Contact Information
2090 LCLB
MC-170
Research Interests
(Morpho)syntax, Comparative Slavic, Diachronics, Borderland dialects, Silesian dialects, Sorbian
Research Description
Laura Davies Brenier’s research focuses on sign languages and (D/d)eaf cultures and experiences in the Slavic world. She is primarily interested in signed morphosyntax and cheremics (phonemics). Much of her research on Slavic sign languages is concentrated in the Czech Republic and Russia. She is also interested in animacy and animacy hierarchies across spoken Slavic languages, as well as various features of borderland dialects including "po naszymu" in Český Těšín and Polski Cieszyn, and Upper and Lower Sorbian in Germany.
Education
BA, Russian Language and Literature; Slavic Studies (Beloit College 1997)
PhD, Slavic and Theoretical Linguistics (Princeton University 2005)
Additional Campus Affiliations
Teaching Assistant Professor, Slavic Languages and Literatures
Teaching Assistant Professor, European Union Center
Teaching Assistant Professor, Russian, East European and Eurasian Center
Recent Publications
Farnell, B. M., & Davies Brenier, L. (2023). Sign Language. In J. L. Jackson, Jr (Ed.), Oxford Bibliographies in Anthropology (Oxford Bibliographies). Oxford University Press. https://doi.org/10.1093/obo/9780199766567-0285
Brenier, L. D. (2021). Sign Languages. In J. Stanlaw (Ed.), The International Encyclopedia of Linguistic Anthropology (pp. 1-12). Wiley-Blackwell. https://doi.org/10.1002/9781118786093.iela0358
Davies Brenier, L., & Daise, D. (2016). Incorporating Culture in the Foreign Language Classroom. Paper presented at 2016 Georgia Teachers of English to Speakers of Other Languages Conference, Atlanta, Georgia, United States.
Daise, D., & Davies Brenier, L. (2013). When Native Speakers Break the Rules. Paper presented at 2013 Colorado Teachers of English to Speakers of Other Languages Conference, Denver, Colorado, United States.
Fouts, S., Davies Brenier, L., Davis, C., & Michel, K. (2013). ESL for Visually Impaired Students. Paper presented at 2013 Colorado Teachers of English to Speakers of Other Languages Conference, Denver, Colorado, United States.