Faculty Directory - Bio
Suresh Canagarajah
William J and Catherine Craig Kirby Professor in Language Learning
Contact:
304C Sparks
University Park, PA 16802
Office Phone: 814-865-6227
asc16@psu.edu
Office Hours:
Tuesday and Thursday 3:30-4:30
Suresh Canagarajah had his early education in the war-torn northern region of Sri Lanka where he taught English language and literature for students from mostly rural backgrounds at the University of Jaffna. Later, he joined the faculty at the City University of New York (Baruch College and the Graduate Center) where he taught multilingual urban students for a decade. His research on the literacy concerns of African American students has appeared in composition journals. He has also studied issues in bilingualism and English language teaching. His book Resisting Linguistic Imperialism in English Teaching (OUP, 1999) won Modern Language Association’s Mina Shaughnessy Award for the best research publication on the teaching of language and literacy. His subsequent publication Geopolitics of Academic Writing (UPittsburgh Press 2002) won the Gary Olson Award for the best book in social and rhetorical theory. Critical Academic Writing and Multilingual Students (University of Michigan Press, 2002) applies composition research and scholarship for the needs of multilingual students. His edited collection Reclaiming the Local in Language Policy and Practice (Erlbaum, 2005) examines linguistic and literacy constructs in the context of globalization. His study of World Englishes in Composition won the 2007 Braddock Award for the best article in the College Composition and Communication journal. Suresh edits the flagship journal of the professional organization for English language teachers, TESOL Quarterly. He is currently analyzing interview transcripts and survey data from South Asian immigrants in Canada, USA, and UK for a book length work on Diaspora relationships.
Publications:
Books:
- Critical Academic Writing and Multilingual Students. Ann Arbor: University of Michigan Press. 2002. Pp. xiii+279.
- A Geopolitics of Academic Writing. Pittsburgh: University of Pittsburgh Press. 2002. Pp.x+332.
- Resisting Linguistic Imperialism in English Teaching. Oxford, UK: Oxford University Press. 1999. Pp.viii+216.
- Edited volumes:
Reclaiming the Local in Language Policy and Practice. Mahwah, NJ: Lawrence Erlbaum Publishers. 2005. Pp. xxx + 297. - Special Topic Issue on “Celebrating Local Knowledge on Language and Education.” Journal of Language, Identity, and Education. Vol. 1.4, 2002.
Articles:
In Journals:
- “The Ecology of Global English.” International Multilingual Research Journal. Vol.1, no. 2, (2007): 89-100.
- “Lingua Franca English, Multilingual Communities, and Language Acquisition.” Modern Language Journal, 91/5 (2007): 921-937.
- With Michael-Luna, Sara “Foundational Experiences in Academic Literacy Apprenticeship: Pedagogical Implications for Negotiating Multilingualism in Higher Education.” Journal of Applied Linguistics. (In press).
- “The Place of World Englishes in Composition: Pluralization Continued.” College Composition and Communication, 57/4(2006): 586-619.
- “Toward a Writing Pedagogy of Shuttling between Languages: Learning from Multilingual Writers.” College English, 68/6 (2006): 589-604.
- “Changing communicative needs, revised assessment objectives: Testing English as an International Language.” Language Assessment Quarterly, 3/3 (2006): 229-242.
- “Negotiating the local in English as a lingua franca.” Annual Review of Applied Linguistics 26 (2006): 197-218.
- “TESOL at Forty: What are the Issues?” TESOL Quarterly, 40/1 (2006): 9-34.
- “Dilemmas in Planning English/Vernacular Relations in Postcolonial Communities.” Journal of Sociolinguistics 9/3 (2005): 418-447.
- “Language Rights and Postmodern Conditions.” Journal of Language, Identity, and Education 3/2 (2004): 140-145.
- With Matsuda, Paul, L.Harklau, K.Hyland, & M. Warschauer. “Changing Currents in Second Language Writing Research: A Colloquium.” Journal of Second Language Writing 6/1 (2003): 1-21.
- “Multilingual Writers and the Academic Community: Towards a Critical Relationship.” Journal of English for Academic Purposes 1/1 (2002): 29-44.
- “On EFL Teachers, Awareness, and Agency.” ELT Journal 53/3 (1999): 207-214.
- “The Politics of Code Choice: Bilingualism in the Liberated Zone.” Navasilu: Journal of the English Association of Sri Lanka 15-16 (1998): 11-19.
- “Safe Houses in the Contact Zone: Coping Strategies of African American Students in the Academy.” College Composition and Communication 48/2 (1997): 173-196.
- “Challenges in English Literacy for African-American and Lankan Tamil Learners: Towards a Pedagogical Paradigm for Bidialectal and Bilingual Minority Students.” Language and Education 11/1 (1997): 15-37.
- “From Critical Research Practice to Critical Research Reporting.” TESOL Quarterly 29/2 (1996): 320-330.
- “Non-discursive Requirements in Academic Publishing, Material Resources of Periphery Scholars, and the Politics of Knowledge Production.” Written Communication 13/4 (1996): 435-472.
- “Functions of Code Switching in the ESL Classroom: Socializing Bilingualism in Jaffna.” Journal of Multilingual and Multicultural Development 16 /3 (1995): 173-196.
- “The Political Economy of Code Choice in a Revolutionary Society: English / Tamil Bilingualism in Jaffna. Language in Society 24/2 (1995): 187-212.
- “Use of English Borrowings by Tamil Fish Vendors: Manipulating the Context.” Multilingua 14 (1995): 5-24.
- “Competing Discourses in Sri Lankan English Poetry.” World Englishes 13/3 (1994): 361-376.
- “American Textbooks and Tamil Students: Discerning Ideological Tensions in the ESL Classroom.” Language, Culture and Curriculum 6/2 (1993): 143-156.
- “Critical Ethnography of a Sri Lankan Classroom: Ambiguities in Student Opposition to Reproduction through ESOL.” TESOL Quarterly 27 /4 (1993): 601-626.
- “The Discursive Construction of Identity: A Comparison of Poetry in Tamil and English by Sri Lankan Tamil Writers.” Sri Lankan Journal of South Asian Studies 3 /NS (1993): 80-88.
- “The Linguistic Construction of Political Experience: Challenges in English Poetic Discourse for Tamil Writers.” Lanka: Studies in Lankan Culture 7 (1992): 1-30.
(In Tamil):
- “ARivai makkaL mayappaTuttal.” [Democratizing Knowledge] Kaalam 16 (2002): 23-26.
- “Aakka ilakkiyamaaka moLipeyarppu.” [Translation as Creative Writing.] Kaalam 13 (2000): 75-78.
- “TamiL ilakkiya vimarsanam--amaippiyal vathamamum pira viyaakiyaana muraikaLum paRRiya oor matippiidu.” [Tamil Literary Criticism: An Appraisal of Structuralism and Other Interpretative Methods] Panpaadu 4 /1 (1994): 32-40.
- “Putiya koonankaLiliruntu palaya paarampariyankal: sama kaala iilattu tamil kavitai paRRiya muunraam ulaka ilakkiya kaNNooTTam.” [Old Traditions from New Perspectives: A Third World literary Perspective on Contemporary Tamil Poetry.] Nirappirikai 11 (1994): 1-17.
- “Vaaimoli marapum eluttarivu marapum: sama kaala iilattu kavitai paTRiya muunraam ulaka ilakkiya kaNNooTTam.” [Oral Tradition and Literate Tradition: A Perspective on Contemporary Tamil Poetry.] Panpaadu 3 /1 (1993): 34-45.
Chapters in books:
- “The Politics of English Language Teaching.” In Stephen May (Ed.), Encyclopedia of Language and Education. Heidelberg, Germany: Springer. In press.
- "Shuttling between discourses: Textual and pedagogical possibilities for periphery scholars." In Giuseppina Cortese and Anna Duszak (eds) Identity, Community, Discourse: English in Intercultural Settings. Berlin: Peter Lang. 2005. pp. 47-68.
- “From Babel to Pentecost: Postmodern Glottoscapes and the Globalization of English. In Liliana Anglada, Mario Barrios, Jeffery Williams (eds.), Towards the Knowledge Society: Making EFL Education Relevant. Argentina: British Council. 22-35.
- “Constructing a Diaspora Identity in English: The Case of Sri Lankan Tamils.” In Catherine E. Davies and Janina Brutt-Griffler (eds.) English and Ethnicity. New York: Palgrave. 2006.
- “Ethnographic methods in language policy.” In T. Ricento (Ed.), An Introduction to Language Policy: Theories and Methods Oxford: Blackwell. 2006. pp.153-169.
- “Globalization of English and changing pedagogical priorities: The postmodern turn.” In B. Beaven (ed.), IATEFL 2005 Cardiff Conference Selections. Canterbury, UK: IATEFL. 2006. 15-24.
- “Critical Pedagogy in L2 Learning and Teaching.” Handbook of Research in Second Language Teaching and Research. Ed. Eli Hinkel. London; Mahwah, NJ: Lawrence Erlbaum, 2005. 931-949.
- “Accommodating Tensions in Language-in-Education Policies.” Decolonisation, Globalisation: Language-in-Education Policy and Practice. Eds. Angel Lin & Peter Martin. Clevedon: Multilingual Matters. 2005. Pp.194-201.
- “Introduction.” In A. S. Canagarajah (Ed.), Reclaiming the local in language policy and practice. Mahwah, NJ: Lawrence Erlbaum, 2005. Pp. xiii-xxx.
- “Reconstructing local knowledge, reconfiguring language studies.” In A. S. Canagarajah (Ed.), Reclaiming the local in language policy and practice. Mahwah, NJ: Lawrence Erlbaum, 2005. Pp. 3-24.
- “Subversive Identities, Pedagogical Safe Houses, and Critical Learning.” Critical Pedagogies and Language Learning. Eds. B. Norton and K.Toohey. Cambridge: CUP, 2004. 116-137.
- “Multilingual Writers and the Struggle for Voice: Assessing Some Approaches.” Negotiation of Identities in Multilingual Contexts. Eds. A. Blackledge and A. Pavelenko. Clevedon, UK: Multilingual Matters, 2004. 266-289.
- “A Somewhat Legitimate and Very Peripheral Participation.” Writing for Scholarly Publication. Ed. C.P.Casanave and S.Vandrick. Mahwah: Erlbaum, 2003. 197-210.
- “Globalization, Methods and Practice in Periphery Classrooms.” Globalization and Language Teaching. Ed. David Block and Deborah Cameron. London: Routledge, 2002. 134-150.
- “The Fortunate Traveler: Shuttling between Communities and Literacies by Economy Class.” Reflections on Multiliterate Lives. Eds. D.Belcher and U. Connor. Clevedon: Multilingual Matters, 2001. 23-37.
- “Critical Ethnography of a Sri Lankan Classroom: Ambiguities in Student Opposition to Reproduction through ESOL.” (Reprinted from TESOL Quarterly.) In English Language Teaching in its Social Context: A Reader. Eds. Chris Candlin and Neil Mercer. London, New York: Routledge, 2001.208-226.
- “Constructing Hybrid Postcolonial Subjects: Codeswitching in Jaffna Classrooms.”Voices of Authority: Education and Linguistic Difference. Eds. Monica Heller and Marilyn Martin-Jones. (Contemporary Studies in Linguistics and Education volume 1.) Westport, CT, and London: Ablex, 2001. 193-212.
- “Addressing Issues of Power and Difference in ESL Academic Writing.” Research Perspectives on English for Academic Purposes. Eds. John Flowerdew and Matthew Peacock. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 2001.117-131.
- “Negotiating Ideologies through English: Strategies from the Periphery.” Ideology, Politics, and Language Policies: Focus on English. Ed. Tom Ricento. Amsterdam, Philadelphia: John Benjamins, 2000.107-120.
- “Safe Houses in the Contact Zone: Coping Strategies of African American Students in the Academy.” (Reprinted from College Composition and Communication.) Trends and Issues in Postsecondary English Studies. Ed. Zarina Hock. Urbana: NCTE, 1999. 23-49.
- “Tambimuttu: iiLattu kavitai ulkil or naTchattiram.” Ukam maarum: A Book of International Tamil Writings. Ed. Pathmanaba Iyer. Newham, UK: Tamil Welfare Association, 1999. 36-40.
- “Interrogating the Native Speaker Fallacy: Non-linguistic Roots, Non-pedagogical Results.” Non-native Educators in ELT. Ed. G. Braine. Mahwah, NJ: Erlbaum, 1999. 77-92.
- “Iilattu Tamilk kavitay: aTutta kaTTa vaLaRchi” [The Next Stage in Tamil Eelam Poetry] Innumoru kaaladi: A Book of International Tamil Writings. Ed. Pathmanaba Iyer. Newham, UK: Tamil Welfare Association, 1998. 35-41.
- “Reconsidering the Question of Language in Sri Lankan English Poetry: A Discourse Analytical Perspective.” Essays on Sri Lankan Poetry in English. Ed. N. de Mel. Colombo: English Association of Sri Lanka, 1995. 118-159.
- “Challenges in Academic Writing for Sri Lankan Students: The Social Process Perspective.” Compendium of University ELT Papers: 1987-1991. Ed. M. Gunasekera. Colombo: ELT units of Sri Lankan universities, 1994. 26-38.
Recent invited Talks:
- “The Pedagogical Role of the Family in Language Maintenance: Dilemmas for the Sri Lankan Tamil Diaspora.” Plenary talk in the 2nd Language, Education and Diversity Conference 2007. University of Waikatoo, Hamilton, New Zealand. November, 21-24, 2007.
- Guest Lecturer in the summer seminar “Learning to Write in a Global and Plurilingual World.” Hosted by the University of the Basque Country, San Sebastian, Spain. July 11-14, 2007.
- “Reconceptualizing the Multilingual Learner.” Plenary in the 14th International Conference on Learning. University of Witwatersrand, South Africa. June 26-29, 2007.
- “Representing Local Knowledge, Reconfiguring Academic Publishing.” Keynote lecture in the inaugural meeting of the Africa Research Network of the International Association of Applied Linguistics. University of Witwatersrand, South Africa. June 30, 2007.
- “Postmodern Globalization, World Englishes, and New Pedagogical Challenges.” National University of Malaysia, Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia. 1st June, 2007.
- “Globalisation and English: Redesigning Pedagogies in English Language Teaching.” Plenary in the International conference on: “Redesigning Pedagogy: Culture, Knowledge and Understanding.” Singapore. May 28-30, 2007.
- “Publishing and Material Context: A Perspective from the Periphery.” Plenary address in the conference “Publishing and Presenting Research Internationally: Issues for speakers of English as an Additional Language.” Tenerife, Spain. January 11-13, 2007
- “Globalization and English Studies: Challenges and Possibilities.” Lecture at the Graduate School of Education, University of Bristol, UK, January 17th, 2007.
- “Globalization and English: Beyond Discipline?” Keynote talk in “Diversity and Community in Applied Linguistics: Interface, Interpretation, Interdisciplinarity,” International Conference at Macquarie University, Australia, 20-22 September, 2006.
- “Nothing Practical like an Ideology.” Invited plenary. Symposium on Second Language Writing, Purdue, IN. June 7-10, 2006.
- “Changing Pedagogical Priorities, Revised Professional Relationships.” Keynote address. 2nd International English Language Teaching Conference on “ELT Profession: Challenges and Prospects.” Eastern Mediterranean University; Famagusta, North Cyprus. May 2-5, 2006.
- “World Englishes and the Teaching of Writing: New Questions.” Lecture at the Arizona State University, Tempe. Sponsored by the faculty of education. Wednesday, April 19, 2006.
- “The Future of English Studies.” Lecture at the University of Wisconsin at Madison. Sponsored by the English Department. Tuesday, 21 March, 2006. Followed by brown bag lunch discussion with faculty and graduate students on Wednesday, 22nd, 2006.
- “Negotiating Power in Global English.” Sponsored by the Center for Multiple Languages and Literacies and the International Linguistic Association. Teachers College, Columbia University, New York. November 12th, 2005.
- “From Babel to Pentecost: Postmodern Glottoscapes and the Globalization of English.” Keynote address 2005 FAAPI Conference (Regional South American Conference). Santa Fe, Argentina. 22-24 September, 2005.
- “Globalization of English and Changing Pedagogical Priorities.” Plenary Address in the 39th International Annual Conference of IATEFL [International Association of Teacher of English as a Foreign Language]. Cardiff, UK. April, 7th, 2005.
- “Repositioning Communities in Global English.” Invited public lecture and seminar in the series on “Global Languages and Literatures” organized by the Simpson Center for the Humanities and the English Department, University of Washington, Seattle. November 22nd and 23rd, 2004.
- “Shuttling between Discourses: Textual and Pedagogical Possibilities for Periphery Scholars.” Invited Speaker in the Sixth Centennial Conference "Identity, Community, Discourse: English in Intercultural Settings" at the University of Turin, Italy. September 29th to October 2nd, 2004.
- Speaker in the featured panel “Cross-Language Relations in Composition” in the Convention of the Conference on College Composition and Communication, San Antonio, TX, March 26th 2004.
- Invited to give a public lecture on globalization and the English language, and to conduct workshop on ethnographic research at Universidad Autonoma Benito Juarez de Oaxaca, Mexico, Jan. 7-15th 2004.
- “Beyond Imperialism: Repositioning Communities in Global English.” Public lecture delivered at the American University of Paris, France, April 24, 2003.
- “Constructing a Diaspora Identity in English: The Case of Sri Lankan Tamils. Featured speaker at the symposium on “English and Ethnicity,” University of Alabama, Tuscaloosa. Nov. 1-2, 2002.
- “Jostling Codes, Emergent Literacies, and Shifting Pedagogical Priorities.” Featured talk at the Annual Conference of the International Association of World Englishes, University of Urbana at Champaigne. Oct. 17-20, 2002.
- “Negotiating Linguistic Imperialism: Developing Theories from Sporadic Reflections in Busy Classrooms.” Keynote address at the ESL conference of the School of International Teaching, Brattleboro, Vermont, May 20th 2002.
- “Hidden Sites of Critical Learning.” Featured Talk in TESOL Arabia 2002 (regional conference for TESOL scholars in the Middle East) at Abu Dhabi, March 20, 2002.
- “Hidden Communities in Classroom Learning.” Keynote address in the NYTESOL annual convention, New York, February 23, 2002.
Recent Selected Presentations:
- “The Multilingual Learner.” In the Spotlight Session: Reconceptualizing the Contemporary English Language Learner. 41st Annual TESOL convention. March 21-24, 2007. Seattle.
- “The Misuses of Language in the Immigration Debates: Insider Perspective from a Recent Immigrant.” Costa Mesa, California. American Association of Applied Linguistics, April 21-24th, 2007.
- “Writing back by shuttling between discourses from the academic periphery.” American Association for Applied Linguistics. Montreal, Canada. June 17-20, 2006.
- “Constructing a Diaspora Identity in English.” Tamil Studies Conference on “Tropes, Territories, Competing Realities.” Toronto, Canada. May 11-14, 2006.
- “Understanding multilingual literacy competence.” Conference on College Composition and Communication. Chicago. March 22nd to 25th, 2006.
- With Stebbins, C., M. Burns, and A.Mahboob. “World Englishes.” Symposium. Hot topic session. TESOL Convention. Tempe, Florida. March 16th, 2006.
- With Wei, Z., Xiaoming Li, S. and C. Leung. “Periphery scholars publishing in professional journals.” TESOL Convention. Tempe, Florida. March 17th, 2006.
- With Aya Matsuda, and Ahmar Mahboob. “Recent Research on World Englishes.” Featured symposium in the Annual TESOL Convention, March 28th to April 1st. 2005. San Antonio, Tx.
- With Ryuko Kubota, Ena Lee, and Lia Kamhi-Stein. Panel on “Race and Non-nativeness.” Annual TESOL Convention, March 28th to April 1st. 2005. San Antonio, Tx.
- “Changing Communicative Needs, Shifting Pedagogical Priorities, Revised Assessment Objectives.” In the Featured Symposium, “The Assessment of World Englishes” at the 14th World Congress of Applied Linguistics (organized by AILA: International Association of Applied Linguistics), Madison, WI, July 25th, 2005.
- “Space for Nativized Englishes in Academic Literacy” Paper presented in the Colloquia on “Critical Literacy and Language Ideologies” at the Annual convention of the Association of American Applied Linguistics, Portland, Oregon, May 2, 2004.
- With Quinlisk, Carla, B. Morgan, R. Kubota, and A. Curtis. “Redefining Intercultural Goals in Teacher Education.” Colloquia in TESOL Convention, Long Beach, CA, April 3rd, 2004.
- “Diaspora Life, English Language, and the Tamil Community: New Questions for Sociolinguistics.” The American Society of Geolinguistics, Baruch College, NY, Oct 2-4, 2003.
- “Multilingual Writers and Academic Writing: The Struggle for Voice.” Faculty development workshop at the American University of Paris, France, April 23, 2003.
- “English and the Diaspora of Sri Lankan Tamils.” Presented at the Annual convention of the Association of American Applied Linguistics, Arlington, March 24, 2003.
- “Practicing Multiliteracies.” Invited colloquium on “Changing currents in second language writing research” with P.Matsuda, L.Harklau, K.Hyland, and M. Warschauer. Presented at the Annual convention of the Association of American Applied Linguistics, Salt Lake City, April 7-9, 2002.
- With Atkinson,D., Blanton, L.L., Leki, I, Kubota, R, and Vandrick, S. “Five Perspectives on Writing for Publication.” Presented in the Thirty Sixth Annual Convention of TESOL, Salt Lake City, April 9-13, 2002.
- With Atkinson, D., Johnston, B., and V.Ramanathan. “(Re)framing the Profession to Question Offical Knowledge in SLA/TESOL.” Presented in the Thirty Sixth Annual Convention of TESOL, Salt Lake City, April 9-13, 2002.
- “Subversive Identities, Pedagogical Safe Houses, and Critical Learning.” Paper presented in the Annual convention of the Association of American Applied Linguistics, St. Louis, Missouri, February 24-27, 2001.
- “Ideological Approaches to L2 Writing.” Presented in the panel on Reassessing L2 Writing Research: Four Perspectives, in the Thirty Fifth Annual Convention of TESOL, St. Louis, Missouri, Feb.27-March 2, 2001.
- “Critical Theories and Classroom Practice.” Presented in the panel on Applying Critical Approaches in the TESL/TEFL Classroom, in the Thirty Fifth Annual Convention of TESOL, St. Louis, Missouri, Feb.27-March 2, 2001.
- “Nationalist Language Policies, Pluralist Postcolonial Communities: Negotiating Code Choice in Sri Lanka.” Paper presented in the “Languages Across Borders” conference of the American Society of Geolinguistics, New York, October 19-20, 2000.
- “Understanding L2 Academic Writing as Codeswitching.” Paper presented in the Thirty Fourth Annual Convention of TESOL, March 14-18, 2000. Vancouver.
- “Institutional Underlife and Ethnographic Research.” Presented in the Annual convention of the Association of American Applied Linguistics, March 11-14, 2000. Vancouver.
- “Controlled Genres, Suppressed Knowledge: The case of periphery research articles.” Presented in the Annual convention of the Association of American Applied Linguistics, March 6-9, 1999. Stamford, CT.
- with Belcher, D., J.Bell, U.Connor, A.Hirvela, and R. Spack. “Perspectives on Narrative in Academic Writing.” Thirty third Annual Convention of TESOL, March 9-12, 1999. New York.
- With R. Phillipson, A. Pennycook, and T. Wiley. “The Ideological Implications of the Spread of English.” Invited panel presentation. Thirty second Annual Convention of TESOL. 17-21 March 1998. Seattle, WA.
- With T.Robinson, P. Killian, and M. Amarou. “Connecting the Global Community through Conduit Scholars.” Thirty second Annual Convention of TESOL. 17-21 March 1998. Seattle, WA.
- “The Discourse of Classroom Underlife: Its Pedagogical Implications for Language Minority Students.” Annual convention of the Association of American Applied Linguistics. 13-16 March 1998. Seattle, WA.
- With G. Braine, U. Connor, T. Dudley-Evans, J. Flowerdew, A. M. Lin, and S. McKay. “A Dialogue between NNS Writers and ESOL Journal Editors.” Panel presentation at the Thirty first Annual Convention of TESOL. 12th to 15th, March 1997; Orlando, FL.
- With D.Atkinson, D. Belcher, A. Hirvela, and T. Dudley-Evans. “Teaching and Researching the Thesis/Dissertation in ESP.” Panel presentation at the Thirty first Annual Convention of TESOL. 12th to 15th, March 1997; Orlando. FL.
- “Increasing International Contributions to Journals and the Production of Knowledge: What are the Obstacles?” Invited panel participant. Annual convention of the American Educational Research Association.March 24 to 28, 1997. Chicago, IL.
- "Accommodating L1 in ESL Classrooms: Learning from Students" Paper presented in TESOL convention, March 26-30, 1996, Chicago, IL.
- With S.Benesch, A. Schenke, B.N.Peirce, S.Starfield, and B.Morgan. "Critical Research in TESOL: Theory and Practice." Panel at TESOL convention, March 26-30, 1996, Chicago, IL.
- With G.Braine, U.Connor, K.Sridhar, and J.Thomas. "In their Own Voices: Nonnative Speaker Professionals." Colloquium. TESOL convention, March 26-30, 1996, Chicago, IL.
- "Crossing or Merging Boundaries?: Claims of African-American Student Writers" Paper presented in the 47th annual convention of the Conference on College Composition and Communication, March 28, 1996, Milwaukee.
- “Headstart?: First Year African-American Students Preview the Academy.” Annual convention of Conference on College Composition and Communication, March 23-25, 1995, Washington D.C.
- “Task-based Method Appropriated: Center Methods in Periphery Communities.” TESOL convention, March 28 - April 1, 1995, Long Beach, CA.
- With D. Alwright, C. Candlin, S. Silberstein, B.N. Peirce, M. Clarke and A. Gertzman. “Critical Perspectives in L2 Teacher Development: Reflections, Roles, Resources.” Colloquium. TESOL convention, March 10, 1994. Baltimore, MD
- “Ilakkiyamaka naaTakam” [Drama as literature]. Keynote address in the seminar on Theatre as Education. May 22-24, 1993. University of Jaffna, Sri Lanka.
- with Saravanapava Iyer, M. “Social Inequality and the Distribution of English Proficiency among Jaffna University Students.” Jaffna Science Association, Annual sessions, April 23, 1994. Sri Lanka.
- “The Place of Grammar in Tamil Language Teaching: A Critique and a Proposal.” 12th European Conference on Modern South Asian Studies, September 23-26, 1992. Berlin, Germany.
- “The Discursive Construction of Identity: A Comparison of Poetry in Tamil and English by Sri Lankan Tamil Writers.” 12th European Conference on Modern South Asian Studies, September 23-26, 1992. Berlin, Germany.
- “Contemporary Sri Lankan Tamil Poetry in the Light of Trends in Post-colonial Literature.” Seminar on Contemporary Tamil Poetry by the Department of Fine Arts, April 1, 1992. University of Jaffna, Sri Lanka.
- “Contemporary Approaches to the Literary Text: Interpretative Methods after New Criticism.” Special Lecture for the English Forum, 21st June, 1991. University of Jaffna, Sri Lanka.
- “Challenges in Academic Writing for Sri Lankan Students: The Social Process Perspective.” Fifth annual conference on English Language Teaching in the Universities, 27th-29th September 1991. Colombo, Sri Lanka.
- “Computer-assisted Class Discussion and Black Students: Breaking the Monopoly of Cultural Capital.” Sixth conference on Computers and Writing, May 17-20, 1990. Austin, TX.
- With R. Allen, L. Brodkey, L. Faigley, W. Lubiano, and R. Saldivar. “Constructing and Reconstructing Difference: Race, Class, Ethnicity, Gender. . . In Theory, Research and Practice.” (Pre-convention workshop) Conference on College Composition and Communication, March 21, 1990. Chicago, IL.
- “Competing Paradigms of Composition and their Implications for L2 Writing Instruction.” Annual Spring Conference, TexTESOL III, February 20, 1988. Austin, TX.
Honors, Grants, and Awards:
- The Benjamin Meeker Visiting Professorship in the Graduate School of Education, University of Bristol, UK, Summer 2008.
- The Braddock Award for the best article in the journal College Composition and Communication. Awarded at the Convention of College Composition and Communication, April 2007, for the article “The Place of World Englishes in Composition: Pluralization Continued.”
- Presidential Excellence Award for Distinguished Scholarship and Research, Baruch College/City University of New York, 2004.
- Selected as the Editor for TESOL Quarterly after a two-year international search process. Term January 2005 – December 2009. (TESOL Quarterly is the flagship journal of the international association, Teachers of English for Speakers of Other Languages. The peer-reviewed journal has an acceptance rate of 8%, 8000 individual subscribers, and 1700 institutional subscribers.)
- Olson Award for the best book in Rhetorical and Cultural Studies for A Geopolitics of Academic Writing. Awarded by the Association for the Teachers of Advanced Composition at the Convention of College Composition and Communication, March 2003.
- Mellon Foundation Guest Lecturer at the American University of Paris, France, April, 2003.
- Mina P.Shaughnessy Award by the Modern Language Association of America for the best book on “research in English Language Teaching, composition, and rhetoric” in 1999. (Awarded to Resisting Linguistic Imperialism in English Teaching at the MLA convention in Dec.2000.)
- Resisting Linguistic Imperialism in English Teaching was short-listed for the best book award of the British Association for Applied Linguistics, 2000.
- Visiting Scholar in Education at the Wisconsin Center for Education Research for the 1999-2000 academic year at the University of Wisconsin-Madison
- Feliks Gross Endowment Award of the CUNY Academy for the Humanities and
the Sciences for outstanding junior faculty in CUNY, 1999. - National Endowment of Humanities Summer Stipend Award, 1998. Project title: “Negotiating Competing Identities through Language: Challenges in Bilingualism for an Immigrant Community.”
- National Council for Teachers of English Grant-in-aid. Project title: “Comparing Teacher-facilitated and Student-constructed Safe Houses: The Coping Strategies of Bilingual Students in Academic Literacy.” July 1998-July 1999.
