Event Date: March 9, 2015 - 12:00 pm
Location: University of Ottawa, Social Sciences Building, room FSS-4006, 120 University Private
ERICKA ALBAUGH, Bowdoin College.
Presented by CIPS and the Chaire de recherche sur la Francophonie.
Free. In English with bilingual question period. Registration is not required. Seating is limited and available on a first come, first served basis.
Audio:
[audio:http://web20.uottawa.ca/academic/socialsciences/cepi-cips/Erika Albaugh_2015-03-09.mp3]
Africa’s rich linguistic landscape presents dangers and opportunities, depending on one’s perspective: some see dangerous fragmentation, while others see opportunities for maintaining diversity. This presentation will provide a historical foundation for language policies in education across the continent and examine contemporary policy trends in several states. It will discuss why governments choose the policies they do and what the implications might be for national cohesion and the deepening of democracy.
Ericka Albaugh is Assistant Professor of Government at Bowdoin College in Brunswick, Maine, USA. She received her Master’s Degree from the Fletcher School of Law and Diplomacy at Tufts University and her Ph.D. in Political Science from Duke University. With funding from the Pew Foundation, the Social Science Foundation and the Spencer Foundation, she has conducted field research in Cameroon, Senegal and Ghana. Her articles have appeared in the Journal of Modern African Studies, International Studies Quarterly, and Democratization. Recently, she published a book entitled State-Building and Multilingual Education in Africa (Cambridge University Press, 2014). She teaches on Africa, ethnic conflict, development, and language politics at Bowdoin.