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DR. ARTHUR K. SPEARS is affiliated with The City University of New
York (CUNY). At The City College, he is Professor and Chair in the
Anthropology Department and Director of the Black Studies Program. At The
Graduate Center, he is professor in both the Linguistics and the
Anthropology Programs. Dr. Spears is currently President (2007-2009) of the
Society for Pidgin and Creole Linguistics, the largest international body
devoted to promoting the study of contact languages.
His Ph.D. in Linguistics was earned at the University
of California, San Diego. From Northwestern University,
he received an M.A. in Linguistics; and, from The Johns Hopkins University
School of Advanced International Studies, he received an M.A. with
Distinction in International Relations. He earned a B.A. with Honors in
French, Spanish, and Political Science from Kansas University.
Prof. Spears works in four
languages (English, French, Spanish, and Portuguese), conducting research
in the areas of (1) African-American English; (2) pidgin and creole
languages, focusing on Haitian and other French-related creoles (3)
language and education; and (4) race and ideology.
He is the founder and first
editor of Transforming Anthropology,
the journal of the Association of Black Anthropologists, a unit of the
American Anthropological Association.
Prof. Spears’s recent
books include The Structure and
Status of Pidgins and Creoles (co-editor with D. Winford; John
Benjamins, 1997), Race and Ideology:
Language, Symbolism, and Popular Culture (editor; Wayne State
University Press, 1999), Black
Linguistics: Language, Society, and Politics in Africa and the Americas (co-editor;
Routledge, 2003), Black Language in
the English-Speaking Caribbean and U.S.: History, Structure, Use, and Education
(editor; Lexington/ Rowman & Littlefield, 2008), and The Haitian Creole Language: History,
Structure, Use, and Education (co-editor; Lexington, Rowman & Littlefield,
2008). Prof. Spears’s most recent book manuscript, Increasing Diversity in Introductory
Linguistics Courses (co-edited), is in the final stages of review.
Dr. Spears serves on the
editorial panels of leading journals and the Creole Language Library of
John Benjamins Publishing Co. He has served also as legal expert in court
cases involving race and the use of controversial words and symbolism.
Believing in the importance of disseminating
scholarship, he has presented information connected with his areas of
specialization through frequent media appearances on the British
Broadcasting Corporation (“The Story of English”), Black
Entertainment Television, Gil Noble’s current events talk show on
ABC, National Public Radio, WBAI, and Inner City Broadcasting’s WLIB,
among other media organizations.
[5-13-08]
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