Center for Language Acquisition at the Pennsylvania State University

Conferences



PAALC 2010 Graduate Research Symposium

January 22-23, 2010

 

The Pennsylvania Applied Linguistics Consortium (PAALC) 2010 Graduate Research Symposium was held January 22-23, 2010 at the Pennsylvania State University, University Park, PA.  The symposium was a venue for graduate students in Applied Linguistics from across the state of Pennsylvania to interact with fellow researchers, to present their academic research, to generate ideas for future projects and collaborations, and to receive useful feedback on their current work from peers and experts in their areas of research.

 

 The agenda for the symposium included individual paper presentations by graduate students from all PAALC member institutions:  Carnegie Mellon University, Indiana University of Pennsyvlania, Penn State University, University of Pennsylvania, University of Pittsburgh, and Temple University.  A screening of the documentary film The Linguists was also included in the program.

 

For further information about the PAALC Symposium, please visit the symposium website.

 

 

 

"Diaspora and Language" Conference

April 10-11, 2009

 

Sponsored by the Migration Studies Project and the Center for Language Acquisition, with support from the Department of Labor and Employment Relations at Penn State University

 

Keynote lectures were delivered by the following distinguished scholars:

1. Arthur Spears, Professor of Linguistics and Anthropology, The Graduate Center, City University of New York

2. Valentine E. Daniel, Professor of Anthropology, Columbia University

3. Jo Anne Kleifgen, Associate Professor of Linguistics and Education, Teachers College, Columbia University.

In addition, faculty members from diverse departments of PSU (e.g., Comparative Literature, Labor Studies, African and African American Studies, Latino/a Studies, History, Women's Studies, and the Asian Studies Program) presented papers organized in four  panels, focusing on areas such as Literature and Arts, Labor Relations, Culture and Identity, History, and Health. The conference also included the presentation of narratives from students at Penn State with multicultural family backgrounds reflecting on their diapora connections and identities. (See full program of events below.)

 

Conference Program

Friday, April 10 in Heritage Hall, HUB-Robeson Center

12-1:15 p.m. Welcome and Keynote Address

Arthur Spears, Professor, Linguistics and Anthropology, City University of New York

1:15-1:45 p.m. Break (tea, coffee)

1:45-3:15 p.m. Panel: Language and Literature

Chair: Eric Hayot, Director, Asian Studies Program

· Gabeba Baderoon, African and African American Studies: “Home and foreignness in South African literature”

· Larry Garenflo, Department of Landscape Architecture: “Biological and linguistic diversity”

· Alexander Huang, Comparative Literature: “Chinese action films”

3:15-3:30 p.m. Break

3:30-5:00 p.m. Panel: Globalization and Ethnicity

Chair: Melissa Wright, Geography, Women’s Studies, and Latin American Studies

· Robert Schrauf, Department of Applied Linguistics: “Globalization of Alzheimer's Disease”

· Daryl Thomas and Lynda Mhando, African and African American Studies: “Globalization, migration and the new political order”

· Melissa Wright, Geography, Women’s Studies, and Latin American Studies: “Militarization and Living the Border Life”

 

Saturday, April 11 in 112 Kern Building


9-10:00 a.m. Keynote Address

Valentine Daniel, Professor, Anthropology, Columbia University

10:00-10:15 a.m. Break (tea, coffee)

10:15-11:45 a.m. Panel: Migration and Labor
(Co-sponsored by the Department of Labor Studies and Employment Relations)

Chair: Paul Clark, Head, Department of Labor Studies and Employment Relations

· Samanthi Gunawardene, Labor Studies: “Gender Development and Migration in Sri Lanka”

· Sumita Raghuram, Labor Studies: “Shifting identities in call agents: When simulation becomes real”

· Paul Clark, Labor Studies: “Migration of Nurses from Developing to Developed Countries”

11:45-1:00 p.m. Lunch break

1:00-2:00 p.m. Keynote Address

Jo Anne Kleifgen, Associate Professor of Linguistics and Education, Teachers College, Columbia University

2:00-3:30 p.m. Panel: Education

Chair: Meredith Doran, Department of Applied Linguistics

· Tina Chen, English: “"Comfort women" and the ethical implications of naming and teaching about such subjects”

· Youb Kim, Education: “Strengths-based instruction: Examples from an elementary ESL classroom”

· Kevin Thomas: African and African American Studies: “Assimilation processes and the English Language proficiency of the children of African immigrants in the US: Evidence from Census data”

· Steve Thorne, Applied Linguistics: “Remix practices and semiotic flows”

3:30-3:45 Break (tea, coffee)

3:45-4:45 Diaspora Life Stories Presentations
Presentations of essay contest winners and discussion of identity issues.

4:45-5:45 Local International Community Issues Panel and Discussion

5:45-6:15 Closing Remarks
Sinfree Makoni, Associate Professor of Applied Linguistics, Penn State University

For further information about the conference, contact Dr. Suresh Canagarajah, director of the Migration Studies Project, at asc16@psu.edu.

 

 

 











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