View Content #28163

By Julie Sykes, CASLS Director

As I sat down this week to compile resources and write for InterCom, I spent countless hours staring at a blank screen. In fact, the first 99 times I, instead, found myself reading through many new resources and returning to my inspirations in the field – Claire Kramsch, Steve Thorne, Leo VanLier. Each, in their own way, attempts to explore the fundamental complexities of a world in which people from different languages, culture(s), and backgrounds continually find themselves and, more often than not, find themselves on unsteady ground.  Instead of offering abstracted solutions which focus on words and structures, they each call us to the challenges of engaging with culture at its most difficult, and, most often, through language.  A power we have all witnessed first hand in the last weeks.

In a recent introduction to a special issue on culture, Kramsch and Hua (2020) offer,  

“Culture today would better be seen as meaning making practices mediated by symbolic systems of various kinds across various social and historical contexts and through various communication technologies. Intercultural communication is no longer communication across national borders, but participation in fluctuating networks of individual experiences, memories, and fantasies, multiple allegiances and legitimations, that are expressed and shared mostly, though not exclusively, through language.” (pp. 1) 

Thus, as people in the world, we are compelled to better the ways we participate in these cultures and systems while also learning all we can about the social and historical contexts under which they occur. That is our collective responsibility in response to the #BlackLivesMatter movement an underlying racism prevalent in many systems in our country. Furthermore, as we experience “fluctuating networks” in real time, we have the responsibility to make intentional choices and offer research-based insights into how those networks can be used to make positive change.

At CASLS, we remain committed to these endeavors and are proud to be part of a field that continues to learn and grow, advocate, and teach others.  In this week’s issue, we affirm our support and share the voices from around the country in response to racial injustice and anti-racism. Furthermore, in the Activity of the Week section, we offer current resources for those wishing to learn more. At CASLS, we are proud to be able to share these statements and resources and remain committed to continual growth for better engagement in the world around us.

Kramsch, C. & Zhu, H. (2020). Translating Culture in Global Times: An Introduction, Applied Linguistics, Volume 41, Issue 1, pp. 1–9. https://doi.org/10.1093/applin/amz020

ACTFL: https://www.actfl.org/news/press-releases/actfl-statement-the-killing-george-floyd-and-systemic-racism-the-us

TESOL: https://www.tesol.org/news-landing-page/2020/06/01/tesol-statement-on-racial-injustice-and-inequality

NCSSFL: https://www.facebook.com/NCSSFL/posts/2938246142925462

TESOL: Confronting Issues of Race and Class in the ESL Classroom: https://www.tesol.org/read-and-publish/journals/other-serial-publications/compleat-links/compleat-links-volume-3-issue-3-(september-2006)/confronting-issues-of-race-and-class-in-the-esl-classroom

University of Oregon Department of Linguistics Statement: https://linguistics.uoregon.edu/sites/linguistics1.uoregon.edu/files/ling_racial_justice_statement.pdf

University of Oregon statement from the Office of The President: https://president.uoregon.edu/speaking-out-against-hatred-racism-and-violence

MLA statement: https://www.mla.org/About-Us/Governance/Executive-Council/Executive-Council-Actions/2020/MLA-Statement-Deploring-Systemic-Racism

LSA: https://www.linguisticsociety.org/content/lsa-statement-race

AAAL: https://www.aaal.org/news/an-open-letter-regarding-diversity-in-aaal