Interdisciplinary Public Engagement Conference Fund
Call for Proposals
Deadline: October 1, 2018 for 2019 conferences
SLA announces an initiative to fund conference submissions promoting the dissemination of activist linguistic anthropology work at venues beyond the AAA meetings, in order to promote collaboration across sub-disciplinary and disciplinary boundaries. For example, SLA has supported special colloquia on linguistic anthropology and social justice in previous years at the American Association of Applied Linguistics conferences, and this year at LSA and elsewhere, although support is not limited to AAAL or Linguistics-specific conferences.
Up to $500 per presenter for up to eight presenters, for reimbursement of conference travel expenses is available, with a cap of $4,000 per year. Conference travel expenses include any combination of conference registration, air or ground travel, hotel, and meals, and receipts are required for reimbursement. While the session chair must be a current SLA member, presenters do not all need to be SLA members. However, only current SLA members can receive the travel reimbursement.
We encourage theoretically sophisticated, methodologically innovative proposals that enhance public understanding of language in relation to social equality, challenging problematic “common sense” language assumptions and ideologies. We particularly encourage proposals that extend work pursued by the joint CfHR (Committee for Human Rights) and SLA Committee on Language and Social Justice (e.g. on pejorative naming practices, language policies, and typifications of language forms and practices that naturalize inequalities) as well as AAA initiatives. We would prioritize accordingly, assessing proposals as part of a general SLA initiative promoting public outreach and education.
The deadline for applications is October 1, 2018 to fund conference participation during 2019. This initiative is offered as a 2-3 year trial, pending current budget exigencies and unknowns regarding SLA’s future journal revenues and costs. Send completed applications & supporting materials to SLA Secretary-Treasurer Erika Hoffmann-Dilloway (erhoffma@oberlin.edu) for consideration by the SLA board.