Thread by @UMBCHumanities

Hope to see you this afternoon with @jamieisjames for "Zombies Speak Swahili: Why Language Matters for Global Diversity" at 4pm in PAHB 132

Many thanks to our co-sponsors for this event: @UMBCSocSci, Africana Studies, and International Education Services #humforum

This lecture is named in honor of Daphne Harrison, founder of the Center for Humanities, which is now the Dresher Center. #humforum

.@jamieisjames warns that we might do some scary stuff this afternoon, but language might be a tool to solve problems. #humforum

We might have some scary images. Zombies might come in different forms. #humforum

How can spectacle lead us to a sort of zombification? #humforum

Thomas makes the case the linguistics is both humanities and social sciences. Why does language matter? What about linguistic profiling? #humforum

Perceived “language barriers” can prevent us from looking holistically. Who gets to claim language as an asset? How do you gain a sense of belonging? #humforum

Thomas cites a resource that she put together with her @swarthmore students. Zombies Reimagined discusses why zombies are our most important modern myth. #humforum ds.swarthmore.edu/zombies-reimag…

Three things to take away from this talk: media messaging matters; language is not dead; and humans (researchers) can help prevent zombification. #humforum

Thomas studied at a university in Mexico City (Mexico is home to the oldest Africana Studies program in the world and students are required to learn Swahili) #humforum

While there she discussed Resident Evil 5, a zombie game that takes place in a fictional West African country. A white American male protagonist is the center as the game. #humforum

The African characters are homogenized and it portraya Africa as a place with a problem to be acted upon by the West. #humforum

The African characters speak Swahili which then creates a negative connotation of the language to players of the game #humforum

Students in the Swahili class are often asked “¿Porqué estuduas suajili? Hay no te va a servir para nada.” Why are you studying Swahili? It will not be useful.” #humforum

The places where Swahili is spoken. Why is it in this game? Thomas argues that this is not a coincidence. #humforum

Students in Mexico observed that anytime they watch movies based in Africa - they speak Swahili (even though it is based in Nigeria) #humforum

Thomas takes us to Jordan. She presents an interview with a student who recounts his experience in study abroad as a Black person and how he is perceived. #humforum

Thomas also shows a student during an Arabic class in which a student responds in slang. The teacher tells the student that is inappropriate. Language education focuses on traditional speech but students want access to more #humforum

Perhaps cultural competence should be changed to cultural humility. Researchers can also embody the language learner through their work #humforum

Thomas observed a Swahili course in Tanzania with Korean students. American students are not the only ones who study abroad. #humforum

In order to engage with students, Thomas had to learn to suspend belief about her own cultural norms. She didn’t expect Korean learners of Swahili in Tanzania, but she wanted to learn from them. She pushed back against being zombified #humforum

Study abroad is not just a north-south exchange. In Tanzania, she encountered students from Ghana. Study abroad is a much broader intercultural exchange than acknowledged. #humforum

Please be sure to check out Zombies Speak Swahili when it comes out kater this year and Embodied Difference in a library near you #humforum

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