[Linganth] LSJ general meeting follow up and updates

[Toledo Bustamante, Nadxieli]

Dear Colleagues,

Thank you to everyone who attended the last general meeting of the Language and Social Justice Committee (LSJ) on February 28! We were thrilled to see both new and returning members engage in discussions about the future direction of our work, how best to support academics and students in the current political climate, and how to advance both ongoing and emerging initiatives.

In this email you will find information about 1) LSJ initiatives/working groups, 2) working group/special meeting to draft a response to the EO declaring English the official language, 3) future LSJ general meetings, and 4) in-person discussion at the SLA conference in Chicago (May 2025).

1) LSJ Initiatives/Working groups
During our general meeting we compiled notes from our Zoom breakout sessions discussing some of the initiatives, which you can find here<https://docs.google.com/document/d/1J4sH_5djdu4OcMtn8aYk9U1i2N4Y2-TqkUyiGrol3GA/edit?usp=sharing>. Initiatives that are either ongoing or for which people have expressed interest include:

  *   Mother languages, heritage languages, and Indigenous languages (e.g., International Mother Language Day)
  *   Language and gender/LGBTQ+ issues
  *   Accessibility (beyond disability, including economic, epistemic, and other barriers)
  *   Crowdsourcing scholarly and general-interest resources on language and social justice for teaching and public outreach
  *   Language destandardization, raciolinguistics, and academic language
  *   Surveillance and freedom of speech
  *   Book club
  *   Student essay prizes

2) Working Group/special meeting: Executive Order declaring English the official language
In response to numerous inquiries on the listserv regarding a response to the Executive Order declaring English the official language, we are organizing a working group on Friday, March 21. The goal is to put together a draft and/or specific recommendations that can be shared with the SLA. If you would like to contribute, please join us:

Friday, March 21, 2025
⏰ 11:30-1:00 PST/2:30 - 4:00 PM EST
Zoom Link: https://csus.zoom.us/j/87919553038

3) Future LSJ General Meetings
Moving forward, our General Meetings will continue to serve as a space to discuss initiatives, share ongoing work and events, and crowdsource resources related to Language and Social Justice. Ideally, people working on the different initiatives will find a way to continue the work between meetings. Please let us know if your working group decided on a point-person who can be in contact with the Steering Committee or if you are still looking for someone to take on that responsibility.

4) In-person discussion at SLA Conference in Chicago
The LSJ will have a time in the program at this year’s Society of Linguistic Anthropology (SLA) conference in Chicago in May where those in attendance can connect and continue ongoing conversations and work around specific initiatives. Please keep an eye out for more information soon.

Thank you for reading, we look forward to your participation and input!

Warm wishes,

Nadxieli & Katherine (on behalf of the Language and Social Justice Steering Committee)


--
Nadxieli Toledo Bustamante, Ph.D. (she/her/ella)
Assistant Professor, Child and Adolescent Development
College of Education
California State University, Sacramento
6000 J Street, Sacramento, CA, 95819
Office: Brighton 219
Email: toledobustamante at csus.edu<mailto:toledobustamante at csus.edu>

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