Language

American Studies Association of Turkey
34th International American Studies Conference

The Art of Language: Cultural Expressions in American Studies

November 3–5, 2010
Alanya, Turkey

Confirmed Speakers:

Shirley Geok-Lin Lim
Cherrie Moraga
Celia Herrera Rodriguez

According to American poet and essayist Ralph Waldo Emerson, “Thought
is the blossom; language the bud; and action the fruit behind it.”
Without language in all of its forms—oral, written, visual, and
symbolic—there would be no way to translate thoughts into political
action or personal expression. In many branches of American Studies,
language itself has become a form of art—the vehicle through which
those in the mainstream and in the margins have communicated their
histories, cultures and visions of the future. Socially-constructed
and thus almost always political in nature, language not only allows
individuals to develop an understanding of their environment(s), but
also permits them to engage in the shaping of their own landscapes.

Language is thus intrinsic to the expression of culture. Not only
does it convey values, beliefs and customs, but it also has an
important social function in that it fosters sentiments of collective
identity and solidarity. It is the means through which culture and
its traditions are preserved and transferred from generation to
generation. Consequently, as languages disappear, cultures, and their
numerous layers of representation, also wither away and die, for gone
are the mechanisms that translate thought into experience.
Conversely, language also has the power to produce and unite, serving
as the currency for cross-cultural exchange, the adaptation of new
rites and rituals, and the transformation of individuals into global
citizens.

The American Studies Association of Turkey invites proposals that
consider the art of language as a cultural expression, broadly
conceived. We particularly encourage abstracts which incorporate
transdisciplinary explorations of the subject, and welcome submissions
from any branch of American Studies. Possible themes include, but are
not limited to:

• Music as a language of cultural expression
• Indigenous languages and cultures/language revitalization
• Multilingualism/multiculturalism
• The politics of language and culture
• Trans or intercultural languages
• English as the global language/“American” as the global culture?
• Cultural expression in speech behavior
• Cultural outcomes/products of language (hybridity, creolization,
metissage, mestizaje)
• The manipulation of language for cultural/political purposes
• Race, language and culture
• Semiotics/semantics/sign language
• Visual language/visual culture/aesthetics
• The visual word (comic books/graphic novels/political cartoons)
• Art, language and culture
• Literature and cultural expression
• Food and clothing as cultural expressions
• Ecolinguistics
• Performance as a language of cultural expression
• Oral traditions (griots, storytelling, folktales, street poetry) as
cultural expressions
• Domestic arts (quilting, weaving, pottery, and needlework) as
cultural expressions
• Language and American identity
• The body as a language of cultural expression
• Self-writing (travel writing, journals, diaries, and memoirs) as
cultural expressions
• Translation/interpretation/adaptation of language
• Language as cultural resistance/subversion
• Design/architecture as languages of cultural expression
• Artificial languages/constructed languages/technolanguages
• Pedagogical applications of language and culture
• The limits of language, especially for cultural expression

The time allowance for all presentations is 20 minutes. An additional
10 minutes will be provided for discussion.