Sunday, December 30, 2012

Women, Naming, and Academia

American Name Society Panel at Linguistic Society of America Annual Conference

Boston, Massachusetts, USA  -  3-6 January 2013

In conjunction with the L.S.A., the American Name Society (ANS) is pleased to announce its first call for critical papers on WOMEN, NAMING, AND ACADEMIA.

Despite the many new challenges which face scholars today, one has remained largely unchanged: making a substantive contribution to one's chosen field through a long and distinguished record of innovative teaching, researching, and publishing. In short, making a name for one's self. But what happens when that name changes through any one of life's many surprises (e.g. marriage, divorce, re-marriage, widowhood)? 
For many women in academia, the prospect of altering one’s name is not only personally, but also professionally daunting.  Does she keep her original name? Abbreviate the first but double or hyphenate the last? Should the name she uses at work be the same as the one she uses at home? What legal options does she have? Such questions are far from trivial.  As research has already demonstrated, the name a woman uses today can influence her career tomorrow. 



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