Evans-Sago: ‘Do You Hear ‘Gay’?’

Furman University alumnus Travis Evans-Sago will speak on the Furman campus Thursday, March 14, at 4:30 p.m. in McEachern Lecture Hall of Furman Hall.

His talk, “Do You Hear ‘Gay’?” is free and open to the public and is sponsored by the Furman Pride Alliance, and the Asian studies and modern languages departments at Furman.

In his talk, part of Furman’s Cultural Life Program, Evans-Sago will explore perceptions and evaluations of sexual orientation based on speech.

A 2009 Furman graduate, Evans-Sago double-majored in Spanish and Asian studies, focusing on Mandarin Chinese. At Indiana University Bloomington, he is completing a Ph.D. program in Hispanic linguistics.

“Travis used his love of language to pursue a field that involves the study of sexuality,” said Furman Professor of Asian Studies and History Savita Nair. “We tend to make assumptions based on how someone speaks–whether it is the speed, accent or cadence of speech, we unconsciously draw conclusions about the speaker.”

Nair, who will moderate the presentation, says Evans-Sago will discuss some of the main questions, debates and problems in linguistic studies of queer speech and perceptions.

Evans-Sago holds a master’s degree from Middlebury College in Spanish with a specialization in literature and a master’s from Indiana University in Hispanic linguistics. His work has been published in “The Routledge Handbook of Spanish Language Teaching” and the Journal of Ibero-Romance Creoles.

For more information, contact Savita Nair at 864-294-3332, and savita.nair@furman.edu. Or contact the Furman News and Media Relations office at 864-294-3107.