PhD student in Linguistics

What degree are you working on? How long have you been studying in this program?
Working on a PhD in Linguistics since 2017

What are your research interests and/or career goals?
My research focuses on several avenues of sociolinguistic analysis of Military Discourse. As an Air Force veteran, my military experiences are critical as I engage with critical discourse analysis and critical narrative analysis to examine themes of power, ideology and discursive influences on military and veteran identity. My career goal is to return to federal service, with the aim of using my sociolinguistic training and skill set within a government research entity, such as supporting veteran research with the Department of Veteran Affairs or continuing my current employment/research with the US Army Corps of Engineers.

What are you working on right now?
Currently, I am a part of several different endeavors. My recent research explores the ways in which American military veterans navigate the discursive space between military identity and the post-service self. In my role as a Research Assistant at the US Army Corps of Engineers, I am immersed in research concerning the human behavioral element of energy usage and development of a suite of software that directly affects the warfighter down range. At UIUC, I am the current student lead of the Language and Society Discussion Group and I am the co-creator and current Chair of the Sociolinguistics Symposium (SOSY). I also currently serve as the UIUC student ambassador for the Linguistic Society of America. In November, I will be presenting my research on the role of the linguistic production of ideology in the survival of the United States Air Force at the IUS Biennial Conference.

Why should someone study Linguistics/TESL at Illinois?
The Linguistics program at UIUC is well-rounded and rigorous with innovative and supportive faculty. My outstanding advisor, Professor Rakesh Bhatt, has unwaveringly encouraged my work as a military sociolinguist and actively ensures that I am gaining the tools that I will need to be successful both now and after graduation.

Contact: sarahc4 at illinois dot edu

Posted on 10/20/19