Kelly E. Wright

Curriculum Vitae

Kelly Elizabeth Wright

440 Lorch Hall University of Michigan Ann Arbor, MI 48109-1220

Kellywri@umich.edu

EDUCATION

Doctorate in Linguistics                                                                                                           Expected 2022

• The University of Michigan – Ann Arbor, Michigan

Master of Arts in Linguistic Theory and Typology, summa cum laude                                                     2017

• The University of Kentucky – Lexington, Kentucky                                                     

Bachelor of Arts in English Literature, summa cum laude                                                                       2014

• Maryville College –  Maryville, Tennessee                                                                                          

Associate of Science                                                                                                                                2012

• Pellissippi State Community College –  Knoxville, Tennessee                                      ​

PUBLICATIONS

Peer-Reviewed Publications

•  “Language and Discrimination: Generating Meaning, Perceiving Identities, and Discriminating Outcomes” Craft, Wright, Weissler, and Queen Annual Review of Linguistcs 2020

• “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

Academic Publications

• “Among the New Words” Zimmer, Wright, & Carson American Speech (2021) 96(1)

• Review of Cacchiani, Mazzi, Bondi (2015) Discourse In and Through the Media: Recontextualizing and Reconceptualizing Expert Discourse” published on LinguistList

Public Writing

• Medium “Wright & Weissler Response to Perspectives article: “Toward Racial Justice in Linguistics” 12 February, 2021

• ESPN The Undefeated “Why Do We See Myles Garrett as 'Criminal'?” 29 November, 2019

HONORS AND AWARDS

University of Michigan                                                                                                                    2017-2022

• Mellon Fellowship for Publicly Engaged Humanities

• Edward A. Bouchet Graduate Honor Society

• Rackham Scholar-Activist Award 2019

• Rackham Merit Fellowship

University of Kentucky                                                                                                                             2015

• Royster Excellence Award

• 2016 UK Graduate Student Leadership Conference

Lincoln Memorial University                                                                                                                    2014

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

Maryville College                                                                                                                           2013- 2014

• Center for Calling and Career Competitive Summer Internship Grants

• Alpha Sigma Lambda National Honors Society for Adults Continuing Higher Education

• Sigma Tau Delta International English Honors Society

• Ragsdale Study Abroad Scholarship for Ghana Study and Service

• Phi Theta Kappa Merit Scholarship

Pellissippi State Community College                                                                                                       2012

• English Department Outstanding Graduate Award

MEDIA APPEARANCES

Interviews and Academic Podcasts

• Because Language Podcast White Supremacy (with Kelly Wright) 29 October 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

• 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

• BBC World Service program Weekend Sunday Episode 12 August 2018 “Remembering VS Naipaul”

Press Coverage

• 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

• 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

• The Economist Johnson Column “Black Voices, White Voices: The Cost of Accents” 2 Aug 2018

TEACHING

University of Michigan

Instructor of record                                                                                                       Fall 2018-Winter 2020

• Linguistics 192: Things You Can’t Say

• English 125: Writing and Academic Inquiry 2018-2019 academic years

Teaching Assistant                                                                                                                       Winter 2020

• Linguistics 370: Language and Discrimination

University of Kentucky                                                                                                                    2015-2017

Lead Instructor                                                                                                       Spring 2016- Spring 2017

• Linguistics 211

• Writing, Rhetoric, and Digital Studies 110 and 111                                         

Teaching Assistant                                                                                                       Fall 2015-Spring 2016

• Robert E. Hemenway Writing Center Professional Consultant

• International Conversation Hour Moderator

UNIVERSITY POSITIONS

University of Michigan                                                                                                                     2020-2021

• Graduate Student Staff Assistant – Rackham Graduate School Program in Public Scholarship | Fall 2020

• Michigan Humanities Emerging Research Scholars Program Mentor | Summer 2020

University of South Carolina—Columbia                                                                                    Summer 2014

• Internship in Lexicography, Dictionary Studies, and Oral History with Michael Montgomery

Pellissippi State Community College                                                                          Fall 2011-Summer 2015

• Academic Advisor

INVITED TALKS

• “Title TBD” | Plenary | Chicago Linguistics Society May 2021

• “Unpacking and Confronting Linguistic Racism” | North Dakota Learning the Language of Diversity and Meaningful Inclusion Program | 9 April 2021

• “Linguistic Profiling: Voice-Based Discrimination and Inequities in the Housing Market” | Boise State Language, Race, and Ethnicity Speaker Series | 31 March 2021

• “Discriminating Linguistic Differences & Inequitable Outcomes” with coauthor Rachel Elizabeth Weissler | Virginia Tech FaculTea Fireside Chats | 22 February 2021

• Language and Discrimination: Generating Meaning, Perceiving Identities, and Discriminating Outcomes with coauthor Rachel Elizabeth Weissler| Virginia Tech VLTx | 20 October 2020

• Being a Linguist on Social Media | Panel | Linguistic Society of America’s Webinar Series |16 October 2020

• Linguistic Justice in the Writing Classroom | Fordham University English Department Speaker’s Series | 24 September 2020

• Raciolinguistic Profiling: Passing for American means Speaking Without an Accent  | University of Kent’s Inspirational Speaker | 25 June 2020

• Lexical Racialization Examined through Machine Learning | University of Michigan Information Analysis and Retrieval Winter Seminar Series | 23rd April 2019

• Student Recipient Speaker | Donors and Scholars Reception | Pellissippi State Community College | Spring 2012

• “What the Frack?!” A Hydraulic Fracturing Information Project | Gnosis Faculty Lecture Series | Spring 2012

• Techmessa, Staged Reading of Ajax | Pellissippi State Community College Faculty Lecture Series | Spring 2011

CONFERENCE PRESENTATIONS

• “Linguistic Inequities: An Audit Study of Three American Dialects in the Housing Market” | Linguistic Society of America 2021 Annual Meeting

• “Actors and Events: Racialized Semantic Intensity Over Time” | NARNiHS @ the KFLC 17 April 2020

• “Inclusivity Pressures” | Black Becoming Panel | Linguistics Society of America Annual Meeting, January 2020

• “Measuring Implicit Biases through the Statistical Properties of Language” | Pecha kucha | HiSoN July 2019

• Augmented Reality App for Detroit Art Institute | Mellon Publicly Engaged Humanities Fellowship | Ann Arbor Public Library, May 2019

• Lexical Racialization in Machine Learning Poster | NWAV 47 New York University, October 18th-21st 2018, New York City

• “Covert Segregation: Dialect Discrimination in the Housing Market” | 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

• The Five-Minute Linguist Competition | Linguistics Society of America Annual Meeting, Salt Lake City, Utah, January 3rd-6th 2018

• “A Replication of Purnell et al. (1999)” co-authored poster with Kevin McGowan | LSA Summer Institute 2017 poster session

• “The Reflection and Reification of Racialized Language in Popular Media” |  Purdue Language and Cultures Conference, West Lafayette, Indiana March 3rd-5th 2017

• “Adjusting the Cost-Benefit Model of Language Planning by Incorporating Network Analysis in the Ghanaian Context” poster | Purdue Language and Cultures Conference, West Lafayette, Indiana March 3rd-5th 2017

• UK English Department Casual Colloquium, February 23rd 2017

• “Adjusting the Cost-Benefit Model of Language Planning by Incorporating Network Analysis in the Ghanaian Context” | 2nd International Conference on English Language, Literature, Teaching and Translation Studies, Sarajevo September 30th – October 1st 2016

• UK Linguistics Incubator for Collaborative Digital Research September 28th 2016

• “The Serena Williams Opprobrious Language Experiment” | Central Kentucky Linguistics Conference April 2016

• UK English Department Casual Colloquium April 2016 Session

• “No Ordinary Wind” | Lincoln Memorial University | Blue Ridge Undergraduate Research Conference

• “The Feminine Underground” | Lee University Literary Symposium 2013

GUEST LECTURES

• “Language and Race” | European University | Samantha Litty’s Intro to Linguistic Anthropology | 14 January 2021

• Mini lecture on Slurs and Ideological Change | Rob Podesva’s Language, Gender, and Sexuality| at Stanford University Fall 2020

• Linguistic Discrimination: A General Overview | Nicholas Henricksen’s Spanish 487 | 14 May 2020

• Linguistic Discrimination in Media and Sport | Mary-Caitlyn Valentinsson’s Gender, Race, and Class course at Appalachian State | 26 March 2020

• Measuring Change in Real and Apparent Time | Ariana Bancu’s Sociolinguistics course at Northeastern University | October 22nd 2019

• Linguistic Profiling in the Housing Market | Savithry Namboodiripad’s Language and Discrimination course | April 11th 2019

• Linguistic Discrimination | Israel Sanz-Sanchez’s ESP 318 course | Westchester University | March 5th 2019

• Long-term Benefits of the Undergraduate Thesis Process | Sasha Johnson Coleman’s English Thesis Capstone | Norfolk State University | September 27, 2016

• Ghanaian Independence | Allison Stein’s Modern World History | Pellissippi State Community College | Fall 2014

WORKSHOPS

• Experimental Sociolinguistic Research Paradigms for RAs | UC San Diego LAD Lab: Science in Action Series |10 July 2020

• Public Scholarship at the Graduate Level | Round Table Workshop | Committee for Ethnic Diversity in Linguistics | Linguistics Society of America Annual Meeting, January 2020

• Dialect Discrimination in the Workplace Workshop| UM Opportunity Hub’s Celebrate Campaign | March 10th 2019

• A Historical Sociolinguist’s Digital Tools Starter Kit | NARNiHS | Lexington, Kentucky July 21st-23rd 2017

• Developing a Thesis Research Topic | Sasha Johnson Coleman’s Communications Research Methods course | Norfolk State University | February 6th 2017

• Learning Phonology through the World’s Animal Sounds | Kentucky Educational Linguistics Outreach | LingoFest 2015

SERVICE TO THE DISCIPLINE

• Co-Editor for American Speech’s Among the New Words segment

• Editor’s Assistant for Language: A Journal of The Linguistics Society of America

• Founding Member of the North American Research Network in Historical Sociolinguistics (NARNiHS)

• NARNiHS 2021 elections officer

• Project South Civil Rights Oral History Documentation Initiative transcriptionist

UNIVERSITY SERVICE

University of Michigan

• 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

University of Kentucky                                                                                                                    2015-2017

• Linguistics Club President

• Sociolinguistics Reading Group topic curator and session leader

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

• R Minicourse with Dr. Bodo Winter at the LSA 2016 Annual Meeting

• Received certification of Intermediate Turkish proficiency from the Knoxville Turkish Cultural Center

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