Wednesday, February 17, 2010

The University of North Carolina Wilmington Honors Scholars Spring Speaker Series will feature linguist David Harrison and filmmaker Seth Kramer's acclaimed documentary The Linguists at 7 p.m., Wednesday, Feb. 24 at the Burney Center. The event, which is free and open to the public, will include a discussion and book and DVD signing after the film.

The Linguists follows Harrison and Gregory Anderson, scientists racing to document languages on the verge of extinction. Their around-the-world journey takes them deep into the heart of the cultures, knowledge and communities at stake. Scientists estimate that of the 7,000 languages in the world, half will be gone by the end of this century. On average, one language disappears every two weeks.

Harrison is assistant professor of linguistics at Swarthmore College where he also teaches courses in Anthropology and Cognitive Science. He is the director of research and cofounder of The Living Tongues Institute for Endangered Languages. He received his doctorate from Yale University in 2000. His dissertation describes the language of Tuvan nomads of South Siberia, where he spent a year in the field living with nomads, learning the language and absorbing the culture. He has carried out field work in Russia, Mongolia, the Philippines, India and Bolivia, and with Native Americans in the U.S. His recent book is "When Languages Die: The Extinction of Human Languages and the Erosion of Human Knowledge."

Seth Kramer has been producing, writing and directing award-winning documentaries for more than a decade. He co-founded Ironbound Films in 2003 and co-directed, co-shot and co-edited The Linguists. Ironbound Films is notable for such productions as Moment in Time, a short documentary that premiered as the centerpiece to ESPN's Olympic coverage, and the America Rebuilds series for PBS, which investigated the engineering, business and politics of reconstruction at the World Trade Center site. Kramer was nominated for an Emmy Award for Outstanding Historical Programming for Resistance: Untold Stories of Jewish Partisans (PBS, 2002).

Media contacts:
Kate Bruce, Honors Scholars Director, bruce@uncw.edu or 910-962-3374

Bo Dean, Program Manager, deanb@uncw.edu or 910-962-4181