Linguistic Anthropology in 2008: An Election‐Cycle Guide

Abstract

Loosely following the structure of the U.S. election cycle, I identify some of the more important institutions and events that have recently served as venues for field-building scholarly practices and processes in linguistic anthropology. I examine various trends and concerns animating recent publications on language and social life. I discuss the ongoing impact on the field of recent major works that attempt to codify methodological and theoretical approaches to the intersection of language and society. I also consider some of linguistic anthropology's emergent ventures, including new collaborative projects and new proposals for interdisciplinary work. Finally, I discuss some of the political implications of academic specialization, disciplinary boundaries, and impending "generational shift," both in the subdiscipline and the academy generally. I close by raising questions about future directions and possibilities for research in linguistic anthropology and other interdisciplinary enterprises. [Keywords: linguistic anthropology, interdisciplinarity, linguistic ideology, semiotic practices, linguistic variation]

Linguistic Anthropology at the End of the Naughts: A Review of 2009

“…As this article makes clear, linguistic anthropology has spread in many directions from its roots in the ethnography of speaking and earlier structuralisms. There has been a generational shift underway, also noted in last year's review (Faudree 2008), with many of the subdiscipline's leaders retiring or moving on to other work. This shift was registered somewhat more sharply this year with the passing away of Dell Hymes, a scholar whose influence nowadays is perhaps most strongly felt in the remarkable generation of students that he helped to train 11 .…”

Gesture's community: Social organization in multimodal conduct

“… 31 The idea of interdiscursivity is most relevant here. Faudree (2009:154) states that “interdiscursivity refers to continuity across speech events and hence to stability rooted in persons or types of persons ” (my emphasis).…”

Losing Lévi‐Strauss: The 2009 Year in Cultural Anthropology

“…The reason for the star treatment is, of course, Dunham's son and Soetoro‐Ng's brother, President Barack Obama. Two of last year's Year in Review columns mentioned Obama's election (Checker 2009; Faudree 2009) but did not touch on his matrilateral links to anthropology. This may be the closest anthropology has been to the White House since Margaret Mead; in a letter commemorating Lévi‐Strauss's receipt of the James Smithson Medal, Obama wrote, “My mother earned her Ph.D. in anthropology and instilled in me a deep appreciation for finding the universal common ground among all people and societies, while at the same time studying and celebrating what makes each unique” (Obama 2009; see also Krebs 2009).…”