Specialization:
Language revitalization in Indigenous language contexts, long-term effects of language shift on community and community members, the role of archival documentation in dormant language revitalization, 2nd-language acquisition in Indigenous language-learning contexts.
Bio:
Born in Santa Barbara and raised in Goleta, James is a veteran of the U.S. Army. He has a master’s degree in TESOL from Temple University, Japan Campus, and spent a number of years living and teaching in Tokyo and Yokohama, Japan. He is the former chairman of the Barbareño Band of Chumash Indians, the 501c3 organization representing the interests of the Indigenous peoples of the coastal areas of southern Santa Barbara County, including the ancestral homelands where the UCSB campus is located. Currently, James is a 6th-year graduate student in the UCSB Department of Linguistics, where he studies topics and issues related to the revitalization of the 'alapkaswa' language (also known as "Barbareño Chumash").