OSU job announcement: Asst Prof Somali language & culture

The Department of African American and African Studies (AAAS) at The Ohio State University invites applications for tenure-track Assistant professor to teach courses in Somali language and culture beginning in fall 2012. Native or near native command of Somali is expected since the candidate will teach beginning, intermediate, advanced, and conversation courses in the language. The candidate’s area of specialization could include the following: Applied Linguistics, Foreign Language Education, Sociolinguistics, or related disciplines. For more information, see the announcement in the Chronicle of Higher Education.

New Foreign Language Scholarships for OSU undergrads

OSU’s Foreign Language Center has just announced a new scholarship program intended to permit students studying foreign language with interest and supporting work in international business and trade to spend an extended time abroad to enhance their fluency in the foreign language, their knowledge of the foreign culture, and their understanding of the workings and environment of international commerce. The Huntington National Bank created the endowment that supports this program. For information on program eligibility, application, and awards, visit the program webpage.

Somalia at Crossroads Conference at OSU

January 27 and 28, OSU is hosting a conference to deepen public discourse and understanding of the complex situation in Somalia. Issues to be discussed include the national roadmap, piracy, humanitarian crisis, frontline state military interventions, Diaspora remittance challenges, and community development issues. The conference is free and open to the public. For more information, see the Mershon Center announcement and video or got to the local events calendar of the Center for African Studies to download the program.

Ecology & Language Symposium

OSU’s Department of Linguistics and the School of Environment and Natural Resources are sponsoring Ecology & Language, a symposium exploring the interface between ecological and linguistic lines of evidence. The event, the 9th Annual Martin Luther King Day Symposium (MLK9) is being held January 13 and 14 on campus. Please see the program for details. I will be the discussant for a panel ‘The ecology of literacy in Africa – Case studies presented by former literacy workers’. Deborah Morton, Jane Mitsch, and Amanda Miller will speak about literacy programs in Benin, Senegal, and Namibia.