Medart Lecture Series: Naomi Susan Baron, Social Media Expert – April 6
3/20/09
Are you all a-Twitter about Facebook and other social media? What is it really doing to our communication skills? Maryville University’s upcoming guest speaker has answers.
Naomi Susan Baron, Ph.D., will discuss “Control Freaks: How Language Technologies are Reshaping Future Communication,” at 7:30 p.m. on April 6 in the Maryville University Auditorium. Her talk is sponsored by Maryville’s 2009 Medart Lecture Series. Baron’s latest book is titled, Always On: Language in an Online and Mobile World.
A professor of linguistics, Baron is also co-director of the TESOL (Teachers of English to Speakers of Other Languages) Program in the Department of Language and Foreign Studies at American University.
Baron is principally interested in computer-mediated communication, writing and technology, language in social context, language acquisition and the history of English. A Guggenheim Fellow, Fulbright Fellow and past president of the Semiotic Society of America, Baron has authored seven books.
“Medart lecturers have all contributed in a meaningful and lasting way to our understanding of contemporary society,” said Germaine Murray, Ph.D., professor of English and director of the endowed program. “Each year we invite academic, scholarly and artistic figures who elevate the intellectual and cultural life of our time.”
The Medart Lecture Series was founded by the late Josephine Medart, Trustee Emeritus of Maryville University and former member of the Alumni Association Board of Directors and the University Board of Trustees.
Maryville University <https://www.maryville.edu/> , founded in 1872, is a four-year, private university located in west St. Louis County. Ranked by U.S. News & World Report as one of America’s Best Colleges in the Masters-Midwest category, Maryville students may choose from 50 academic programs, including degrees at the bachelor’s, master’s and doctoral levels. Among recent graduates, 94 percent are employed or attending graduate school. More than 15,000 Maryville alumni work and live in the St. Louis region.
Contact: Martin Parkes, Associate Vice President, Marketing and Community Relations; 314.529.9340