NMLWiki:Current events

See the NML Events page for the Museum's schedule of talks on the languages of the current exhibit.

Our next event is part of the Amelia C. Murdoch 2013 Speaker Series:

Postmonolingualism and the Polyglot Urge: What It Means and What’s Left Behind Sunday April 21, 2013 - 2-4 pm - Presented by Michael Erard, Ph.D.

Sometimes it seems that learning another language -- and sometimes several languages -- is growing more visible, if not actually becoming more popular as a pursuit. In his book about hyperpolyglots, Babel No More, Dr. Erard explored the neuroscience behind language learning talent and language accumulation. In this talk, he explores the culture and politics that shapes the urge to change one's brain, one's self, and one's status in the world through learning foreign languages even when one isn't part of a local multilingual community. [File: Michael Erard] Michael Erard is an author, linguist, and senior researcher at the FrameWorks Institute. His second book, Babel No More: The Search for the World's Most Extraordinary Language Learners, was published in 2012, and is currently working on a third book about alphabet makers in the modern world. He is also a member of the Museum's Board of Trustees.