Gender & language in education : Provocation & practices
Nov 21, 2024 — 12 p.m. to 1 p.m.
Event description
We're pleased to invite you to a panel discussion on the ways in which language, in schools and in our daily work, can either contribute to gender-inclusive environments – or not! Our panelists have lived and research expertise in the area and will share examples and learnings. A discussion period will be provided to allow participants to share reflections and think about practices we might adopt in our own teaching, working and living.
Panelist
Julia Spiegelman (she/elle)
Julia Donnelly Spiegelman is a queer, cisgender teacher, teacher educator, researcher, and activist working on the intersection of identity, equity, and world language pedagogy. Her research investigates the contexts, agency, and investment of non-binary youth learning French and Spanish in U.S. high schools. For fifteen years, she has taught languages and language education in Europe and the U.S., in contexts ranging from K-12 to higher education. She is currently completing her Ph.D. in Applied Linguistics at the University of Massachusetts Boston.
Panelist
Emma Barrett (they/al)
Emma Barrett is an MA candidate in the Faculty of Education at uOttawa. They hold an Honours BMus from Wilfrid Laurier University, and a BEd from Western University. Their SSHRC funded research focuses on the unequal representation of gender in French-language instruction within Ontario’s public anglophone schools. Their work critically examines how traditional French-language practices in classrooms often exclude not only women but also gender non-conforming individuals within the 2SLGBTQI community. Emma explores linguistic efforts toward achieving gender justice through neutral and inclusive French language, with a specific focus on how gender non-conforming individuals envision this language evolution being integrated into Ontario’s classrooms.