September 28, 2009 - Mary Bucholtz, professor of linguistics at University of California, Santa Barbara, will give a presentation on "Styling Blackness: White Uses of African-American English in Hollywood Film" as part of the Lectures in Language and Linguistics series at California State University, Bakersfield. The lecture will be held on Tuesday, Oct.13, at 7 p.m. in the Dezember Reading Room of the Walter Stiern Library.

Bucholtz's research focuses on language and youth identity in the United States, with particular emphasis on California. She spotlights the language of white hip hop fans, the use of Spanish and English by Latino immigrant youth, and the speech of other teenagers. In addition to several edited volumes on language and gender, Bucholtz has a forthcoming book specifically highlighting the language of teenagers.

Lectures in Language and Linguistics is a quarterly series of the CSUB English department aimed at inviting a California-based linguist or language expert to speak on various topics. The lecture series is designed to generate interest in linguistic studies by serving as a forum for linguists to report on their published works or ongoing research.

The lecture is sponsored by Walter Stiern Library, Associated Students, Inc., CSUB English department, and Sigma Tau Delta, the international English honor society.