Public Writing and Literacy in Asia
Still from Right Now, Wrong Then (지금은맞고그때는틀리다, 2015)
What can writing in public spaces tell us about changes in literacy, tourism, ethnic identity, and how history is remembered?
Project description
This project seeks to examine the changing linguistic landscape of signs and other public writing in Asia. What functions does public writing serve in different cultural and built contexts? What can we learn about societies from storefront signage, informational signs, inscriptions, banners, and other highly visible forms of public writing? How well does writing reflect reading practices, linguistic practices, and assertions of group identity? What happens when a people is no longer is able to read the signs that appear its public spaces? What might public writing reveal about what some people wish to remember and also what they hope to forget?
Students will also be encouraged to develop projects for presentation at a conference or publication in an undergraduate research journal. Examples of topics to be examined could include surveys of street signage using Google Street View, examinations of shifts in language use on grave markers, and studies of how writing appears on clothing, coins, or other media, etc.
Prof. Hakala will assist students in requesting sources through UB Libraries, securing funding to visit Asian Studies library collections, and preparing a presentation at a research conference or paper for publication in a journal. Students interested in this project will need to read some introductory works on public writing and epigraphy in Asia and demonstrate proficiency with bibliography software (e.g., EndNote, Bookends, Zotero) before beginning this project.
Project outcome
- Visits to partner institutions
- Conference presentation at an undergraduate research conference (e.g., Pittsburgh-Area Asia Consortium Undergraduate Conference, Rustgi Undergraduate Conference on South Asia, etc.)
- Publication of research in an undergraduate research journal
- Development of new syllabi on public writing and literacy in Asia
Project details
| Length of commitment | Variable based on student interest |
| Start time | Anytime |
| In-person, remote, or hybrid? | Hybrid |
| Level of collaboration | Individual or small group project |
| Benefits | Academic credit |
| Who is eligible | All undergraduate students with an intermediate or greater proficiency in an Asian language |
Core partners
Project mentor
Walter Hakala
Associate Professor
Asian Studies and English
Start the project
- Email the project mentor using the contact information above to express your interest and get approval to work on the project. (Here are helpful tips on how to contact a project mentor.)
- After you receive approval from the mentor to start this project, click the button to start the digital badge. (Learn more about ELN's digital badge options.)
Preparation activities
Once you begin the digital badge series, you will have access to all the necessary activities and instructions. Your mentor has indicated they would like you to also complete the specific preparation activities below. Please reference this when you get to Step 2 of the Preparation Phase.
- Meet with Molly Poremski, Asian Studies subject librarian, to learn about Asian Studies library resources and bibliography software
- Read the chapter "Previous Approaches to the Linguistic Landscape: An Overview" in Peter Backhaus' Linguistic Landscapes: A Comparative Study of Urban Multilingualism in Tokyo (Clevedon: Multilingual Matters, 2007)
Keywords
Asian Studies and English