Cora Rolfes
Research Mentor(s): Andries Coetzee
Mentor Department: Linguistics
Authors: Cora Rolfes, Zora Tucker, Andries W. Coetzee
Session: Session 2 (10:00am – 10:50am)
Presentation Type: Poster 120
Abstract
This project seeks to analyze trends in demographic data of authors published in the linguistics research journal Language. Diversity and representation in academic publishing have become critical topics recently, especially within the social sciences. Previous social science research has highlighted disparities in authorship, particularly the underrepresentation of women and minorities. Unlike other fields in which this has been studied (political science, statistics, etc.), women and some minorities are more well-represented in linguistics, and this project therefore aims to determine whether similar patterns of underrepresentation also characterise academic publication in linguistics. In order to investigate the questions these findings have posed, a survey was conducted of more than 900 previous contributors to the journal Language, from 2015 to 2024. Authors were asked about their type of publication, employment status, country of employment, educational background, minority status, gender identity, sexual orientation, etc. Results of the survey will be compared to the demographic profile of linguistics departments in the United States. The goal of this project is to support the broader, ongoing dialogue of equity in academia, with the overall goal of promoting a more inclusive and representative linguistic community.
