stated desire for another in-person SLA conference and the concern that in-person gatherings not only privilege those who are equipped to travel but also increase our carbon footprint. That said, it is clear that the SLA Futures event also generated some common themes.
Below are the five main points of convergence and the concrete steps we are taking to begin addressing them.
a. Accessibility is a priority for SLA members, particularly concerning SLA events. Members would like to reduce barriers to participation overall. This includes improving access for our members with disabilities, but it also extends to graduate students, international scholars, and members who work outside the academy or in precarious academic posts. While forum participants highlighted the importance of in-person interactions and sought to retain those aspects of conferencing with access in mind, they also highlighted the importance of virtual programming beyond conferences and expressed hope for more of this. Members made clear that accessibility is at stake in everything we do as a society and that it is critical to our success moving forward. To give accessibility the attention it deserves, the SLA is creating two new positions on the board: an accessibility coordinator and a virtual programming coordinator (read below for more information).
b. Members expressed overwhelming support for a biennial SLA conference and identified many potential benefits of having a regular meeting. Although some members suggested a conference should include at least some virtual elements if financially feasible, most felt that the conference planning should focus on an in-person format at a relatively intimate scale. With these wishes in mind, planning for a 2025 SLA conference is now in its early stages (read below for more information).
c. Many members emphasized the importance of mentoring, especially for students, early career faculty, and linguistic anthropologists working outside the academy. These were prescient comments, coming as they did right before a very successful mentoring event at the AAA/CASCA meeting in Toronto. They also inspired the need for a dedicated mentoring coordinator, a new position described below.
d. Members underscored the importance of maintaining and developing the journal. Some participants suggested that JLA consider publishing in languages other than English and/or with translations. Others suggested that the JLA should be open to writing genres other than the academic essay. The search for a new JLA editor proceeded with these goals in mind, and we are thrilled to have Anna Babel on board as the new editor of JLA. You can read her message to the membership below.
e. Many discussion participants suggested that the SLA should partner and collaborate with other sections, societies, and/or local conferences. Many also noted the importance of encouraging graduate students and other SLA members to organize events like the Talking Politics series that have the potential to reach beyond the subfield and engage broader audiences.
3. New positions
The SLA has established several new positions in response to members' recent feedback. We ask all members to please consider serving in one of these appointed positions. If interested in doing so, please contact esc at uchicago.edu<mailto:esc at uchicago.edu> with the name of the position in the header of your email.
We are confident that we can better serve current members and grow the organization by appointing members to the following positions:
ACCESSIBILITY COORDINATOR
Many thanks to the membership, and to the LSJ in particular, for their advocacy for this role and for conducting initial research into possible resources that can help us make the organization more accessible.
ACCESSIBILITY COORDINATOR POSITION DESCRIPTION: The SLA accessibility coordinator will take the lead in planning, promoting, and— in collaboration with members of the extended SLA Board—implementing measures to increase access to all SLA events and publications (including but not limited to the journal, newsletter columns, and digital communications). Accessibility is broadly conceived to facilitate greater participation and opportunities at every level for historically marginalized groups, with particular emphasis on disability, region of residence, language backgrounds, and inequalities based on socio-economic class, race, ethnicity, nationality, gender, and sexuality. In addition to working closely with the SLA executive board to increase and expand access, the SLA accessibility officer will liaise with the AAA Coordinator for Accessibility, Meetings and Conferences, and other AAA sections where appropriate. The Accessibility Coordinator will serve a two-year term.
MENTORING COORDINATOR
Sandhya Narayanan has done much to revamp SLA’s mentoring program, work that she took on over and above her work as AAA Program Chair. Members of the SLA program committee—Dominika Baran, Grigory Gorbun, Kathe Managan, and Gahyun Sohn—also contributed to this important work. The recent success of the program suggests the need for a dedicated position.
MENTORING COORDINATOR POSITION DESCRIPTION: This position aims to help junior scholars become more familiar with the SLA and offer mentoring opportunities for junior scholars and mid-career professionals at both academic institutions and related industries. The new coordinator will work to expand the mentor-mentee network, which involves managing check-ins for mentors-mentees when necessary and pairing new mentors and mentees. Coordination work will also include maintaining and updating the database (i.e. spreadsheet) of current mentor-mentee pairings. The coordinator will also plan at least one in-person mentoring event (such as the 2023 Mentoring Luncheon AAA) and one virtual event annually. Finally, the coordinator will conduct an annual SLA mentorship survey. The mentoring coordinator will serve a two-year term.
VIRTUAL EVENTS COORDINATOR
Consistent with the SLA’s interest in sharing and extending the reach of linguistic anthropological scholarship and doing so in accessible ways, we want to encourage and support virtual programming. While virtual programming will not replace a biennial conference, it can supplement it in impactful ways. Please stay tuned as the board drafts a position description for a virtual events coordinator. As with the positions above, do not hesitate to reach out if you are interested in volunteering for the SLA in this role.
4. Conference planning
As many members recall, the last SLA conference was held in Boulder, Colorado in 2022, after several years of COVID-related delays. Attendees were overwhelmingly positive about their experience at the conference, leaving many longing for the next! At the same time, we learned many important lessons from the conference, including the sheer amount of volunteer labor needed to plan for and host a conference of that scale, the financial impact on the organization, and the pros and cons of a hybrid format. With member feedback in mind and with some necessary adjustments, we are in the early stages of planning for a conference that will take place in Chicago in the spring or very early fall of 2025. The next step is to convene a conference committee. If you are interested in participating, please reach out to esc at uchicago.edu<mailto:esc at uchicago.edu> with CONFERENCE PLANNING in the header of your email.
5. Prizes
We are pleased to announce the winners of our 2023 awards:
New Voices Book Prize
Piers Kelly for
The Last Language on Earth: Linguistic Utopianism in the Philippines<https://global.oup.com/academic/product/the-last-language-on-earth-9780197509913?cc=ca&lang=en&>
[https://lh7-us.googleusercontent.com/skQUwQvL_1cpjnwY0-eypY_akuv6-eqLUAxpc4pAZBUfFGM7elDsj_K0iNuwfazdxrTKoB2wWRQtGIxqFnpwwPzA2dZx8SSTGOyY7cVmP2N2l5gLDhggGZ7eOd5Yl2_-o7GLW5hnWycN5ENeyai08d4]
Scott MacLochlainn for
The Copy Generic: How the Nonspecific Makes our Social Worlds<https://press.uchicago.edu/ucp/books/book/chicago/C/bo182881918.html>
[https://lh7-us.googleusercontent.com/trvsJoF1L7nZXJkX6RInaJOnOJurBmHsDAqnhaMdFjGb4af68mW8DW6BT2vPSCsE9oU8aiL-NkT67DFX1wHAgn1U6Ge-pggEkMLdS2jZ5iLa5kxf-bRkQa5TWLAdtIvJI86lNCkggk23M7QAVWww_2Y]
Honorable Mention
Xochitl Marsilli-Vargas for
Genres of Listening: An Ethnography of Psychoanalysis in Buenos Aires<https://www.dukeupress.edu/genres-of-listening>
[https://lh7-us.googleusercontent.com/Qgh34rzg1eZZlNsTSBboQ63nacT3NCjb4shRgTJz3z06TTf5hh9RSuZByHvijiASRUBrkzF64vq5atrppyt19uDAneO28r8ZK0wHW0_HJRl2jQi0n9cPcdSqgr6l49HaTtvoA8kIpcfYVxDwvDT8_ko]
John Gumperz Graduate Student Paper Prize:
Co-Winners
Timothy Y. Loh
(Massachusetts Institute of Technology)
Jiarui Sun
(University of Chicago)
Paper Title:
al-lugha al-‘umm/’arabi mukassar: Competing Discourses about Jordanian Sign Language (LIU) in Amman
Paper Title:
Digital Rituals in Danmu: The Enregisterment of Online Nationalism in China
Faculty Advisor:
Stefan Helmreich
Faculty Advisor:
Constantine Nakassis
Honorable Mentions
Katherine Arnold-Murray
(University of Colorado, Boulder)
Sarah Rosenau
(University of Pittsburgh)
Paper Title:
Settle for Biden: The Scalar Production of a Normative Presidential Candidate on Instagram
Paper Title:
Appropriating Appropriation: Mock Koreaboo
Faculty Advisor:
Kira Hall
Faculty Advisor:
Scott Kiesling
Undergraduate Student Prize
Course Paper Winner
Senior Thesis Winner
Joelle Jackson
(Indiana University)
Allyson Emmett
(Saint Mary’s College, Notre Dame)
Paper Title:
(Re)animating Treasured Texts: Volunteers’ Visibility and Voice in Participatory Archival Transcription
Paper Title:
Gender and Linguistic Change: Perceptions of English Influencing Changes in Spanish in the U.S.
Faculty Advisor:
Kathryn Graber
Faculty Advisor:
Nell Haynes
Honorable Mentions
Thayer H. Ackerman
(Appalachian State University)
JS Brown
(Appalachian State University)
Paper Title:
The Chronotopes of Columbia
Paper Title:
Cultivating Time and Space in Digital Advertising and Corporate Branding
Faculty Advisor:
Mary-Caitlin Valentinsson
Faculty Advisor:
Mary-Caitlin Valentinsson
There are currently several SLA awards open for submission. More information available on our website<https://www.linguisticanthropology.org/about/prizes/>.
The Edward Sapir Book Prize
Submissions for the Edward Sapir prize are now open. The deadline is March 15, 2024.
The Edward Sapir Book Prize, established in 2001, is a prize awarded to a book that makes a significant contribution to our understanding of language in society, or the ways in which language mediates historical or contemporary sociocultural processes. The Sapir prize will be awarded in 2024 and will cover books published between January 1, 2020 and December 31, 2023.
Message from Anna Babel, new JLA editor
Hello from new JLA editor Anna Babel<https://sppo.osu.edu/people/babel.6> and student assistant Ileana Perez<https://sppo.osu.edu/people/perez.641>!
We are excited to be part of the JLA team and bring you the latest research in linguistic anthropology. Be sure to follow our socials to stay up to date on all our newest publications. Here are SIX SHOCKING THINGS YOU CAN DO if you are interested in supporting the JLA!
1. Submit your work to the JLA<https://anthrosource.onlinelibrary.wiley.com/journal/15481395>!
2. Cite articles published in the JLA!
3. Follow our socials (Instagram: @journaloflinganth, Twitter: @JournalLingAnth, Facebook: @JournalofLinguisticAnthropology)
4. Nominate your favorite grad student for the student board member position!
5. Nominate your favorite kind, well-connected, patient, and brilliant colleague as Associate Editor!
We’re particularly looking for people who would be enthusiastic about broadening & diversifying our international, (inter)disciplinary, and career type/stage reach, both in traditional journal articles and in alternate formats
6. Let us know if you are comfortable reviewing abstracts in a language other than English!
You can reach us by email at babel.6 at osu.edu<mailto:babel.6 at osu.edu>; perez.641 at buckeyemail.osu.edu<mailto:perez.641 at buckeyemail.osu.edu>.
[cid:image003.jpg at 01DA5C10.2BC342E0]
[Twitter icon]<https://twitter.com/soclinganth>
[Facebook icon]<https://www.facebook.com/SocLingAnth>
[Link icon]<https://www.linguisticanthropology.org/>
Copyright © 2024 Society for Linguistic Anthropology<http://linguisticanthropology.org/>.
-------------- next part --------------
An HTML attachment was scrubbed...
URL: <http://listserv.linguistlist.org/pipermail/linganth/attachments/20240210/8187b974/attachment-0001.htm>
-------------- next part --------------
A non-text attachment was scrubbed...
Name: image001.png
Type: image/png
Size: 6286 bytes
Desc: image001.png
URL: <http://listserv.linguistlist.org/pipermail/linganth/attachments/20240210/8187b974/attachment-0002.png>
-------------- next part --------------
A non-text attachment was scrubbed...
Name: image002.png
Type: image/png
Size: 26924 bytes
Desc: image002.png
URL: <http://listserv.linguistlist.org/pipermail/linganth/attachments/20240210/8187b974/attachment-0003.png>
-------------- next part --------------
A non-text attachment was scrubbed...
Name: image003.jpg
Type: image/jpeg
Size: 43612 bytes
Desc: image003.jpg
URL: <http://listserv.linguistlist.org/pipermail/linganth/attachments/20240210/8187b974/attachment-0001.jpg>
More information about the Linganth
mailing list