The final Linguistics Colloquium of fall 2022 will take place on Monday, November 14, with a talk by Wesley Y. Leonard (UC Riverside) in Dwinelle 370 and on Zoom from 3:10-5pm. His talk is entitled "Insights from Native American Studies for Decolonizing Linguistics Pedagogy," and the abstract is as follows:
Despite the increasing focus on Justice, Equity, Diversity, and Inclusion (JEDI) in the discipline of Linguistics, members of Native American and other Indigenous communities remain underrepresented—and often feel unwelcome. A recurring concern is that Linguistics is not accountable to Indigenous histories, protocols, and ways of engaging with language. A wider issue is that colonization is endemic, and academic norms have developed around colonial logics.
Drawing from critical tools in Native American Studies, this colloquium's objective is to build capacity for teaching linguistics in ways that promote JEDI for Native American and other Indigenous communities. It will begin with a summary of how colonialism, particularly settler colonialism, and related -isms guide Linguistics, and how Indigenous conceptual tools can be leveraged in response. We will then explore these principles through a consideration of how Linguistics is and could be taught.