Call for Presentations

Thompson Rivers University, Nicola Valley Institute of Technology, Nl’kapamux Nation Tribal Council, Lillooet Tribal Council, and the Secwepemc Cultural Education Society are proud and honoured to host the 19th Annual Stabilizing Indigenous Languages Symposium (SILS) in Kamloops, British Columbia, Canada, May 17-19, 2012.

This is a call for presentations: papers, workshops, performances and posters that address the broad themes of SILS 19:

The Evolving Story of Language Revitalization: From Oral Traditions to Technical Advances; and
The Continuing Cycle of Language Development: Maintaining the Integrity of Indigenous Languages.

Important Dates

Letters of Intent should be forwarded electronically to Dr. Jack Miller at Thompson Rivers University at jamiller@tru.ca by November 30, 2011.
Complete proposals are to be submitted electronically to Dr. Jack Miller at Thompson Rivers University at jamiller@tru.ca not later than February 1, 2012.

Letters of Intent

Please include in your letter of intent the following information:

The proposed topic of your presentation
Name
Institution/Community Affiliation
Email Address
Telephone
Fax
Mailing Address

Download, Print or View

This Call for Papers in PDF
The Letter of Intent in PDF

Papers, Workshops, Performances and/or Posters

We welcome presenters across the complete spectrum of Indigenous language from traditional teaching and learning to research, to language preservation innovations, to “effective practices” workshops, from formal to informal presentations and/or performances. An important sub-theme of the symposium is the importance of an understanding of how to garner new knowledge that will guide teachers, researchers, and other professionals. We would like to encourage former SILS presenters to consider coming back to provide updates and progress reports of their work.

Language has played a major role in the lives of Indigenous peoples all over the world. Members of Indigenous communities communicated using hundreds of languages, many of which have succumbed to the overwhelming presence of European colonists. Subsequently, the languages of many Indigenous peoples have been influenced in some way by colonization. Papers that take these circumstances into consideration and that address some or all of the following questions would be appropriate:

How has language shaped the identity of Indigenous peoples?
What is the future of Indigenous languages?
How has and how will technology affect the revitalization of Indigenous languages?
What level of language proficiency is necessary for the 21st century; i.e. what is the “new” fluency?

Culture and language are inextricably linked, but often when we speak of language revitalization, culture takes a back seat. Some important questions are:

What role does the education system and language instruction play in shaping and/or protecting various aspects of Indigenous culture?
What cultural literacies are required to succeed in the 21st century?
What role(s) do research Codes of Ethics play in language and culture research?

Community has multiple layers that encompass individuals, families, and organizations. This may prompt questions such as:

How is the definition of community changing?
How do the politics of community affect Indigenous language revitalization?
How can community be more effective in furthering the cause of language preservation?

Research methodologies are the tools that permit us to become more knowledgeable about Indigenous languages and cultures.

How can research efforts with Indigenous peoples and in Indigenous communities be more effective and appropriate?
What types of research are more appropriate for work in Indigenous communities and with Indigenous individuals?
What collaborative strategies are most effective in working with Indigenous peoples?

Papers

Proposals for paper presentations should provide a summary of the following information:

Theme/focus and context of the paper
conceptual framework
methodology/theoretical statement
findings/analysis/application
discussion and implications
conclusions

Workshops, Performances and other Presentations

focus of the event/activity
context for the event/activity
description of the innovation or change initiative
impact
implications for practitioners, researchers, and community members

Proposals must be in the form of a 250 to 500 word abstract, fit within the guidelines above, articulate how dialogue and feedback will be incorporated into the session and demonstrate some or all of the aspects of scholarship as described below: Proposals should also indicate which of the following formats are most appropriate (please indicate first and second choices so that as many presentations as possible can be included in the symposium).

single paper/presentation/performance (stipulate 40 or 80 minute session)
multiple paper/presentation/performance session (3 or 4 presentations with time for dialogue) in a panel format
10 minute paper/presentation (several presenters briefly highlight their work, followed by large group discussion)
Workshop (up to 2 hours maximum)
Other (please provide a full description of your requirements)

Posters

Poster presentations should be mounted on a presentation board of approximately 60 cm x 90 cm [2 feet x 3 feet] (minimum) to 90 cm x 150 cm [3 feet x 5 feet] in size with clearly presented information in the following suggested format:

title
abstract
introduction to the topic
methodology
findings and analysis of data
discussion and implications
conclusions
supporting literature/references

At a Glance