2017 Annual International Conference

From Scroll to Scrolling: Shifting Cultures of Language and Identity 

March 9-11, 2017

Language and identity are inseparable. Changes in writing technology, on the one hand, and in power dynamics, on the other, shape communities and individual identities. This conference examines two intertwined themes: One, the impact of changes in the production and circulation of texts, over time and place, upon practices of writing, reading, and the transmission of knowledge.  Two, the way in which power imbalances affect language use, community, and identity. As writing technologies emerge, decisions are made regarding which forms of social memory will be preserved and (re)produced or forgotten and lost. Changes in technologies of writing and access to their control have profound effects on cultural survival and social change.

Organizers and Contact Information

Tamar Mayer, Robert R. Churchill Professor of Geoscience, Director of the Rohatyn Center for Global Affairs, and Director of International and Global Studies, mayer@middlebury.edu

Marybeth Nevins, Associate Professor of Anthropology, mnevins@middlebury.edu

Steve Snyder, Kawashima Professor of Japanese Studies and Dean of Language Schools, ssnyder@middlebury.edu