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.<\/p>\n
His talk, \u201cDo You Hear \u2018Gay\u2019?\u201d 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.<\/p>\n
In his talk, part of Furman’s Cultural Life Program, Evans-Sago will explore perceptions and evaluations of sexual orientation based on speech.<\/p>\n
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.<\/p>\n
\u201cTravis used his love of language to pursue a field that involves the study of sexuality,\u201d said Furman Professor of Asian Studies and History Savita Nair. \u201cWe tend to make assumptions based on how someone speaks\u2013whether it is the speed, accent or cadence of speech, we unconsciously draw conclusions about the speaker.\u201d<\/p>\n
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.<\/p>\n
Evans-Sago holds a master\u2019s degree from Middlebury College in Spanish with a specialization in literature and a master\u2019s from Indiana University in Hispanic linguistics. His work has been published in \u201cThe Routledge Handbook of Spanish Language Teaching\u201d and the Journal of Ibero-Romance Creoles.<\/p>\n