{"id":6317,"date":"2019-04-16T16:59:06","date_gmt":"2019-04-16T16:59:06","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/jsis.washington.edu\/southasia\/?p=6317"},"modified":"2020-06-16T22:40:07","modified_gmt":"2020-06-16T22:40:07","slug":"chris-diamond-accepts-faculty-position-at-australian-national-university","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/jsis.washington.edu\/southasia\/news\/chris-diamond-accepts-faculty-position-at-australian-national-university\/","title":{"rendered":"Chris Diamond accepts faculty position at Australian National University"},"content":{"rendered":"
\n

\"\"<\/a>“I don\u2019t know if it\u2019s because of being on the West Coast or the cooling effect of the rain, but there is a relaxed and collegial atmosphere here at UW.\u201d<\/em><\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n

For most scholars, one our greatest academic challenges is pursuing a second language for the purpose of supporting individual research interests or program requirements.\u00a0 Chris Diamond isn\u2019t like most scholars though, because the complexities of South Asian languages are his forte.\u00a0 Chris\u2019 pursuit of South Asian languages at the UW culminates with a floppy cap this year, the designation of Doctor of Philosophy in South Asian Languages and Literature will soon join his signature line.<\/p>\n

Chris has accepted a position as lecturer of Hindi Language and Literature at the Australian National University (ANU) in Canberra, Australia.\u00a0 The position is equivalent to an assistant professorship in the US.\u00a0 According to Chris, Australia is actively trying to increase the level of Hindi language training across the country as part of an initiative to sponsor South Asian language learning, much like the South Asian Summer Language Institute at Wisconsin-Madison.<\/p>\n

ANU is the only institution in the Southern Hemisphere offering a Hindi major.\u00a0 This fact coupled with Chris\u2019 desire to incite meaningful change inspires him to seek new ways to teach South Asian Languages.\u00a0 He hopes to develop new methodologies for South Asian language and area studies learning at an institution that welcomes innovative pedagogies.<\/p>\n

Our Pacific Northwest weather and inclusive social atmosphere added to Chris\u2019 enjoyment at the University of Washington.\u00a0 When asked to identify the most rewarding aspects of his experience at the UW, Chris returned, \u201cI don\u2019t know if it\u2019s because of being on the West Coast or the cooling effect of the rain, but there is a relaxed and collegial atmosphere here at UW. It\u2019s such a natural feature of most of our experiences here at UW, that we don\u2019t realize is so special and not universal when we go elsewhere.\u201d\u00a0 This congenial outlook on life made Chris an effective language TA and research contributor in the Asian Languages and Literature department.<\/p>\n

Chris was supported by numerous FLAS awards and distinguished fellowships throughout his edification process.\u00a0 He had originally hoped to chase a career in music as an undergrad at SOAS, until he added a Hindi element.\u00a0 A year in Jaipur, India in the AIIS Hindi program, a requirement for the Hindi major at SOAS, inspired Chris to realize his best academic path.<\/p>\n

He exclaims how his experience in India found \u201cthat the nitty-gritty features of grammar and the diversity of South Asian literatures were my real passions. \u00a0It all kind of snowballed while I was here at UW and I ended up learning Sanskrit, Bengali, and Persian.\u201d\u00a0 This is how it happens for most scholars who study South Asia – one language is never enough.<\/p>\n

We\u2019ll miss his walking Hindi dictionary abilities and jovial approach to inclusion within the department.\u00a0 However, our academic community is globally connected, so we haven\u2019t seen the last of Chris.\u00a0 Please join us in congratulating Chris Diamond\u2019s diligence and commitment.<\/p>\n

\n

Interview with Chris Diamond<\/h2>\n

South Asia Center Graduate Student Assistant Brook Alongi interviewed Chris about his new job. Below is their exchange.<\/em><\/p>\n

Brook Alongi (BA): What do you look forward to the most about your new move?
\n<\/i>
\nChris Diamond (CD): I am looking forward to navigating and figuring out a different educational model and approach to language and South Asian area studies. I got my BA at SOAS in the UK, am here at UW now, and so I\u2019m looking forward to taking all of my experience with me to see how they do things down under. The Australian government has recently invested a lot in promoting \u201cAsian education\u201d on the national level to re-orient Australia to its Asian neighbors. India and South Asia have not had such a sharp focus as East Asia has had for the Australian government, but there is increasing interest at looking at Australian-South and Southeast Asian relations. ANU is the only institution in the Southern Hemisphere where one can major in Hindi. I am excited to contribute to the increased interest in learning South Asian languages down under.<\/p>\n

BA: Can you identify the most rewarding aspects of your experience at the UW?
\n<\/i>
\nCD: The UW South Asian Studies community is large, welcoming, and well-connected. Although my time at UW was based in the Department of Asian Languages & Literature, I never felt disconnected from students and faculty working on different aspects of South Asia elsewhere. I don\u2019t know if it\u2019s because of being on the West Coast or the cooling effect of the rain, but there is a relaxed and collegial atmosphere here at UW. It\u2019s such a natural feature of most of our experiences here at UW, that we don\u2019t realize is so special and not universal when we go elsewhere.<\/p>\n

BA: Why did you choose to pursue languages as your academic field?
\n<\/i>
\nCD: I actually started out as a wannabe musician\/artist. I earned my BA at SOAS in Indian Classical Music and Hindi. The language aspect was tagged on as a supplement for my studies and because I had always enjoyed learning languages (having done French, Spanish, Latin, and Chinese at school). As I progressed through my degree, I realized that music, while a lifelong passion, was not going to be a viable career for me, I turned to the language and literature half of my degree with renewed determination. After a year at AIIS in Jaipur on the Hindi program (a required feature of the BA in Hindi at SOAS), I decided that the nitty-gritty features of grammar and the diversity of South Asian literatures were my real passions. As anyone working with South Asia can tell you, one language is never enough. It all kind of snowballed while I was here at UW and I ended up learning Sanskrit, Bengali, and Persian.<\/p>\n

<\/div>\n
BA: Your response discusses the desire to develop a pedagogy specific to South Asian languages and area studies.\u00a0 Can you elaborate on where you see opportunities for change within the field?\u00a0 How will your efforts affect those opportunities for the greater academic community?<\/i><\/div>\n
\u00a0<\/i><\/div>\n
\n
CD: In terms of South Asian language teaching, there is a big push in Australia to develop concurrent online and in-person curricula, where distance and on-campus students work together for at least portions of their classroom time. For \u201cLess Commonly Taught Languages\u201d (LCTLs), there has always been the problem of enrollment and the problem of reach so online teaching is seen as way to start solving the problem. The Australian National University in collaboration with Open Universities Australia, has made sure that a full range of courses are available for languages like Hindi to teach students at other institutions and individuals globally.\u00a0 There is a similar drive here in the US. SASLi (the South Asia Summer Language Institute) at the University of Wisconsin – Madison, is also pushing to develop online and hybrid courses for distance students. All of these efforts are in their beginning stages, so I\u2019m really excited to be involved with and learn new ways of teaching the languages that I love so much at this stage.<\/div>\n<\/div>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

“I don\u2019t know if it\u2019s because of being on the West Coast or the cooling effect of the rain, but there is a relaxed and collegial atmosphere here at UW.\u201d For most scholars, one our greatest academic challenges is pursuing a second language for the purpose of supporting individual research interests or program requirements.\u00a0 Chris<\/p>\n

Read more<\/a><\/div>\n","protected":false},"author":561,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[3,1],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-6317","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-news","category-uncategorized"],"acf":[],"yoast_head":"\nChris Diamond accepts faculty position at Australian National University - South Asia Center<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/jsis.washington.edu\/southasia\/news\/chris-diamond-accepts-faculty-position-at-australian-national-university\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Chris Diamond accepts faculty position at Australian National University - 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