Dr. Annette Harrison
Professor of Intercultural Studies
Education
- Ph.D. Linguistics: Language, Interaction and Social Organization – University of California, Santa Barbara
- M.A. Linguistics – University of California, Santa Barbara
- Certificate in Linguistic Studies – Summer Institute of Linguistics, Dallas, Texas
- Diplôme Supérieur d’Etudes Françaises Modernes – Alliance Française, Paris, France
- B.A. French – Northwestern College, Orange City, Iowa
About Dr. Harrison
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 pre-field training and leading overseas service trips to countries in Europe, South America, and the Middle East.
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.
Annette 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, gardening, and cooking.
Recently Taught Courses
Missional Living
Discover your role in God’s global mission. This course explores biblical and historical foundations of mission, equipping you with outreach strategies, cross-cultural awareness, and a passion to make disciples and spread the gospel in everyday life.
Cultural Anthropology
Discover the richness of global cultures through the lens of modern anthropology and a biblical worldview. Examine worldviews, social dynamics, and cultural patterns while exploring how faith intersects with the study of humanity.
Intercultural Communication
Build the communication skills needed to thrive in diverse cultural settings. Explore verbal and nonverbal communication styles, cultural perception, conflict resolution, and how to build mutual understanding across cultures.
Social Justice in Global Context
Explore how Christians have historically pursued justice, development, and advocacy for the marginalized. This course will help you to understand global inequality through a biblical lens and evaluate best practices for transformative service and compassion.
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.
Dr. Annette Harrison
Publications
“Worldview Questions in Mission Training and Praxis: The Unintended Consequences of Comfortable Oppositional Thinking.” In Geoff Hartt, Michael A. Ortiz, Manuel Böhm, eds. Ambassadors of Reconciliation: God’s Mission through Missions for All. William Carey Publishing. 90-107, 2023.
“Remodelling the house: The grammaticalisation of Latin casa to French chez,” with William J. Ashby. In On Spoken French: An Ashby Reader, John Benjamins Publishing Company, 483-504.
“Sociolinguistic Survey Report for the Bolon Language,” co-authored with Byron L. Harrison, Béatrice Tiendrébéogo Konfe and Stuart Showalter. Journal of Language Survey Reports 2022-016. SIL International, 2022.
“Old Questions, New Answers: Tensions of Continuity and Change in Approaches to the Missio Dei.” In Kenneth Nehrbass, Aminita Arrington and Narry Santos, eds. Advancing Models of Mission: Evaluating the Past and Looking to the Future. William Carey Publishing. 171-187, 2021.
“Using Scripture in multilingual churches.” Evangelical Missions Quarterly. 51;2 (April): 190-195, 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.
Fellow Faculty
Dr. Jordan Newton
Chair, School of Ministry | Director of the KAIROS Program | Associate Professor of Christian Ministry
jnewton@corban.edu(509) 308-8415
