IGALA Elections 2021
International Gender and Language Association (IGALA)
election for Executive Board posts
Please see below for information about the candidates running for election to the IGALA Board.
Then, please click the button below to cast your vote!
Note that only current IGALA members are eligible to vote.
Please contact journals@equinoxpub.com if you need to check your membership status.
VICE-PRESIDENT (PRESIDENT-ELECT)
Denise Troutman
Michigan State University, USA
Bio: Denise Troutman is an Associate Professor in the Department of Writing, Rhetoric, and American Cultures and the Department of Linguistics. She is the winner of two Fulbright Awards (2001-2002; 2018-2019) and a 2003-2004 Postdoctoral Fellowship from the American Association of University Women (AAUW) Educational Foundation. From 2004-2007, Troutman served as Diversity Coordinator for the College of Arts and Letters. In 2017, the Center for Gender in Global Context awarded Troutman with the Inspirational Woman of the Year Award. Black Student Alliance, MSU’s Black student body, awarded Troutman with the 2018 Faculty of the Year Award, recognizing a faculty member who has shown exceptional dedication to the advancement of Black students. My scholarship has aimed to interject the experiences & perspectives of African American women into second and third wave approaches to the study of gender and language. Currently, I am working on interrogations of politeness/impoliteness within the African American speech community, which I have presented in special lectures and at conferences and which is the focus of my current book manuscript.
Statement: It would be my pleasure to serve in the role of Vice President/President-Elect. I have attended the plurality of IGALA conferences since the inception of IGALA and have regularly introduced graduate students to the organization due to intersections between their research and the aims of IGALA. Thus, I have been a regular, active IGALA supporter/participant. One key aim that I have established, in the VP role, is to interject and represent some positions and voices of women of color, as well as increasing their visibility and engagement in the organization. I am willing to serve the organization in the capacities most needed, especially assisting the president and secretary in monitoring the IGALA website, identifying new links, documents and information to be posted on it, and liaising with the Communications Officer.
SECRETARY
Dietha Koster
University of Münster, Germany
Bio: Dietha aims to advance gender equality in education, as education is the key to a more gender fair future. She lectures in gender linguistics, multilingualism and postcolonial education at the University of Münster (Germany). Her current research focuses on how textbooks, publishers, and educational professionals navigate intersectional gender representations in the classroom. Did you know, for example, that current language textbooks hardly portray any people of color, LGBT characters or women in leading roles? Dietha is active in (inter)national networks and science communication. She regularly writes for cultural magazines and gives (awarded) lectures at events for educational professionals.
Statement: Ever since I attended my first IGALA conference in Botswana in 2018, I have felt enriched by being part of this community. I have learned from the discussions at the IGALA conferences, the exchange with international colleagues, and the debates in the journal Gender & Language. Through contributing to IGALA´s board activities as Secretary, I aim to ensure that IGALA will continue to thrive. I will draw, inter alia, from my experience with partaking in European, interdisciplinary research networks (e.g., Marie Curie). I welcome your vote and look forward to actively support IGALA´s goals and serve its members.
COMMUNICATIONS OFFICER
Aimee Bailey
De Montfort University, Leicester, UK
Bio: I am a Lecturer in English Language at De Montfort University, UK. My research makes use of queer theory, feminist theory, corpus linguistics and (multimodal) critical discourse analysis to explore language, gender and sexuality. I recently completed my PhD at the University of Nottingham with a thesis examining the construction of normative discourses in online advice texts aimed at lesbian and bisexual women.
Statement: I am enthusiastic about the role of Communications Officer and believe I would be well-placed to continue the great work that has been done promoting IGALA and Gender and Language through social media, the mailing list and the website. As an early career researcher, I believe I could also offer a fresh perspective, and would be keen on expanding IGALA’s presence to new social media channels such as Instagram. I have two years’ experience of professional marketing and communications roles outside of academia, and would love the opportunity to put these skills to good use, coordinating regular communications and helping to grow the membership.
Scott Burnett
University of Gothenburg, Sweden
Bio: I teach digital communications as an associate senior lecturer at the University of Gothenburg in Sweden. My research focuses on the reproduction of racial and gendered hierarchies in environmentalist discourse, reactionary white masculinities in online ‘manosphere’ spaces, and critical approaches to diversity in organizational contexts. My academic career started after working for the South African youth-focused HIV-prevention and leadership programme, loveLife. I am a frequent contributor to debates on racism and other oppressive social systems in the South African context. My work has been published in leading academic journals including Men and Masculinities, Sexualities, and Discourse, Context & Media.
Statement: As a member of IGALA since 2016, I deeply value this network for its crucial, critical research, and for its commitment to the development of its members. As Communications Officer I would build on the excellent work done to build a presence on key online channels, through regularly profiling research from diverse geopolitical contexts, including that which is published in Gender and Language. The advance of patriarchal, anti-genderist, and heterosexualist discourses in some areas, and the sedimentation of a politics of recognition that does not challenge neoliberal hegemonies in others, makes our work as a network especially urgent and relevant.
GRADUATE STUDENT REPRESENTATIVE
Hanna Bruns
University of Bonn, Germany
Bio: Hanna Bruns (she/her) completed her M.A. in ‘Applied Linguistics’ at the University of Bonn, Germany, in 2019. She is currently working as a research assistant at the University of Bonn, where she is also pursuing her PhD on the topic of diachronic sociolinguistic changes in the use of, and attitudes towards, gender-neutral language in English and German. Her research interests lie with queer linguistics, CDA, and language change as well as research ethics. Her recent publications centre around the topics of national-socialist metaphors in the discourse of a German right-wing party and socio-linguistic changes as a consequence of democratisation.
Statement: Being a graduate student myself, while also having experience with organising several conferences and workshops and also presenting my research at them, I am in an ideal position to provide a valuable link between the two: I know which resources are most important for students and can provide insights on how to further one’s academic knowledge and career. I am passionate about helping my peers empower each other in order to achieve their goals. I believe that topics such as responsible research practices, innovative methods, and fruitful networking are especially relevant to the professional and intellectual development of graduate students.
Koki Kapa
University of Witwatersrand, Johannesburg, South Africa
Bio: Koki Kapa (she/her) is a Sociolinguist from Johannesburg, South Africa, whose research is broadly situated at the intersection of Language, Gender and Sexuality and Linguistic Landscapes. She is currently a PhD candidate at the University of the Western Cape, South Africa. Her dissertation is anchored in Multimodal Critical Discourse Analysis, as she explores questions about communication, Affect and Embodiment. She is currently employed as an Associate Lecturer at the University of the Witwatersrand.
Statement: I would like to run for this position as I think my positionality, both geographically and socially, may offer a different kind of perspective to the association. I would like to work on expanding the geographical representation of grad students in the association, and to work on engaging grad students in general. I am also interested in being involved and learning more about the more formal/behind-the-scenes aspects of IGALA and the field.
Rory (Aurore) Potalivo Richardson-Todd
Université Catholique de Louvain, Belgium
Bio: Aurore (aka Rory) Richardson-Todd is a PhD Student and Teaching Assistant at the Université catholique de Louvain (Belgium). Her/their background is in sociocultural linguistics (Goldsmiths, University of London) and she/they were the administrative coordinator of the first MA in Gender Studies in French-speaking Belgium, before taking up a Teaching Assistant position in September 2017. Her/their research focuses on language ideologies & gender, having carried out an ethnography in the English as foreign-language (EFL) classroom at secondary-school level, in French-speaking Belgium. She is/they are currently co-president of UCLouvain’s Scientific Body (CORSCI), counting around 2,200 scientists.
Statement: After having spent the past two years as a Scientific Staff Representative, I’ve had the chance to work closely with various institutional actors on matters that are crucial to researchers and students alike. I am now eager to take on new challenges and build connections in the research sphere. Language & Gender is not so well-known where I'm currently based, and I know how isolating it can feel to be one of the very few people working in the field. I would love to be able to put my skills to good use to foster a welcoming & inclusive environment for IGALA's graduate student community!
Marco Teng Wang
Hong Kong Baptist University, Hong Kong
Bio: Marco Teng Wang is a Ph.D. student in the Department of English Language and Literature at Hong Kong Baptist University. His research interests lie at the intersection of language learning, gender, sexuality and ideology. He is a student member of the Creativity, Self and Society niche research group of Faculty of Arts at HKBU, where he also serves as the program curator for the group’s first research postgraduate conference. Marco received his bachelor degree in English from Jinan University, China and master degree in Visual Culture Studies from The Chinese University of Hong Kong. Marco had 4 years of English teaching experience in a college in Chengdu, Sichuan and 2 years of English-Chinese translation and education administration experience in the Chengdu government.
Statement: I am running for IGALA’s graduate student representative, because I foresee my active role on the position could not only help connect my academic interests with a dynamic scholarly network, but also create an opportunity for me to bring about positive impacts to the student community and IGALA in general. If I was elected, I would surely speak for the students and ensure the dynamism of the student member community. I would also work closely with colleagues to ensure the smooth implementation of students activities and the successful delivery of student services. I would be honoured to serve as IGALA’s graduate student representative.
ORDINARY MEMBER
Alwin C. Aguirre
University of the Philippines Diliman, Philippines
Bio: Alwin C. Aguirre teaches at the Department of the Broadcast Communication, College of Mass Communication, University of the Philippines Diliman. He teaches media studies, theory and criticism, research, and critical discourse studies. He is currently focused on projects that deal with the intersection of discourse, multimodality, and affect. Recently, he was part of a National Research Council of the Philippines (NRCP)-funded research that examined feelings, attitudes, and perceptions toward the Covid-19 pandemic where he led the qualitative section that employed a qualitative sentiment analysis of social media discourses on said global health crisis.
Statement: IGALA 11 was a welcome opportunity for me to focus once more on my feminist theoretical and analytic roots, the foundation of my academic training and interests. The position of ordinary member in the IGALA board is a way for me to pursue this scholarly path and take part in broadening the ambit of the organization in terms of representing and advancing pertinent perspectives in developing post-colonial nations, such as the Philippines, which continue to grapple with both global and local issues of power and inequities along with liberating and subversive potentialities in complex intersections of discourse, gender, and sexuality.
Thu Ha
Nanyang Technological University, Singapore
Bio: Thu Ha is a Research Fellow at the National Institute of Education, Nanyang Technological University, Singapore. For her PhD dissertation (National University of Singapore, 2013), she explored gender representation in print media in the context of Vietnam. She has always been interested in research that promotes bias-free social practices, where people are equally treated with respect, regardless of their gender, sexuality, marital status, race, age, or cultural affinity. Her research interests include gender and language, critical discourse analysis and multiliteracies.
Statement: Being introduced by Dr. Michelle Lazar, I would like to be nominated for the post of Ordinary Member of the IGALA Board for the period of 2021-2023. I would like to join the IGALA Board in the hope that I can contribute to the work of the association and support the stronger development of the Gender and Language research community worldwide.
Angela Zottola
University of Turin, Italy
Bio: I am a Researcher in English Language and Linguistics at the University of Turin (Italy). I received my PhD in Mind, Gender & Language – Language, Linguistics and ESP from the University of Naples Federico II (Italy) in 2018. Before moving to Turin, I was first a Research Fellow at the University of Nottingham (UK) and at Lancaster University (UK), and then a Teaching Fellow at Aston University (UK). My research interests include (Critical) Discourse Analysis, Corpus Linguistics Queer Linguistics and Ecolinguistics applied to the investigation of the media, including mainly newspapers in different languages and social media platforms. I am particularly fascinated by the way in which identities are constructed linguistically in a variety of contexts, with a focus on gender identity and sexuality. Currently, I am exploring three different areas 1) trans linguistics concentrating on media representations of trans identities; 2) digital activism and language, gender and sexuality; 3) gender identity and sexuality within political discourse with a focus on the popularization and use of the phrase “gender ideology”.
Statement: I value the role of academia as a mean of social change and consider this aspect in my work as an academic. I have been trying to create a space for this academic field in Italy where it can still be considered a niche. I have applied for the recognition of the association’s journal, Gender and Language, to be recognized by the Ministry of Education in the list of official academic journals in Italy in the hope that this will encourage more Italian scholars to submit their publications to the journal and promote work in this field especially among early-career researchers. Additionally, my involvement with other national and international organizations, such as the Italian Association for English Studies, would allow me to circulate the mission of IGALA even further, in an attempt to promote the creation of research networks and encourage cross-disciplinary research in language, gender and sexuality. I am thrilled about running for the position of ordinary member as it would be a great opportunity to learn from my peers but most importantly put my skills and scholarly expertise at the service of a community with which I share not only research interests but also ethics, values, and practices.
Overview of the timeline for elections:
June 25 – Call for nominations
July 25 – Deadline for nominations
August 1 – Announcement of nominees and beginning of voting
September 10 – Deadline for voting
End of September – Announcement of the new IGALA Board