Curriculum Vitae

EDUCATION

PhD in Linguistics 2017-Present

The University of Michigan – Ann Arbor, Michigan

Master of Arts in Linguistic Theory and Typology May 2017

The University of Kentucky – Lexington, Kentucky
- Masters Thesis: The Reflection and Reification of Racialized Language in Popular Media
- Committee members: Dr. Kevin McGowan (chair), Dr. Mark Richard Lauersdorf, Dr. Edward Barrett, Dr. Sasha Johnson-Coleman (Norfolk State University)

Bachelor of Arts - English Literature December 2014

Maryville College - Maryville, Tennessee
- Senior Thesis - No Ordinary Wind: Ghanaian Linguistic Identity in the Modern English Superstructure
- Director: Dr. Samuel Overstreet

Associate of Science December 2012

Pellissippi State Community College - Knoxville, Tennessee

OTHER EDUCATION

Historical Sociolinguistics Network (HiSoN) Summer School, University of Adger’s Metochi Study Center, Lesbos Greece, 14-21 July 2019
Mellon Fellowship for Publicly Engaged Humanities, University of Michigan, Spring 2019
LSA Summer Institute 2017, University of Kentucky
Attended R Minicourse with Dr. Bodo Winter at the LSA 2016 Annual Meeting
Received certification of Intermediate Turkish proficiency from the Knoxville Turkish Cultural Center

PUBLICATIONS

“Language and Discrimination: Generating Meaning, Perceiving Identities, and Discriminating Outcomes” Craft, Wright, Weissler, and Queen Annual Review of Linguistcs 2020
ESPN The Undefeated “Why Do We See Myles Garrett as 'Criminal'?” 29 November, 2019
“Accounting for Vox Populi: Adjusting the Cost-Benefit Model of Language Planning by Incorporating Network Analysis in the Ghanaian Context” in Micheli, I. ed. (2016) "Proceedings of the ATRA closing workshop - Trieste, May 25-26, 2016". Trieste: EUT
Review of Cacchiani, Mazzi, Bondi (2015) Discourse In and Through the Media: Recontextualizing and Reconceptualizing Expert Discourse” published on LinguistList
“Scapegoat” published in Imaginary Gardens Literary Magazine Spring 2015 edition
Published “Ophidia”, “Soma”, and “AKP” in Impressions 40th Anniversary print edition
Several poems selected by faculty and peers for 2013 Imaginary Gardens Literary Magazine

PRESS

7 News Australia These 6 words and phrases have racist and offensive backgrounds 20 September 2020
Today.com These 11 words and phrases have racist and offensive backgrounds 24 July 2020
Lexis Podcast Episode 6: Kelly Wright 18 July 2020
The End of Sport Podcast Episode 27: The Language of Race and Sport with Kelly E. Wright July 2020
Deadspin Have you ever heard of a ‘Raw and Toolsy,’ ‘Well-spoken’ White Player? 20 June 2020
Interview with Sociolinguist Kelly Wright by Alex Mitchell 19 June 2020
The Economist Language is a telling clue to unacknowledged racial attitudes 13 June 2020
Unstandardized English Podcast We Need to Talk About Karen 5 May 2020
Unstandardized English Podcast Discriminating Outcomes 11 December 2019
The Vocal Fries Podcast Episode 40 On The Basis of Voice 24 February 2019
The Economist Johnson Column “Black Voices, White Voices: The Cost of Accents” 2 Aug 2018 interview by Lane Greene
Interview on BBC World Service program Weekend Sunday Episode 12 August 2018 “Remembering VS Naipaul”

TEACHING

University of Michigan

Lead Instructor August 2018-Present

Linguistics 192: Things You Can’t Say

Designed course on profanity and taboo culture, focusing on lexical meaning, societal influence on usage, and referentialist and personalist ideologies as related to censorship.

English 125: Writing and Academic Inquiry 2018-2019 academic year

Taught 2 sections, one per semester, of a research-based, writing intensive course for first-year students, who completed a semester-long podcasting project around the themes of the built environment and cultural blindness.

Teaching Assistant January-May 2020

Linguistics 370: Language and Discrimination

Taught 3 sections of a 170-student class, which involved creating weekly lesson plans, activities, and assignments, as well as lecturing and grading duties. This course was transitioned midway into a remote course.

University of Kentucky August 2015-May 2017

Lead Instructor May 2016-May 2017

Linguistics 211

Taught a 4-week intensive online summer session, which incorporated interactive videoed lectures presented on LectureTools
Oversaw transition of course shell, including all materials and templates, to new digital instruction platform, Canvas, for future TA and faculty use

Writing, Rhetoric, and Digital Studies 110 and 111

Taught two sections per semester of a multimodal writing and communications course in which students create digital, oral, and written projects exploring their place in the broader community
Participated in year-long pedagogy development and TA mentorship program

Teaching Assistant August 2015-May 2016

Robert E. Hemenway Writing Center Professional Consultant

Fielded questions on content development, analysis, and organization structure, providing composition and presentation guidance from start to finish on graduate and undergraduate projects

International Conversation Hour Moderator

CONFERENCE PRESENTATIONS

Presented “Actors and Events: Racialized Semantic Intensity Over Time” at NARNiHS @ the KFLC 17 April 2020
Presented “Inclusivity Pressures” as part of the Black Becoming Panel organized by Anne Charity-Hudley and Sonja Laneheart at the Linguistics Society of America Annual Meeting, January 2020
Invited to design a round table workshop on Public Scholarship at the Graduate Level for the Committee for Ethnic Diversity in Linguistics at the Linguistics Society of America Annual Meeting, January 2020
Presented a pecha kucha for HiSoN summer school titled “Measuring Implicit Biases through the Statistical Properties of Language”, July 2019
Presented, as part of the inaugural cohort of MPEH scholars, a design for an augmented reality app developed in cooperation with the Detroit Art Institute, incorporating my research to highlight the once-thriving Black neighborhoods of Downtown Detroit. At the Ann Arbor Public Library, May 2019
Lexical Racialization in Machine Learning, Poster Presentation NWAV 47 New York University, October 18th-21st 2018, New York City
Presented “Covert Segregation: Dialect Discrimination in the Housing Market” at the Chicago Linguistics Society April 26th-28th 2018, University of Chicago
Panel Discussion Race, Class, and Structural Critique National Council for Black Studies, Atlanta, Georgia March 15th-17th 2018
Competed in The Five-Minute Linguist Competition, receiving Second place, at the Linguistics Society of America Annual Meeting, Salt Lake City, Utah, January 3rd-6th 2018
“A Replication of Purnell et al. (1999)” with co-author Dr. Kevin McGowan at the LSA Summer Institute 2017 poster session
Masters Thesis (talk) and Language Planning research (poster) at 2017 Purdue Language and Cultures Conference, West Lafayette, Indiana March 3rd-5th 2017
Prepared for PLCC talk with a practice run at the UK English Department Casual Colloquium, February 23rd 2017
“Adjusting the Cost-Benefit Model of Language Planning by Incorporating Network Analysis in the Ghanaian Context” at the 2nd International Conference on English Language, Literature, Teaching and Translation Studies, Sarajevo September 30th – October 1st 2016 and at the UK Linguistics Incubator for Collaborative Digital Research September 28th 2016
“The Serena Williams Opprobrious Language Experiment” at The 2016 Central Kentucky Linguistics Conference and the UK English Department Casual Colloquium April 2016 Session
Displayed award-winning poster of senior thesis work at Lincoln Memorial University’s 21st Annual Blue Ridge Undergraduate Research Conference
Presented “The Feminine Underground” and a selection of poetry at Lee University Literary Symposium 2013

INVITED PRESENTATIONS AND LECTURES

Invited by the Chicago Linguistics Society to give a plenary talk in May 2020
Invited by Dr. Katie Carmichael at Virginia Tech, along with my coauthor Rachel Elizabeth Weissler, to discuss our Annual Review of Linguistics paper Language and Discrimination: Generating Meaning, Perceiving Identities, and Discriminating Outcomes 20 October 2020
Lectured about How to Be a Linguist on Social Media on a panel for the Linguistic Society of America’s Webinar Series 16 October 2020
Invited by Annalise Wolf at Fordham University to speak on Linguistic Justice in the Writing Classroom 24 September 2020
Invited by Dr. Rob Podesva at Stanford University to craft a mini lecture on Slurs and Ideological Change for his Language, Gender, and Sexuality class Fall 2020
Invited by Kelly Kendro to discuss Experimental Sociolinguistic research paradigms with RAs of the UC San Diego LAD Lab: Science in Action series 10 July 2020
Invited by the University of Kent’s Inspirational Speaker series for a lecture on Raciolinguistic Profiling: Passing for American means Speaking Without an Accent 25 June 2020
Invited by Dr. Nicholas Henricksen at the University of Michigan for a guest lecture on Linguistic Discrimination 14 May 2020
Invited by Dr. Mary-Caitlyn Valentinsson at Appalachian State for a guest lecture on Linguistic Discrimination in Media and Sport for her Gender, Race, and Class course 26 March 2020
Invited by Dr. Ariana Bancu at Northeastern University for a guest lecture on Measuring Change in Real and Apparent Time to her graduate Sociolinguistics course, October 22nd 2019
Invited by Dr. David Jurgens to present for the Information Analysis and Retrieval Winter Seminar Series at the University of Michigan to present Lexical Racialization Examined Through Machine Learning, 23rd April 2019
Invited by Dr. Savithry Namboodiripad at the University of Michigan for a guest lecture on my qualifying research on Linguistic Profiling in the Housing Market to her 150-student Language and Discrimination course, April 11th 2019
Invited to participate as an expert in the UM Opportunity Hub’s second Celebrate campaign, focusing on Voices. Developed and led a workshop on Dialect Discrimination in the Workplace, March 10th 2019
Invited by Dr. Israel Sanz-Sanchez at Westchester University for a guest lecture on Linguistic Discrimination to his ESP318 course, March 5th 2019
Developed and led a workshop, A Historical Sociolinguist’s Digital Tools Starter Kit, for NARNiHS at their inaugural conference, Lexington, Kentucky July 21st-23rd 2017
Invited by Dr. Sasha Johnson Coleman to Norfolk State University for a guest lecture, via Skype, on my MA thesis research topic and process in her Communications Research Methods course, February 6th 2017
Invited by Dr. Sasha Johnson Coleman to lecture on the undergraduate thesis process and its long-term benefits to her ENG 405 English Thesis Capstone course at Norfolk State University, September 27, 2016
Taught a day-long children’s workshop, Learning Phonology through the World’s Animal Sounds, for Kentucky Educational Linguistics Outreach (KLEO) at LingoFest 2015
Requested by Associate Professor Allison Stein to guest lecture for Modern World History in Fall 2014
Selected as Fall 2012’s Student Recipient Speaker at the Donors and Scholars Reception
Nominated by faculty as 2012’s student invitee to the Gnosis Faculty Lecture Series to present “What the Frack?!” a hydraulic fracturing information project; video available on PSCC blogs
Selected by Dr. Robert Lloyd to appear in 2011 Faculty Lecture Series Staged Reading of Ajax as Techmessa

SERVICE

Serving as a contributing writer for American Speech’s Among the New Words segment
Serving as Editor’s Assistant for Language: A Journal of The Linguistics Society of America
Serving as a Founding Member on the Steering Group for the North American Research Network in Historical Sociolinguistics, the newest Sister Society of the Linguistics Society of America.
Serving as a Founding Member on the Steering Committee for Language Matters, the University of Michigan Linguistic Diversity and Outreach Initiative
Serving on the Admissions Committee for the University of Michigan LSA Department of Linguistics 2020-2021
Served as Co-Chair of the Colloquium Committee for the University of Michigan LSA Department of Linguistics 2018-2020
Served on the Undergraduate Committee for the University of Michigan LSA Department of Linguistics 2017

HONORS AND AWARDS

University of Michigan 2017-Present

Mellon Fellowship for Publicly Engaged Humanities
Rackham Scholar-Activist Award 2019
Rackham Merit Fellowship

University of Kentucky March 2015

Achieved Latin Honors, Summa Cum Laude, upon degree completion

Granted the Royster Excellence Award by College Executive Committee
Teaching Assistantship for Writing, Rhetoric, and Digital Studies
Invited to and attended the 2016 UK Graduate Student Leadership Conference

Lincoln Memorial University March 2014

Outstanding Poster Award for 21st Annual Blue Ridge Undergraduate Research Conference

Maryville College January 2013-August 2014

Achieved Latin Honors, Summa Cum Laude, upon degree completion
Awarded one of two Competitive Summer Internship Grants from MC Center for Calling and Career
Inducted into Alpha Sigma Lambda National Honors Society for Adults Continuing Higher Education and Sigma Tau Delta International English Honors Society
Ragsdale Study Abroad Scholarship for Ghana Study and Service 2014
Phi Theta Kappa Merit Scholarship for 2012-13 and 2013-14 academic years

Pellissippi State Community College August-December 2012

Sole recipient of 2012 English Department Outstanding Graduate Award, chosen by English Faculty

OTHER EXPERIENCE

University of Michigan

Graduate Student Staff Assistant- Rackham Graduate School Program in Public Scholarship 2020-2021

Research, Designed, and Proposed a Graduate Certificate in Public Scholarship
Organized alumni interviews for the program’s 10th Anniversary website content
Prepared a report to the Professional and Academic Development Team regarding the success of the Engaged Pedagogy Initiative
Designed Public Scholarship for Faculty brown bag sessions

Michigan Humanities Emerging Research Scholars Program June 2020

Led mentoring sessions and daily meetings with four prospective graduate students
Worked to convert face-to-face content and administer digital sessions during COVID-19

University of South Carolina—Columbia

Internship with Professor Emeritus Dr. Michael Montgomery June-August 2014

Built digital corpus of Irish immigrant letters (1675-1900; 748 letters)

Inventoried and digitized manuscripts and typescripts from archival collections
Identified and catalogued new additions from digital repositories

Prepared an analysis of Hiberno-English speech markers in naïve writing
Completed entries of the Dictionary of Appalachian English

Updated OED citations to reflect digital edition additions and filled DARE queries providing usage examples for 300+ entries

Utilized ExpressScribe to transcribe Staunton-Parkersburg Turnpike oral histories
Attended Children’s Literature Association 41st Annual Conference with Drs. Tracey Weldon and Elaine Chun

Pellissippi State Community College (PSCC) – Hardin Valley August 2010-July 2015

Academic Advisor August 2011-July 2015

Facilitated student registration, graduation applications, and career counseling at all campuses
Coordinated project development, grant writing, institutional objectives, student success tracking, and management of temporary staff for the Ben Atchley Veteran’s Center—Appointed Advising Liaison
Developed an entirely new initiative, the Transfer Workshop, to be implemented Spring 2016
Crafted front desk and new advisor training guides, orientation syllabi, and resource repository

Supplemental Instruction (SI) Coordinator Assistant May 2012-July 2013

Collected, recorded, and evaluated SI program statistics (2011-2013) for Tennessee Board of Regents
Designed and monitored SI resource depository on D2L (Blackboard) site
Facilitated and led on-campus training weekend including creation and editing of training video
Directed as student success interim coordinator mentor scheduling, on-campus resource management, and bi-weekly campus newsletter editing/writing, scheduled Faculty Senate, Fee Board, and Distance-learning meetings

English 1010/1020 Supplemental Instructor (SI) January-May 2011

Communicated bi-weekly with professors regarding student problem areas and target skills
Formulated lesson plans and led weekly supplemental sessions for approximately 60 students

ACTIVITIES AND LEADERSHIP

University of Michigan

Colloquium Committee Co-Chair

This committee holds nominations and elections for colloquium speakers; manages invites, travel arrangements, and visit scheduling for speakers; and event planning for the colloquium itself.

Undergraduate Committee
Admissions Committee

University of Kentucky August 2015-May 2017

Appointed Linguistics Club President

This graduate and undergraduate organization aims to advance ourselves in the field at large, and to augment the surrounding community’s understanding of Linguistics as the scientific study of language.

Designated Sociolinguistics Reading Group topic curator and session leader

2015: Language in The City; 2016: Language in Social Institutions

Project South May 2015-September 2015

Volunteered as a transcriber during summer 2015 on the Civil Rights oral history documentation initiative with Dr. Daniel Hartwig at Stanford Special Collections

Maryville College August 2014-May 2015

Sigma Tau Delta Vice President Alpha Rho Kappa Chapter

PSCC Hardin Valley Campus January 2012-May 2013

Student Government Parliamentarian

Service Learning on-campus representative
Sustainable Campus Initiative Assistant
Student Life Fee Board representative

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References Available Upon Request