Kira Hall facts for kids

Kira Hall is a highly respected professor of Linguistics and Anthropology at the University of Colorado at Boulder. She also leads the Program in Culture, Language, and Social Practice (CLASP) at the university.

Professor Hall's work mainly explores how language is used in India and the United States. She pays special attention to how language connects with people's identities and how they express themselves. A key part of her research looks at the language and social customs of Hindi-speaking Hijras in northern India. This group is often described as having a unique identity that is different from typical male or female categories.

She is well-known for her ideas on language and identity within sociocultural linguistics. This field studies how language and society influence each other. She also helped create a framework called "tactics of intersubjectivity" with Mary Bucholtz. This framework helps understand how people share meaning and understanding through language.

Kira Hall's Education Journey

Kira Hall earned her Ph.D. in linguistics in 1995. She studied at the University of California at Berkeley. Her main advisor for her Ph.D. was Robin Lakoff. Before joining the University of Colorado, she held teaching positions at other famous universities. These include Stanford, Yale, and Rutgers Universities.

Achievements and Roles

Awards and Recognition

Professor Hall has received several important awards for her work:

• College Scholar Award in 2014
• Provost Faculty Achievement Award in 2010
• Boulder Faculty Assembly Teaching Excellence Award in 2009
• Outstanding Faculty Advisor Award in 2004

Leadership Positions Held

Kira Hall has held many important roles in her field:

• President of the Society for Linguistic Anthropology since 2019.
• Professor in the Department of Linguistics at CU Boulder.
• Professor in the Department of Anthropology at CU Boulder.
• Associate Chair of Undergraduate Studies for the Linguistics department at CU Boulder.
• Affiliated faculty with the CU Boulder College of Media, Communication, and Information (CMCI).
• Affiliated faculty with the CU Boulder Department of Women and Gender Studies (WGST).
• Director of the CU Boulder Program in Culture, Language, and Social Practice.
• Director of the CU Boulder Literacy Practicum.

Key Publications

Professor Hall has written and edited many books and articles. These publications share her research and ideas with other scholars.

Books She Has Edited

• Hall, Kira, ed. 2007. Essays in Indian Folk Traditions: Collected Writings of Ved Prakash Vatuk. This book collects writings about traditional Indian stories and customs.
• Hall, Kira, ed. 2009. Studies in Inequality and Social Justice: Essays in Honor of Ved Prakash Vatuk. This book explores topics related to fairness and social justice.
• Hall, Kira, ed. 2023. Lifelong Search for Home: Collected English Poems of Ved Prakash Vatuk. This book features English poems by Ved Prakash Vatuk.

Journal Articles

• Hall, Kira (1999). Performativity. This article appeared in the Journal of Linguistic Anthropology.
• Hall, Kira (2005). Intertextual Identity: Parodies of Class and Identity in Liminal Delhi. This article was also published in the Journal of Linguistic Anthropology.

Edited Conference Proceedings

Professor Hall has also helped edit several collections of papers from academic conferences:

• Hall, Kira, Michael Meacham, and Richard Shapiro, eds. 1989. General Session and Parasession on Theoretical Issues in Language Reconstruction: Proceedings of the Fifteenth Annual Meeting of the Berkeley Linguistics Society, 1988-1989.
• Hall, Kira, Jean Pierre Koenig, Michael Meacham, Sondra Reinman, and Laurel Sutton, eds. 1990. General Session and Parasession on the Legacy of Grice: Proceedings of the Sixteenth Annual Meeting of the Berkeley Linguistics Society, 1989-1990.
• Hall, Kira, Mary Bucholtz, and Birch Moonwomon, eds. 1992. Locating Power: Proceedings of the Second Berkeley Women and Language Conference, Vol. 2.
• Hall, Kira, Mary Bucholtz, and Birch Moonwomon, eds. 1992. Locating Power: Proceedings of the Second Berkeley Women and Language Conference, Vol. 1.

More About Kira Hall

You can find more information about Professor Kira Hall and her work online:

• Kira Hall's official home page: https://www.colorado.edu/faculty/hall-kira/ (updated as of June 2021)
• An older version of Kira Hall's home page, archived from 2006.
• Information about the Program in Culture, Language and Social Practice (CLASP).