Professor of Intercultural Studies
(503) 375-7186
Education
- B.A. French – Northwestern College, Orange City, Iowa
- Diplôme Supérieur d’Etudes Françaises Modernes – Alliance Française, Paris, France
- Certificate in Linguistic Studies – Summer Institute of Linguistics, Dallas, Texas
- M.A. Linguistics – University of California, Santa Barbara
- Ph.D. Linguistics: Language, Interaction and Social Organization – University of California, Santa Barbara
Professional
Dr. Harrison teaches courses in language and culture acquisition, historical linguistics, sociology, cultural anthropology, intercultural communication, TESOL (Teaching English to Speakers of Other Languages), and social justice. She is also involved in leading overseas service trips and pre-field training for those trips. Corban students have served overseas in such diverse locations as Cameroon, Czech Republic, Germany, Columbia, Greece, Turkey and the Philippines.
Dr. Harrison served with Wycliffe Bible Translators for 23 years in France, Burkina Faso, the Republic of Niger, the Republic of Congo, and the Central African Republic. During that time, she studied people groups in west and central Africa in order to recommend Bible translation priorities and strategies. She also taught linguistics for Bible translation at the Bangui Evangelical School of Theology. She speaks several languages and has learned about many more through linguistic research.
Dr. Harrison has written papers and book reviews on language use in multilingual societies, discourse and pragmatics in African languages, language change in French, dialectology, and sociocultural research methods. She has presented at conferences and taught in the United States, Canada, Germany, Central African Republic, Kenya, South Africa, Thailand, Malaysia, and Indonesia. Her current research interests include multilingualism and diversity in church life, linguistic theory for language learners, research ethics in cross-cultural contexts, and cross-cultural engagement at home and abroad.
Publications and Conference Presentations
“Using Scripture in multilingual churches.” Evangelical Missions Quarterly. 2015.
“Historical linguistics and the comparative study of African languages.” Book Review. SIL International. 2012.
“A study of Fulfulde varieties of Eastern Niger: Dialect intelligibility and language attitudes.” SIL International. 2012.
“Representing the ideal self: Represented speech and performance roles in Fulfulde personal narratives.” International Pragmatics Association. Vol. 1, No. 2, 2011, 191-211.
“Directives in Lingala: Participation and subjectivity in a Congolese women’s church group.” Dissertation, University of California, Santa Barbara, 2008.
“Naturalness in ‘unnatural’ discourse: Observations from elicited West African personal narratives.” Crossroads of Language, Interaction, and Culture. Vol. x, 2005, 29-58.
“The Use of Proper Nouns as an Index of Group Identity in Fulfulde Personal Narratives.” Thesis, University of California, Santa Barbara, 2004.
“Sociolinguistic survey report for the Maraka-Jula ethnic group.” SIL International. 2001.
“Sociolinguistic survey report for the Marka-Dafin language.” SIL International. 2001.
“Southern Songhay speech varieties in Niger: A sociolinguistic survey of the Zarma, Songhay, Kurtey, Wogo, and Dendi peoples of Niger.” Summer Institute of Linguistics (SIL International). 1997.
Personal
Dr. Harrison has been married to Byron since 1985 and has 22 nieces and nephews. She enjoys reading, long conversations with her husband, walking, spiritual discussions with friends, some gardening, cooking, and playing with her dog, Toby.
Why Corban
“I love nothing better than to be in a dynamic community of learners. And it is even better when those learners live Christ-centered lives. Corban is exactly that kind of community. In addition, I love being part of Corban’s vision to contribute to Christ-honoring education internationally. Our learning and growing is not only for ourselves, but to honor God and to serve others. It is a privilege to contribute to the education of men and women who will make a difference in the world for Jesus Christ.”