Nicholas Limerick

Nicholas Limerick is an Associate Professor of Anthropology and Education and Chair of the International and Transcultural Studies Department at Teachers College, Columbia University. His research focuses on how state institutions shape multilingual education, particularly Indigenous language revitalization in Ecuador. He holds affiliations with the International and Comparative Education program and Columbia’s Institute for Latin American Studies.

He earned a Ph.D. in Anthropology and Educational Linguistics from the University of Pennsylvania (2015) and a BA in Anthropology from Emory University. His work bridges ethnographic research with policy analysis, emphasizing Indigenous Kichwa communities’ efforts to maintain linguistic and cultural autonomy amid state educational systems.

Key research themes include colonial linguistics, multilingual education policy, and the interplay between Indigenous movements and state bureaucracies. His 2023 book Recognizing Indigenous Languages examines Ecuador’s intercultural bilingual education system. Awards include the George Bereday Award (2018) and James E. Alatis Prize (2020).

• Labs/Teams: Center for Multiple Languages and Literacies
• Grants: Not explicitly listed in provided texts

His scholarship challenges assumptions about language standardization and advocates for pedagogies that center Indigenous knowledge systems.