Michael Lucey is the Sidney and Margaret Ancker Chair and Distinguished Professor of French and Comparative Literature at the University of California, Berkeley. His work bridges French literature from the 19th to 21st centuries with social theory, sexuality studies, and linguistic anthropology. He has authored the critically acclaimed What Proust Heard: Novels and the Ethnography of Talk (2022) and Thinking about Sexuality with Novels (forthcoming). As founding director of the Center for the Study of Sexual Culture , he has shaped interdisciplinary research in queer theory and gender studies. Current research focuses on novels as ethnographic tools Specializes in Proust, Balzac, Woolf, and contemporary French fiction Translation work includes Didier Eribon and Édouard Louis His recent articles explore phonetics in narrative, readability frameworks, and sociological implications of literary form. He actively engages with comparative methodologies and critical theory, while his teaching spans British and American literature’s intersections with French modernism. Lucey’s academic leadership includes directing Berkeley’s Center for the Study of Sexual Culture, which supports global discourse through fellowships and conferences. His office hours are held in Dwinelle Hall and via Zoom. Contact: mlucey@berkeley.edu
Marlyse Baptista is the President's Distinguished Professor of Linguistics at the University of Pennsylvania, Department of Linguistics. She is affiliated with the School of Arts & Sciences and MindCore initiative. Her research focuses on language contact, creolization processes, bilingualism, and experimental methods in creole studies. Baptista leads the Language Contact and Cognition Lab, previously known as the Cognition, Convergence and Language Emergence (CCLE) group at the University of Michigan. Education includes a PhD in Linguistics (Harvard, 1997), MA degrees from Harvard and the Université de Bordeaux III, and extensive training in multilingual education. Her work bridges generative syntax with experimental approaches, including artificial language learning to study language convergence. Key themes include the cognitive underpinnings of creole formation, bidirectional influences in Cape Verdean Creole, and the role of congruence in language acquisition. Research highlights include studies on Cape Verdean Creole's grammatical properties, genetic-linguistic admixture correlations, and pedagogical resources for creole language education. Recent projects explore experimental validation of creole genesis theories through multilingual acquisition studies. Scientific Awards: President's Distinguished Professorship (University of Pennsylvania) Labs/Teams: Language Contact and Cognition Lab, MindCore Grants/Projects: MULTI Project (creole language educational resources), NSF-funded studies on creole genesis mechanisms Baptista's work emphasizes interdisciplinary approaches, integrating syntax theory, psycholinguistics, and sociolinguistics to address foundational questions in contact linguistics and creolistics.
Laurel MacKenzie is an Associate Professor in the Department of Linguistics at New York University (NYU), affiliated with the Faculty of Arts and Science. She specializes in variationist sociolinguistics, dialectology, and language change, with a focus on English and French varieties. Her work integrates quantitative analysis of speech data to explore intra-speaker variation and language evolution. She co-directs the NYU Sociolinguistics Lab and leads the NSF-funded NYC Individual Differences Corpus project, alongside the Our Dialects initiative, an online atlas of British English dialects. Education: PhD in Linguistics, University of Pennsylvania (2012) BA in Linguistics and French, University of California, Berkeley (2006) Research Interests: Morphological and syntactic variation Regional dialects of English and French Linguistic pedagogy and public engagement Recent Projects: Recent work includes publications on participle leveling in English, sociolinguistic replication studies, and grammatical variation analysis. She has also collaborated on dialect mapping tools and consulted for media projects on language change and accents. Awards: No awards explicitly listed in provided texts. Labs/Teams: NYU Sociolinguistics Lab (Co-Director) Our Dialects Project (Academic Lead)
Leigh Oakes is Professor of French and Linguistics in the Department of Modern Languages and Cultures within the School of Languages, Linguistics and Film at Queen Mary University of London. He has held progressive academic positions at the institution since 2000, advancing from Lecturer to his current professorship. His international academic background includes a PhD from the University of Melbourne and research at Stockholm University's Centre for Research on Bilingualism. His educational qualifications include a PhD (2001) and BA (Hons) (1996), both from the University of Melbourne. Oakes specializes in language policy and planning, with particular focus on language and national identity in France, Quebec, and Sweden. His research has expanded into linguistic justice debates in political theory, advocating for normative and interdisciplinary approaches to language policy. Oakes' publication trends reveal a consistent focus on ethical dimensions of language policy, with increasing emphasis on pluricentric justice and linguistic integration since 2016. His work bridges sociolinguistics and political philosophy, demonstrating strong interdisciplinary connections between language attitudes, national identity construction, and policy implementation across Francophone contexts. The 2018 co-authored monograph 'Normative Language Policy' represents a significant theoretical contribution to the field. 2008 Pierre Savard Prize for 'Language, Citizenship and Identity in Quebec' Leverhulme Trust Research Project Grant for 'The Ethics of Linguistic Integration' project Co-editor-in-chief of Sociolinguistica: European Journal of Sociolinguistics Co-editor of Multilingual Matters book series Member of editorial boards for Language Policy and Modern Languages Open Oakes actively supervises PhD candidates in sociolinguistic topics, with current research focusing on linguistic integration in Quebec and adaptation among mobile French speakers. His major Leverhulme-funded project 'The Ethics of Linguistic Integration' examines moral implications of language requirements for immigrants across England, Quebec, and Wales. He serves on several international academic committees including the Association internationale des études québécoises and the British Association of Canadian Studies. He leads the interdisciplinary 'Ethics of Linguistic Integration' research team, which combines expertise from applied linguistics, sociolinguistics, and political theory to investigate language integration policies. His work connects with broader university initiatives through Queen Mary's research highways in social justice and global challenges.
Salikoko S. Mufwene is the Edward Carson Waller Distinguished Service Professor of Linguistics at the University of Chicago. He holds additional appointments on the Committees on Evolutionary Biology, Conceptual and Historical Studies of Science, and African Studies. His research integrates ecological perspectives into evolutionary linguistics, focusing on language contact, creole genesis, language endangerment, and the impact of colonization and globalization on linguistic diversity. Education: PhD in Linguistics, University of Chicago (1979) Key Themes: Language evolution, creole languages, population structure, decolonial linguistics, language policy Mufwene’s work emphasizes the role of population dynamics in language change, drawing parallels with biological evolution. His recent articles examine topics such as the cultural-artifact nature of language, the ecological drivers of creole hybridization, and the decolonization of linguistic paradigms. He has also contributed extensively to debates on language endangerment and multilingualism in super-diverse societies. Scientific Awards: Fellow, Linguistic Society of America (2018) Fellow, American Philosophical Society (2022) Fellow, American Academy of Arts and Sciences (2023) Collège de France lectures (2003, 2023-24) Summer Institute of the Linguistic Society of America (1999, 2005, 2015, 2017)
Mariška Bolyanatz Brown is an Assistant Professor in the Department of Spanish and French Studies at Occidental College (Oxy), appointed in 2017. She holds a B.A. from Gordon College, an M.A. from the University of Illinois at Chicago, and a Ph.D. from UCLA. Her research focuses on socially conditioned variation in speech production and perception in Spanish, particularly examining the sociolinguistic implications of phonetic features in Chilean and Salvadoran Spanish. She teaches courses such as Introduction to Linguistics, Spanish in the United States, and Spanish Sociolinguistics, emphasizing inclusive pedagogy and data analysis skills. Education: B.A., Gordon College, Massachusetts M.A., University of Illinois, Chicago Ph.D., University of California, Los Angeles (UCLA) Research Interests: Sociolinguistics, Phonetics, Spanish Language Variation, Linguistic Discrimination, Heritage Language Maintenance, and the social meanings of phonetic variation in Spanish. Her work analyzes acoustic and morpho-phonological patterns to explore how speech features correlate with socioeconomic identity and intergroup perception. Publications: Dr. Bolyanatz Brown has published widely on topics such as coda /s/ weakening in Chilean Spanish, cross-dialectal acoustic differences in /s/, and sociophonetic perception of intervocalic /k/ voicing. Her research bridges laboratory-based phonetic analysis with sociolinguistic theory, contributing to debates on sound change and language variation. Teaching Philosophy: Her courses foster critical engagement with language use, encouraging students to connect linguistic patterns to broader societal issues such as racism and education policy. She emphasizes fieldwork and data collection, as seen in her Spanish in the United States course, where students conduct community-based research in Los Angeles. Labs/Teams: No specific lab is mentioned, though her research involves collaborative fieldwork and acoustic analysis projects with colleagues like Brandon Rogers and Franny Brogan.
Dr. Doyle D. Calhoun serves as University Assistant Professor of Francophone Postcolonial Studies within the Department of French at the Faculty of Modern and Medieval Languages and Linguistics, University of Cambridge, where he is also a Fellow of Peterhouse College. His scholarly profile spans African and Caribbean literary studies, cinema analysis, and historical sociolinguistics with a focus on resistance narratives. His educational trajectory includes a Ph.D. in French from Yale University (2022), an M.A. in Linguistics from KU Leuven, and undergraduate studies in Linguistics and French Literature at Boston College. Additional academic development occurred through residencies at Fondation Camargo (Cassis) and Bibliothèque Marmottan (Paris). Calhoun’s research centers on Francophone postcolonial resistance, particularly suicidal acts against French colonialism as documented in The Suicide Archive (2024). His work excavates silenced histories of Atlantic slavery, abolition movements, and Négritude philosophy through literary and cinematic archives, emphasizing Senegalese and Caribbean contexts. He explores how contemporary writers reconstruct erased narratives of enslaved resistance through transmedia practices. His recent publications reveal a methodological convergence between literary analysis, historical recovery, and decolonial theory. Articles frequently address archival silences in colonial documentation while examining how contemporary artists reimagine resistance through linguistic innovation, cinematic storytelling, and embodied protest. Key thematic clusters include the weaponization of silence, subversive uses of missionary linguistics, and the politics of memory in postcolonial contexts. 2024 Malcolm Bowie Prize (Society for French Studies) 2024 William R. Parker Prize (Modern Language Association) 2021 Ralph Cohen Prize (New Literary History) 2016 Vivien Law Prize (Henry Sweet Society) Calhoun actively mentors graduate students in African/Caribbean literatures and cinema studies, with current projects including Africa after 1848 and Florence . His grant history features academic residencies at Fondation Camargo and Bibliothèque Marmottan, alongside a 2021 scholarship from the latter institution. Public engagement includes the 2025 La Noire de... film symposium and contributions to Los Angeles Review of Books and Salon . He contributes to the Cambridge Language Collective and Polyglossia Magazine while organizing events through Peterhouse. His 2025 podcast appearances on Stegi Radio and New Books Network demonstrate active knowledge dissemination beyond traditional academic channels.
Maite Taboada is a Distinguished Professor in the Department of Linguistics at Simon Fraser University (SFU), directing the Discourse Processing Lab. She is also an Associate Member of the Cognitive Science Program and School of Computing Science, and affiliated with the Digital Democracies Institute and Visual and Interactive Computing Institute. Her research bridges discourse analysis and computational linguistics, focusing on mechanisms of coherence, discourse parsing, and sentiment analysis. Key projects include analyzing online news comments (SOCC corpus), detecting misinformation (MisInfoText), and monitoring gender representation in media (Gender Gap Tracker/Radar de Parité). Notable research interests span toxic language detection, constructive dialogue systems, and interdisciplinary work between social sciences and engineering. She has led projects funded by SFU and collaborated with organizations like Informed Opinion. Her awards include Fellowship in the Royal Society of Canada. Key contributions include developing the SFU Opinion and Comments Corpus, systems for comment moderation, and frameworks for gender bias analysis using topic modeling. Her work integrates theoretical discourse analysis with applied computational methods, addressing societal challenges like media bias and misinformation.
Bettina Migge is a Full Professor in the School of Languages, Cultures and Linguistics at University College Dublin, where she has been a faculty member since 2004. She previously held academic positions at Goethe University Frankfurt and earned her PhD in Linguistics from The Ohio State University. She served as Head of School from 2016 to 2021 and has held leadership roles in research centers and committees, including the Royal Irish Academy and the Society for Pidgin and Creole Linguistics, of which she is President until 2023. She is Co-Editor of the Journal of Pidgin and Creole Languages and actively contributes to COST Action LITHME, focusing on language and technology. Her educational background includes studies at Universität Hamburg, Université de Cameroun, Freie Universität Berlin, and The Ohio State University, culminating in a PhD focused on African languages in creole genesis, with fieldwork in Suriname and Benin. She is fluent in Dutch, English, French, German, and Ndyuka/Pamaka. Bettina Migge's research centers on sociolinguistics, language contact, and creole languages, with a focus on multilingual contexts undergoing rapid social change such as urbanization and migration. Her work spans French Guiana, Suriname, and Ireland, examining structural and socio-pragmatic aspects of language use, linguistic landscaping, and computer-mediated communication. She has led significant projects like the trilingual DicoNenge(e) dictionary and has explored the role of AI in reshaping language practices. Her recent publications reflect a critical engagement with the impact of AI and machine learning on language, revealing colonial continuities in language technologies and questioning dataist ideologies. She investigates how language is materially produced in both colonial and digital contexts, emphasizing power, authenticity, and control. She has received research funding from the National Science Foundation (USA), IRCHSS, IRC, Ulysses grants, and French research units like SeDyL. Her collaborative projects include work on complementation in creoles, South Dublin English, and language practices in multilingual border zones. Bettina Migge supervises MA and PhD students in sociolinguistics, linguistic landscaping, and World Englishes. She is involved in numerous editorial and professional associations, including the Society for Caribbean Linguistics and The Global Council on Anthropological Linguistics. She has coordinated modules such as World Englishes, Sociolinguistics, and Research in Creole Languages. She leads and participates in public engagement activities, including workshops on AI in linguistics, multilingualism in Ireland, and dictionary launches. Her research team includes collaborators from Europe and beyond, and she is committed to participatory and ethnographically grounded approaches in language documentation and analysis.
Yuuko Uchikoshi Tonkovich is a Professor at the School of Education, University of California, Davis, where she has served since 2004, advancing from Assistant to Associate and then to full Professor. Her work centers on language and literacy development in young dual language learners, with a focus on bilingualism, early literacy, and the role of family and media in language acquisition. Her research interests include: Early Childhood Development Multilingual Learners and Bilingual Education Language Acquisition and Literacy Parent-Child Interaction and Home Language Environment Quantitative Analysis of Educational Outcomes Educational Television and Multimedia Her recent publications span topics such as cognitive distancing in parent-child reading, morphological awareness in bilingual readers, and the impact of teacher language use in multilingual classrooms. The research consistently emphasizes longitudinal, cross-cultural, and interdisciplinary approaches, particularly focusing on Chinese American and Mexican American immigrant families. Her scientific awards include: AERA Vocabulary SIG Notable Vocabulary Researcher Award (2025) Foundation for Child Development Young Scholars Program Grant International Reading Association Dissertation Fellowship and Finalist Award Harvard Graduate School of Education Fellowships She has advised numerous research projects and secured significant funding from NIH/NICHD, the Foundation for Child Development, and other organizations. She teaches courses such as Language Development, Early Literacy, and Research on Text Comprehension. She is actively involved in national initiatives, serving on the Technical Advisory Group for the First 5 California Dual Language Learner Study and as Associate Editor of Applied Psycholinguistics . She leads the Language & Literacy Development Lab at UC Davis, which investigates the cognitive, linguistic, and socio-emotional development of dual language learners.
Professor Helena Sanson is a Full Professor of Italian, History of Linguistics, and Women's Studies at the University of Cambridge , where she is also a Fellow of Clare College and serves as Postgraduate Teaching and Examining Officer for the Italian Section. She joined Cambridge in 2005 after teaching at University College London (1998-2003) following her British Academy Postdoctoral Fellowship. PhD from University of Reading (2002) Her interdisciplinary research focuses on the intersection of Italian linguistic history , literary culture , and gender studies from the Renaissance to post-Unification period. Particular emphasis includes women's contributions to linguistic thought , conduct literature analysis , and female roles in translation networks . Her work examines how women navigated language standardization, educational access, and literary production across social strata. Recent projects include Leverhulme-funded research on women's linguistic experiences in 18th-19th century Italy and co-edited volumes on transnational travelers' accounts and early modern female education . She founded the Women and Gender in Italy (1500-1900) book series and the journal Women Language Literature in Italy . Scientific awards include: British Academy Postdoctoral Fellowship Leverhulme Research Fellowship Philip Leverhulme Prize CRASSH Early Career Fellowship Isaac Newton Trust grant Senior Visiting Fellowship at University of Bologna She supervises graduate research in topics spanning women's writing , linguistic thought , translation history , and cultural marginalization in 16th-20th century Italy. Her work bridges philology, literary criticism, and social history through rigorous textual analysis.
Dr. James G. Mitchell is a Professor at Salve Regina University , serving as Co-director of Core Curriculum . His academic career spans roles such as Assistant Dean of Arts and Sciences, Director of Academic Advising, and Chair of the Department of Modern Languages, demonstrating commitment to institutional service. Education: B.A. in French and Chemistry, Goucher College (1996) M.A. in Romance Linguistics, Cornell University (1999) Ph.D. in Romance Linguistics, Cornell University (2001) Dr. Mitchell specializes in Second Language Acquisition and Applied Linguistics , with a focus on language representation in popular media . His research examines how television and media shape perceptions of multilingualism and L2 speakers, analyzing dialect discrimination, language ideologies, and cultural stereotypes. His 2020 monograph Watching in Tongues and 2025 conference proceedings paper reveal consistent themes of media linguistics and sociocultural language analysis . Earlier works (2010-2015) established foundational insights into TV-based language attitudes and linguistic bias . As a leader in his field, Dr. Mitchell serves as: Area Chair of Language Attitudes and Popular Linguistics, National Popular Culture Association East Vice President, Pi Delta Phi National French Honor Society He has delivered invited lectures at Arizona State University and Université Bretagne Sud, and keynoted at Shippensburg University's Modern Languages Conference. His departmental affiliation with Modern Languages under the School of Cultural, Environmental and Global Studies reflects his interdisciplinary approach to language pedagogy and romance linguistics research.
Joël Thibeault is a Professor at the Faculty of Education, University of Ottawa and Adjunct Professor at the Faculty of Education, University of Regina . His research focuses on the teaching and learning of French grammar in Francophone minority contexts, the integrated instruction of French and English, and the use of children’s literature in linguistic education. He has secured major funding from the Social Sciences and Humanities Research Council of Canada for studies on bilingual grammar pedagogy. Research Themes: Francophone minority education, plurilingual approaches, drama-based pedagogy, and curriculum innovation. Awards: Received the Prix du nouveau chercheur (2024) from the University of Ottawa’s Faculty of Education. Recent Publications emphasize inductive grammar strategies, plurilingual vocabulary instruction, and drama/literature integration in minority language classrooms. His work bridges policy, practice, and technology in Canadian French-language education. Scientific Awards: SSHRC Grant (2024) Prix du nouveau chercheur (2024)
Pascale Trevisiol Okamura is an Associate Professor in Language Sciences and Language Teaching at Sorbonne Nouvelle University, affiliated with the DILTEC research team (EA 2288). Her primary role includes teaching language acquisition and foreign language didactics within the UFR of Literature, Linguistics, and Didactics (LLD). She co-heads the Master 2 program in Language Teaching (FLE/FLS) and holds administrative roles in departmental councils and educational committees. Education Background: Lecturer at Sorbonne Nouvelle University since 2015 Previously taught at Université de Poitiers (2010–2015) and Université Paris 8 (2007–2010) French teaching assistant at Hokkaido University, Japan Research Focus: Specializes in third language acquisition (L3), crosslinguistic influence, and the interface between language acquisition and didactics. Key themes include: Discourse construction in L3 French Input processing and initial language exposure Development of teaching materials for FLE Plurilingual practices among language teachers Current projects involve multilingualism in primary education, Tamil-speaking learners' L3 French acquisition, and reflexive training in research. Teaching & Supervision: Co-supervises doctoral research on topics such as L3 French acquisition in Chinese contexts, translinguistic discourse influences, and plurilingual teacher practices. Teaches advanced courses on language acquisition theories and FLE methodology. Labs/Teams: Member of the Second Language Acquisition Network (ReAL2) and part of the DILTEC team, focusing on language didactics and multilingualism research.
Verónica Loureiro-Rodríguez is an Associate Professor in the Department of Linguistics at the University of Manitoba's Faculty of Arts. Her research focuses on sociolinguistics, language identity, and code-switching, with special attention to global hip hop and multilingual communities. She holds a PhD from the University of California, Davis, an MA from the University of Colorado at Boulder, and a BA from the Universidade de Santiago de Compostela. Dr. Loureiro-Rodríguez's work examines language attitudes across diverse contexts, including French-English dynamics in Manitoba, Spanish-Valencian bilingual processing, and code-switching in music. She has also explored language use in robotics and cultural hybridity among Puerto Rican and Mexican communities. Her teaching excellence was recognized with the 2021 Faculty of Arts Teaching Excellence Award. Education: PhD (UC Davis), MA (CU Boulder), BA (USC) Awards: 2021 Teaching Excellence Award (Established Faculty) Research Focus: Language policy, digital sociolinguistics, and cultural identity She currently supervises graduate students in Master's and PhD programs, focusing on sociolinguistic methodologies like the matched-guise technique. Her research often intersects with music studies, robotics, and diaspora linguistics.
