Marilyn Merritt

Professorial Lecturer in Anthropology
E-mail marilyn@merritt.to
Office: 2112 G St., 203 / (202) 994-6953

Dr. Merritt is a linguistic anthropologist whose interests include situated discourse analysis, sociolinguistics, literacy and education, and ethnographic approaches to cross-cultural understanding and changing media. She has lived several years outside the United States, in India, Kenya, Niger, and Senegal.

Research

Dr. Merritt is engaged in integrating findings from Africa, North America, and India about the role of expressive and interactive modalities in learning, literacy, leadership, and creativity. This builds on her work on service encounters, classroom discourse, women's identities, and international development.

Selected Publications

Articles, Book Chapters, and Monographs

1998	Merritt, M. "Of ritual matters to master: Structure and improvisation in language development in primary classrooms." In Hoyle, S.M., and C.T. Adger, eds. Kids Talk: Strategies of Language Use among Older Children. New York: Oxford University Press.
1994	Merritt, M. Advancing Education and Literacy in Niger: Observations, Reflections, and Recommendations. Niamey: UNICEF-Niger.
1992	Merritt, M., A. Cleghorn, J. Abagi, and G. Bunyi. "Socialising multilingualism — Determinants of code-switching in Kenyan primary classrooms," Journal of Multilingual and Multicultural Development 13 (1-2): 103-121.
1988	Merritt, M., and M.H. Abdulaziz. "Swahili as a national language in East Africa." In F. Coulmas, ed., With Forked Tongues: What Are National Languages Good For? Ann Arbor: Karoma Publishers.
1976	Merritt, M. "On questions following questions in service encounters," Language and Society 5: 315-357.

Courses Taught

Anth 004: Language in Culture and Society
Anth 169: Topics in Linguistic Anthropology: Language and Social Identities
Anth 196: Topics: Women and Language

Education

Ph.D. 1976, University of Pennsylvania
M.A. 1966, Washington University in St. Louis
B.A. 1963, Northwestern University and Washington University in St. Louis