Happening now: my next Zoom series!

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Endangered Alphabets in Eight Scripts

 

After the success of my live Open House Zoom series over the summer, I’m going to be offering an autumn live Zoom series called Endangered Alphabets in Eight Scripts.

Each talk, which will last about 10-12 minutes (if I can rein in my enthusiasms), will tell the story of one minority script, and what we can learn from it about culture, language, power, identity, and writing itself.

I can’t schedule them to suit everyone in the world, alas, but I am staggering the talks so as many people as possible will be able to sign on. Sunday talks will run at 9 p.m. EDT; Wednesday talks at 1 p.m. EDT.

Registration is required in advance. There will be time for Q&A but no quizzes afterwards, worse luck. I do love quizzes….

 

Cherokee: An Act of Intellectual Imagination October 21, 1:00 PM EDT.

It’s almost impossible to overstate what a radical and astonishing act it was for a Cherokee to create a writing system for his people. But what does it tell us about writing, and why scripts become endangered?

This talk was recorded and can be seen here:

 

 

Balinese: Writing as a Sacred Act                                    October 25, 9:00 PM EDT.

The Balinese script is not just beautiful, and revered—and endangered. It also offers the insight that writing in itself may be a sacred and spiritual act.

This talk was recorded and can be seen at

https://youtu.be/Dh-owmbc9GM.

 

Nüshu: The Women’s Script                                October 28, 1:00 PM EDT.

Why might women, or in fact any subculture, want their own writing system—and why might they want to keep it secret?

Register in advance for this meeting:
https://us02web.zoom.us/meeting/register/tZEkdeysqTMqH9P9tZnO2YMg6sCx97RKHe4X
After registering, you will receive a confirmation email containing information about joining the meeting.

 

Tifinagh: The Once and Future Alphabet                     November 1, 6:00 PM EDT.

The Amazigh script of North Africa is one of the few writing systems of the world to be so important to its people it was put at the heart of their flag. And one of the few to be exiled for centuries but now be appearing in schoolbooks.

This talk was recorded and can be viewed at

https://youtu.be/x_SKZEd5jFo.

 

 

Adlam: New Letters                                                           November 4, 1:00 PM EDT.

In the past century, about 100 new scripts have been created for use by their culture. Adlam is the only one that was invented by boys. This talk was recorded and can be seen here:

 

Mandaic: The Mystic Word                                  November 8, 6:00 PM EDT.

Perhaps the most interesting alphabet in the world, the Mandaic script is so important to its community that every letter has a mystical meaning.

Register in advance for this meeting:
https://us02web.zoom.us/meeting/register/tZAucOmqrjooGtFy7YIyS667bUFpyl6vLRd8
After registering, you will receive a confirmation email containing information about joining the meeting.

 

Mongolian: A Clear and Present Danger                       November 11, 1:00 PM EDT.

The nation of Mongolia has just decided to overthrow the Cyrillic alphabet imposed on it by Russia, and reintroduce their own traditional script. In China, exactly the opposite is happening.
Register in advance for this meeting:
https://us02web.zoom.us/meeting/register/tZAsfuiqqT0vHNG39pvkaK3F0KR9ArTyEqnL
After registering, you will receive a confirmation email containing information about joining the meeting.

 

Baybayin: The Way Ahead?                                 November 15, 6:00 PM EDT.

The Philippines are the only nation in the world to introduce legislation to preserve, protect, and promote their several traditional writing systems.

Register in advance for this meeting:
https://us02web.zoom.us/meeting/register/tZwkc-6upjssHdABG6RrxfavXH_pFKDzJEm4
After registering, you will receive a confirmation email containing information about joining the meeting.