language – RightsViews

By Staff Writer Carina Goebelbecker How can words, language, grammar, and narrative be used in the fight for social justice? The Columbia University Society of Fellows and Heyman Center for the Humanities’ Language Pedagogy and Social Justice virtual event on May 11th explored the previous question. The roundtable discussion highlighted perspectives from language educators, featuring: moderator David Borgonjon (Public Humanities Fellow and PhD Candidate in EALAC, Columbia University) Maya Krinsky (Associate Director of Multilingual Education, Rhode Island School of Design), João Nemi Neto (Senior Lecturer in LAIC, Columbia University), Karim ElHaies (Worker-Owner, Algarabía Language Co-op), Aldo Ulisses Reséndiz Ramírez (Worker-Owner, Algarabía Language Co-op), and Pamela Rose (Mandarin Educator). Each panel member reflected on their own teaching practice and how language pedagogy can be taught with a focus on social justice. Social justice themes and conversations are typically labeled as “advanced” in the language classroom. However, these topics are present within each unit of study, and denying this fact can perpetuate harm and...

By Jalileh Garcia, RightsViews staff writer August 9th marked the 2019 International Day of the World's Indigenous Peoples. The theme for this year is Indigenous Peoples’ Languages. According to the United Nations Development Programme, it is estimated that there are 370-500 million indigenous peoples in the world, representing over 5,000 different cultures. Furthermore, a majority of the 7,000 languages in the world were created and are spoken by Indigenous Peoples. Yet, despite this immense lingual diversity, human rights experts indicate that four in 10 Indigenous languages are in danger of disappearing. The main reason for the disappearance of these languages is the fragility of systems to ensure that Indigenous Peoples rights to land and territory are respected, protected, and guaranteed, including, among other reasons, forced assimilation. As such, entire cultures are at risk of disappearing as companies and governments are stripping Indigenous communities of their lands. These cultures include the belief in a special relationship with the environment─land has physical, cultural, and spiritual...

Tag: language

Celebrating World Indigenous Peoples’ Day and Confronting Challenges in Defending Indigenous Languages and Territory