Moving in the Right Direction: Language Justice in Academia & Beyond

About the event

Speaker Bio:
Dr. Shyam Sharma is an associate professor of writing and rhetoric and graduate program director at Stony Brook, State University of New York. His books include Writing Support for International Graduate Students, Rethinking Education Across Borders, and How to Write and Publish Effectively: Writing Support Group Guidelines. His research interests include international education and students, cross-cultural rhetoric and communication, and critical pedagogy. A former lecturer at the Tribhuvan University of Nepal, he is also an expert on higher education issues about Nepal and South Asia.

Description of the Talk:
All societies, and especially diverse ones like the US, are multilingual; translingual communication mediates life and professions and makes knowledge grow and work. Yet, myths about language set up barriers, inhibiting free exchange and application of knowledge. These myths not just adversely affect knowledge production and application but undermine justice and harm societies. Drawing on the research and his own efforts to counter harmful language ideologies in academe, Dr. Shyam Sharma will present a framework and share practical strategies, showing how to move in the right direction toward greater language justice and thereby social justice in the world. The session will include strategies for advancing social justice by approaching language, genre, and modes of writing more mindfully.