2019 LSA Linguistic Institute
The 2019 Linguistic Institute -- the LSA's 70th -- took place at the University of California, Davis from June 24 through July 19, 2019. Raul Aranovich and Georgia Zellou of the University of California, Davis Department of Linguistics were
the Institute's co-directors.
A complete list of courses offered at the 2019 Linguistic Institute can be found here.
The LSA has sponsored the Linguistic Institutes since the first one was held in 1928 on the campus of Yale University. The Institutes take place in odd-numbered summers on a major university campus. The LSA supported the Davis Institute with seed grants, funding for endowed professorships, lectureships, and special named student fellowships, and in addition awards a large number of competitive student tuition fellowships.
Since 1928, the Linguistic Institutes have not only been the premier gatherings of their kind, attracting top professionals and students from around the world and throughout the subfields. They are also defining moments for individual scholars, host institutions, and the field itself, fondly remembered decades later by the participants. Two late colleagues – Ivan Sag and former LSA President Charles Fillmore – valued the Institute so much that endowed fellowship and professorship funds have been established in their honor.
The LSA's Executive Committee approved the following slate of Named Professors for the 2019 Linguistic Institute.
Named Professors:
- Hermann and Klara H. Collitz Professor: Bernard Comrie (University of California, Santa Barbara) Video
- Edward Sapir Professor: John Baugh (Washington University in St. Louis) Video
- Ken Hale Professor: Pamela Munro (University of California, Los Angeles) Video
- Charles Fillmore Professor: Adele Goldberg (Princeton University)
- ADS Professor: Patricia Cukor-Avila (University of North Texas)
The LSA funds all expenses of the Named Professors with the exception of the ADS Professor, which is funded by the American Dialect Society.
Forum Lectures:
Among the Named Professors and Forum Lecturers are past and present LSA presidents, Executive Committee members, and committee leaders. Most have a connection to the Linguistic Institutes -- as Directors, Steering Committee members, or faculty of past Institutes.
Conference Theme
The digital revolution has created new avenues for language use and novel modalities of communication. The ubiquity of technology mediates our linguistic and social interactions. The pervasive influence of technology on human development has the potential to impact the acquisition of language and change social behavior.
Technology generates new streams of data, but also offers new methods to gather and analyze data. These new approaches to testing linguistic theories include experimental research of language processing, modeling linguistic change, and more comprehensive ways to document endangered languages.
New generations of linguists will be expected to investigate these questions and incorporate methods, tools, and skills appropriate for the digital era into their scientific paradigm.
Fellowship Competition
The LSA administers the competitive applications for Institute Fellowships. In addition to many ordinary tuition fellowships, several Named Fellowships provide additional support: the Bernard and Julia Bloch, James McCawley and Ivan Sag Fellowships provide tuition, travel, room and board. The Bernard and Julia Bloch Fellow serves ex officio on the Executive Committee -- the LSA's governing body -- and as chair of COSIAC, the Committee on Student Issues and Concerns. Click here to read more about fellowships and to see lists of past recipients.
Fellowships are reviewed by a committee of LSA members chosen for their diversity of linguistic expertise and their past involvement with the Linguistic Institutes. To read more about the Committee on Linguistic Institutes and Fellowships (CLIF), click here.
Meet the fellowship receipients for the 2019 Institute.
Courses
The LSA Executive Committee approved a slate of sixty-nine courses for the 2019 Institute, including fourteen introductory-level courses covering the subfields of linguistics, and several courses on different languages, language varieties, dialects, or language families.
Other Events
The Institute hosts a number of special events, including workshops, professional development sessions, and social events -- see the "Workshops and Events" tab at this link.. The LSA's Committee on Student Issues and Concerns typically holds one or more professionalization workshops. A list of conferences and workshops taking place at the Davis Institute will be available later this fall.
Continuing the Work of the Institute
The LSA's Committee on Linguistic Institutes and Fellowships ensures that the intellectual work of the 2019 University of California, Davis Institute is carried forward, promoting synergy and continuity with the LSA's other major scholarly endeavors: the Annual Meeting and the Society's publishing program. Course materials and workshop resources from the Davis Institute will be archived at the LSA's Linguistic Academic Depository and elsewhere on this site.
Supporting the Work of the Institute
To support the ongoing work of the LSA's Institutes, please consider making a donation to the one of the funds associated with the Institute: the Yuki Kuroda Fellowship Fund, the Ken Hale Student Fellowship Fund, the Charles Fillmore Student Fellowship Fund, or the Financial Assistance and Student Support Fund.
Connecting with the Institute
Like the Institute on Facebook or follow them on Twitter. Read the Institute blog here.
This page will be updated as new information becomes available.