On Wednesday, April 25, Dr. Sinfree Makoni, Associate Professor of Applied Linguistics and African Studies at Pennsylvania State University, will give talk on "Socio-Applied Linguistics From the Global South: Issues and Challenges":

Looking at applied linguistics from the perspective of the Global South opens up a range of issues and ways of thinking about what languages are, how they are used, and what can be accomplished with their use. Southern epistemologies reveal how terms such as "vernacular", "local language", "indigenous language", and "mother tongue" are part of the colonial order. Though seeing socio-applied linguistics through Southern epistemologies brings certain challenges, it can help denaturalize and decolonize some of these terms.

The talk is co-sponsored by the African Urbanism Humanities Lab, the African Studies Colloquium, the Carter G. Wodoson Institute for African-American and African Studies, and the Linguistics Program.