I am currently keeping busy with the following research projects:
1. Within the undergraduate curriculum in the German Studies Department at Emory I have recently begun a longitudinal case study of German Studies majors and minors that investigates their motivations and reasons for studying German at the collegiate level.
2. As part of the ongoing enhancement of the undergraduate curriculum, I continue to explore the possibilities of using Systemic Functional Linguistics for both pedagogical and curricular guidance. One effort has been to draw on the work of scholars, such as Beverly Derewianka, Rodney Jones, Graham Lock, James Martin, Mary Macken-Horarik, and Mary Schleppegrell, to reconceptualize how L2 German grammar is presented and practiced in lower-level classes by focusing on grammar as a resource for making meaning in texts in context. Another effort is a work in progress co-authored with Marianna Ryshina-Pankova (Georgetown University) on a functionally oriented model for textual analysis.
3. When I am not engaged with curricular matters, I am exploring the linguistic landscape as a space for both literacy education as well as sociolinguistic development. When I am able to direct the department's summer study abroad program in Vienna, Austria, I look to engage the students in explorations of the city's linguistic landscape. Their work from summer 2026 can be found here. In Atlanta I am involved in a couple of projects focused in the city's vibrant linguistic landscape. The first project has been an effort called Languages Across Metro Atlanta (LAMA) that aims to work with Emory undergraduate Linguistics students to begin documenting multilingual language use across metro Atlanta. The first results on that effort can be found on the project's website. The second project is an analysis of the implications and effects of new "posting guidelines" at Emory University implemented in August 2024. This focus on the schoolscape of Emory University explores the response, both visibly and affectively, to these new policies among various constituents. I presented preliminary work on this project at the 2025 Linguistic Landscape workshop in Essen, Germany and then updated findings at the 2026 Linguistic Landscape Workshop in Limerick, Ireland and will continue gathering data this coming academic year with plans for a publication in late 2027.
July 2026
1. Within the undergraduate curriculum in the German Studies Department at Emory I have recently begun a longitudinal case study of German Studies majors and minors that investigates their motivations and reasons for studying German at the collegiate level.
2. As part of the ongoing enhancement of the undergraduate curriculum, I continue to explore the possibilities of using Systemic Functional Linguistics for both pedagogical and curricular guidance. One effort has been to draw on the work of scholars, such as Beverly Derewianka, Rodney Jones, Graham Lock, James Martin, Mary Macken-Horarik, and Mary Schleppegrell, to reconceptualize how L2 German grammar is presented and practiced in lower-level classes by focusing on grammar as a resource for making meaning in texts in context. Another effort is a work in progress co-authored with Marianna Ryshina-Pankova (Georgetown University) on a functionally oriented model for textual analysis.
3. When I am not engaged with curricular matters, I am exploring the linguistic landscape as a space for both literacy education as well as sociolinguistic development. When I am able to direct the department's summer study abroad program in Vienna, Austria, I look to engage the students in explorations of the city's linguistic landscape. Their work from summer 2026 can be found here. In Atlanta I am involved in a couple of projects focused in the city's vibrant linguistic landscape. The first project has been an effort called Languages Across Metro Atlanta (LAMA) that aims to work with Emory undergraduate Linguistics students to begin documenting multilingual language use across metro Atlanta. The first results on that effort can be found on the project's website. The second project is an analysis of the implications and effects of new "posting guidelines" at Emory University implemented in August 2024. This focus on the schoolscape of Emory University explores the response, both visibly and affectively, to these new policies among various constituents. I presented preliminary work on this project at the 2025 Linguistic Landscape workshop in Essen, Germany and then updated findings at the 2026 Linguistic Landscape Workshop in Limerick, Ireland and will continue gathering data this coming academic year with plans for a publication in late 2027.
July 2026
