Combatting Raciolinguistic Discrimination in the Academy and Workplace

Thursday, April 1, 2021 12:00 PM to 1:30 PM EDT

When speaking about and working on racial justice and antiracist initiatives, attention to language and linguistic justice—a framework that challenges language bias and discrimination practices—is often overlooked or missing. However, linguistic discrimination is often a proxy for other kinds of discrimination, including racial discrimination coded as a scrutiny and oppression of particular language practices.

Privileging Standard National Languages, or what language scholars also label as white language supremacy, pervades educational and workplace settings, often marginalizing multilinguals and people of color. Any initiatives aimed at addressing racism must, therefore, be attuned to language discrimination and take up linguistic justice as a central goal.

This panel will feature scholars from modern and classical languages, writing studies, and industrial and organizational psychology to share work about the intersections of racial and linguistic discrimination, particularly as these types of discrimination occur in educational and workplace contexts. Audience members will be invited to dialogue about these issues with the panel presenters and to consider how this discussion can inform their scholarship and work with students. 

Speakers

Afra Ahmed, Director of the Applied Industrial and Organizational Psychology Program, George Mason University

Laura Greenfield, Director of the Transformative Speaking Center, Hampshire College

Jennifer Leeman, Professor of Spanish Linguistics, Department of Modern and Classical Languages, George Mason University

Sergio Loza, Director of the Spanish Heritage Language Program, University of Oregon

Christy Pichichero, Associate Professor of French and History and Director of Faculty Diversity, College of Humanities and Social Sciences, George Mason University

Facilitators

Anna Habib, Associate Director of Composition for Multilingual Writers, George Mason University

Courtney Adams Wooten, Director of Composition, George Mason University

This event will take place virtually with registration through Zoom:

Zoom Registration Link: https://gmu.zoom.us/j/92883075332?pwd=V2dSSllNVzVTb3grZ1RMWjV0Wkwwdz09
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