The Department of Languages and Applied Linguistics is pleased to present Netta Avineri, Ph.D. (Middlebury Institute of International Studies) “Language and Social Justice: What Is, What Has Been, and What Could Be.” Refreshments will be served.

How are language and social justice interconnected? How can one cultivate a language and social justice praxis, integrating reflection, dialogue, and action for language-related social change? In this presentation, I will discuss the applied linguistic anthropological (ALA) framework, a multi scaled, temporally-shaped critical engagement with socially-situated language issues, balancing contextual knowledge, relationship-building, and aspirations for action (Avineri & Baquedano-López, forthcoming). The ALA framework explores what is, what has been, and what could be through the following steps: centering language, reflection, noticing, observation, narrative, positionalities and commitments, critique, relationships, aspirations, and actions for social change. Through exploring language and social justice issues, critical reflections, and hand-on activities, we will demonstrate the ways that individual, interpersonal, and collective engagement are fundamental for systemic social change.

Dr. Netta Avineri is a Language Teacher Education Professor and Intercultural Competence Committee Chair at the Middlebury Institute of International Studies at Monterey. She serves as the Kathryn Wasserman Davis Collaborative in Conflict Transformation Graduate Education Pillar Lead. Netta teaches Critical ServiceLearning and Teacher Education courses at California State University, Monterey Bay. She is co-editor of Language and Social Justice in Practice, author of Research Methods for Language Teaching: Inquiry, Process, and Synthesis, co-editor of Metalinguistic Communities: Case Studies of Agency, Ideology, and Symbolic Uses of Language, and Series Editor for Critical Approaches in Applied Linguistics. Her co-authored forthcoming textbook is An Introduction to Language and Social Justice: What Is, What Has Been, and What Could Be. She has served as the American Association for Applied Linguistics Public Affairs and Engagement Committee Chair and is the Secretary/Treasurer of the Society of Linguistic Anthropology. Netta’s research interests include language and social justice, critical interculturality, heritage language socialization, and ethical community partnerships.