[Linganth] Message from the SLA Executive Board

[E. Summerson Carr]

Dear SLA Members,
The purpose of the Society of Linguistic Anthropology is to advance the study of language in its social and cultural context and to encourage communication of the results of such study.  We recognize and support the diversity of language practices that people engage in, and we are committed to research that examines how such practices shape patterns of communication, formulate categories of social identity and group membership, and organize cultural beliefs and ideas. We therefore object to efforts to limit and restrict people's ability and right to speak their languages in their own ways, to engage in robust expression of opinion and perspective, and to develop and maintain communities of discourse.
In this spirit, we would like to thank all of you who have encouraged the SLA to support members' efforts to effectively address current political events as they pertain to language(s), communication, and expression. We know that linguistic anthropologists are especially well-equipped to craft messages that reach particular audiences, and that many of our members are experienced and skilled in public-facing writing.  In this light and after extensive discussion, the SLA Executive Board is committed to taking the following steps to facilitate and support member-led initiatives:


  1.  The spring SLA Conference will include space for organizing, including a Public Engagement Resource-Sharing Table and a Language and Social Justice (LSJ) committee-led session. Come meet with others interested in public engagement around language and social justice issues. Better yet, volunteer at the Public Engagement Table to get other members inspired about issues of concern, or create and share virtual fliers with public engagement suggestions and "how-to's."


  1.  Building on public engagement events at the SLA conference, SLA Online will host a June online workshop aimed at sharing resources for activism and engagement, connecting members to others doing similar work, and sharing strategies and techniques for creating and circulating public-facing writing. Goals for the workshop include developing and honing methods to engage readerships around matters of concern, experimenting with relevant genres for sharing perspectives, and talking through the process of pitching and placing op-eds. We will also discuss one-page briefs, infographics, or other genres that could be used as teaching resources or "explainers" for broader publics. Please stay tuned for details about the scheduling of this event.



  1.  Developing an Online Resource Guide: In recent weeks, SLA members have expressed concerns about specific executive actions, such as the March 1st Executive Order designating English as the "official language" of the United States and recent efforts to limit and suspend free expression on university campuses. In response to these ongoing developments, we will be working to build a resource page on the SLA website organized around specific topics with links to programmatic responses, statements, and other resources. We plan to do this with members' ongoing support, and will draw on the resources already shared on this listserv. We hope to also include relevant public-facing publications by SLA members. Again, stay tuned for updates on this initiative.

SLA members have a wide range of ideas about the function and efficacy of public-facing statements, including regarding which issues-of the many that currently are affecting our interlocutors, students, and colleagues-should be addressed. We are also facing bureaucratic obstacles, and more specifically out-of-date section bylaws, which prevent the organization from issuing such statements. This must be remedied.  In order to provide a path forward that offers the organization more leeway, we will begin the process of updating the SLA's bylaws immediately after the May conference. These changes may require a membership vote before submitting them to the AAA for their annual review.

We will keep you updated with this process, including-of course-news about any issues that will be put to membership vote and other ways members can weigh in on the process.

Sincerely,
Summerson Carr, SLA President (on behalf of the SLA Executive Board)
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E. Summerson Carr, Professor
Crown Family School of Social Work, Policy, and Practice//Department of Anthropology
Faculty Associate, Center for Gender Studies & Department of Comparative Human Development
University of Chicago

President of Society of Linguistic Anthropology, 2023-2025
[A book cover with text and images of a person and person  Description automatically generated]
Working the Difference: Science, Spirit, and the Spread of Motivational Interviewing<https://press.uchicago.edu/ucp/books/book/chicago/W/bo201564143.html> (Chicago, 2023)

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