Fostering Interdisciplinary Collaboration with Colleague Organizations and Individuals

 

One of the four major goals of the LSA, as stated in its current Strategic Plan, is “To foster interaction and communication among scholars interested in the scientific study of language.” Another goal of the plan calls on the LSA to “To educate and inform…the broader scientific community about the scientific study of language.” Pursuant to these goals, the LSA is working to foster collaboration with other organizations that have an interest in language and linguistics. 

There is a range of possibilities for potential collaboration with other organizations and individuals, including: proposals for joint sessions at annual meetings and other conferences; jointly-sponsored committee projects; publishing special issues of journals, or sections within journals, devoted to interdisciplinary research topics; and forming or participating in coalitions to address areas of common concern. There are numerous other possible models that LSA members and leaders might pursue, and they are encouraged to contact the Secretariat with informal ideas and more concrete proposals. Once the LSA Executive Committee has provided any necessary approval, the Secretariat is available to support such efforts by organizing teleconferences, facilitating e-mail exchanges, making contact with staff counterparts at other organizations, and providing guidance on feasibility.

The LSA also recruits formal delegates and liaisons to external organizations as another mechanism for fostering collaboration.

Delegates represent the LSA at the meetings of organizations in which the Society has an abiding interest in having a voice. They file formal reports on the meetings and are eligible for up to $500 per year to reimburse the expenses they incur in attending the meeting of the related society.

Liaisons represent the LSA at the meetings of organizations which have interests overlapping with those of the Society. They are not required to file a formal report, and are asked to serve on a volunteer basis. Liaisons are asked to identify themselves as such at the meeting of the other organization, and should be prepared to answer questions about the LSA and direct interested parties to the LSA web site. They are encouraged to inform the Secretariat of events and activities in the other organization which may be of interest to LSA members.

Representatives are individuals appointed by the LSA to serve as voting members of national/international organizations and/or coalitions comprised of colleague organizations.

LSA members are encouraged to explore the links below, to volunteer as a Liaison, and to suggest additional organizations to which the LSA might wish to send Liaisons.

 

Further Information about the LSA's External Relations Activities

 

The LSA's advocacy agenda is achieved through its partnerships with many organizations and stakeholders in the policy arena. LSA officers and staff participate in the efforts of groups such as the Consortium of Social Science Associations, the Coalition for National Science Funding, the National Humanities Alliance, and the American Council of Learned Societies, to ensure funding and representation at federal, state and local levels. The LSA also maintains reciprocal relationships with other professional societies, such as the American Council on the Teaching of Foreign Languages and the American Association for the Advancement of Science, that share our commitment to scholarly research and the need for adequate public support of such work. The LSA issues official statements and resolutions on issues of interest to the public and the profession while working to inform the news media, academics, and other scientists about the role of languages and linguistics in society. Finally, the LSA supports networking activities among linguists and other language professionals through its website, its committee activities, and through academic and professional development activities at its Annual Meeting.

 

Organizations to which the LSA has Delegates

American Association for the Advancement of Science

(Section Z: Linguistics and the Language Sciences)

David Lightfoot, Georgetown University

(Section J: Psychology)

Karen Emmorey, San Diego State University

American Council of Learned Societies (ACLS)

Sandra Chung, UC Santa Cruz (2017)

Association for Computational Linguistics (ACL)

Emily Bender, University of Washington

Permanent International Committee of Linguists (CIPL)

Kai von Fintel, Massachusetts Institute of Technology (2018)

Unicode

Christopher Little, University of California, Berkeley, Primary

Russell Nekorchuk, University of Florida, Secondary

Semantics and Linguistic Theory

Kristen Syrett, Rutgers University

Organizations to which the LSA has Liaisons

The LSA is currently building its roster of liaisons to other organizations. Below are a few examples of organizations with which we would like to have such a relationship. If you are interested in volunteering as a Liaison to one of these organizations, or if you would like to suggest an organization for inclusion in this list (and volunteer to be a Liaison to it), please contact Alyson Reed, Executive Director of the LSA.

American Council on the Teaching of Foreign Languages (ACTFL)

Grant Goodall, University of California, San Diego

American Speech-Language-Hearing Association (ASHA)

Adam Buchwald, New York University

American Anthropological Association (AAA)

Lise Dobrin, University of Virginia 

Acoustical Society of America (ASA)

American Psychological Association (APA)

Association for Psychological Science (APS)

Cognitive Science Society (CSS)

International Organization for Standardization Technical Committee 37 (ISO/TC 37)

Mike Maxwell, University of Maryland

International Phonetic Association (IPA)

Modern Language Association (MLA)

Marnie Jo Petray, Slippery Rock University of Pennsylvania

Teachers of English to Speakers of Other Languages (TESOL)

Marnie Jo Petray, Slippery Rock University of Pennsylvania

 

Organizations to which the LSA has Representatives

AAAS Science and Human Rights Coalition

Michel DeGraff, Massachusetts Institute of Technology

Alyson Reed, Linguistic Society of America

Coalition for the Academic Workforce

Alyson Reed, Linguistic Society of America

CoLang Advisory Circle: The Institute for Collaborative Language Research

Keren Rice, University of Toronto

Consortium of Social Science Associations (COSSA)

Alyson Reed, Linguistic Society of America

National Humanities Alliance (Click here to learn more about the LSA's partnership with the NHA)

Alyson Reed, Linguistic Society of America

The Joint National Committee on Languages

Alyson Reed, Linguistic Society of America

 

For more, see the list of National and International Linguistics Organizations around the world.