Click for video: Hi! I enjoy teaching linguistics as an introduction to the study of language, communication, and meaning. Welcome to my classroom at Santa Monica College!

I'm a sociocultural linguist and linguistic anthropologist with a focus on language, race, and popular culture in the African Diaspora. I have expertise in multi-country ethnography, intercultural communication, classroom observation, and stakeholder engagement. 

📌 Languages I research and study: Swahili, Spanish, Arabic, African American Language (AAL). 

 Using methods of observation, description, and critical discourse analysis, I join with people in real life and on the Internet--in their homes, and places of work and learning--to understand who they are and how they see the world.

📌I teach with a focus on equity, justice, and local community engagement.
 
My 2021 forthcoming book is an ode to viral Black language: 
Zombies Speak Swahili: Race, Horror, and Sci-Fi from Mexico to Tanzania and Hollywood (Oxford University Press). 

I'm also co-editor of the 2019 multi-disciplinary anthology on race and the body, Embodied Difference: Divergent Bodies in Public Discourse (Lexington Press).
​📌 Now available in paperback!

#LanguageStory is a video series and blog I created to discuss people-centered perspectives on communication, intercultural learning, and the impact of anthropological research.

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Click for more about my previous seminar's digital exhibit on the ZOMBIE.

In 2021, I was awarded a Verilogue research grant on racial equity in healthcare, with co-author Debi Thomas, MD.

Portfolio

​More teaching & research photos and video on Instagram  @jamieisjames