FYI Multilingual landscape scavenguer hunt lauch at Rutgers

[Kate Riley]

Dear NYLAWG Colleagues,

I thought you all might be interested in the research2practice project that I and colleagues at Rutgers are launching this fall.  Read the launch letter below for details, but in a nutshell, it's a linguistic landscape scavenger hunt designed to introduce new students to their new community -- how and why various languages are used by whom in New Brunswick....  

We'd be happy to tell you more about how we put this together and/or report back on how it unfolds this semester.  Just let us know! 

Thanks!

Kate 

Dear colleagues,

We’re pleased to  announce our launch of Discover Multilingual New Brunswick, a city-wide scavenger hunt that invites participants to explore languages in public space.  This project is a collaboration among a group of interdisciplinary scholars at Rutgers including faculty and staff from Rutgers Global, the Department of Spanish and Portuguese, the Collaborative Center for Community Engagement, and the Department of Anthropology. Our scholarly and activist work engages language, space, and community and is part of university-wide efforts to raise awareness about linguistic diversity and language justice in our local community. 

Participants use a custom-built web app to navigate an interactive map, visit and learn about culturally and linguistically significant sites in New Brunswick, and complete brief surveys at each location. Each completed survey counts as an entry into a raffle to win a $50 RU Express Card.

We hope you'll consider sharing this opportunity with your students, colleagues, and networks. It’s designed to be fun, educational, and inclusive for participants from a range of backgrounds. The contest runs through December 1, 2025.

You can access and share the project by going to: go.rutgers.edu/dmnbmap or  by QR:

 

And follow us on Instagram at @multilingual_newbrunswick 

If you'd like more information, a draft message to share with students, or materials to share in your classes or offices, feel free to contact us at kendra.d...@rutgers.edu or kc...@rutgers.edu. 

Many thanks in advance for helping us amplify this initiative!

Warmly,

Kendra Dickinson

kendra.d...@rutgers.edu

Nicole Houser

nicole...@webster.ac.at

Claudio Mir

claud...@rutgers.edu

Kathleen Riley

kc...@rutgers.edu