“Vernacular and Cosmopolitan Languages: A Global Conversation”

This symposium will develop a comparative perspective on the dynamics of bilingualism, the rise of vernacular and cosmopolitan languages, and the relation between imperial and colonized languages or classical and local languages. Sheldon Pollock will be present to hear the response of various UM scholars to his book, The Language of the Gods in the World of Men. Respondents will include Professors Ben Fortson (Classical Studies, University of Michigan) and Sean Pue (Linguistic, Michigan State University), Karla Mallette (Romance Languages and Near Eastern Studies), Michael Bonner (Near Eastern Studies), Alison Cornish (Romance Languages), George Hoffman (Romance Lanuages), Sara Ahbel-Rappe (Classical Studies). This event is co-sponsored by the Department of Comparative Literature’s “Year of Comparison.”