Index: SI squared (first round of conversations with MEPs)

The premise of my dissertation research is that the ways we communicate with each other influences everyone's identity: "mine" and "yours," and - when you add the relational element together, "ours."

The technical term from communication theory is constitutes: to constitute is to do an action that leads to something tangible. General definitions from Princeton's wordnet say that to constitute is to form, establish, or compose. The phrase I am drawn to the most as I write today is "to cause to stand" (from wiktionary). In short, constituting is a kind of making that persists into the future.

Participating in simultaneous interpretation is a basic structural component of working in the European Parliament. Using the professional inter- and cross-cultural language skills of simultaneous interpreters to communicate is a special and unique communication practice with significant implications for culture and identity. But what are these implications? That is what this research aims to discover.

First impressions based on my first conversations with Members of the European Parliament are recorded in the blog category, Parliamentary Adventures. Relevant musings about theory and methodology are recorded in the blog category, Call this Action Learning. (You can also get to these categories via links in the main header, The Dissertation = Parliamentary Adventures and the lifework = Call this Action Learning.)

First Conversations:

Why such negative framing? One of the most stark characteristics of the general discourses about simultaneous interpreting that I consider highly significant. (November 1, 2008)

another music? Some distinctions emerge concerning listening, speaking, fluencies, and desired uses of interpreters by MEPs. (November 9, 2008)

What goes unsaid . . . More depth develops as new perspectives and considerations are raised concerning MEPs' desires for using simultaneous interpretation. (December 1, 2008)

arrival:

The setting: fellow Fulbright grantees, one of my gracious hosts, and surrealistic Belgium (September 16, 2008)

The context: as evaluated in the 2005 Report and Motion on EP Interpretation (September 29, 2008)

Some seeds prior to arrival:

Grip of the Committee (defending the prospectus, May 13, 2008)

visual perceptions (and relative distance from the object of study, May 14, 2008)

Cast Concern Where You Will (teasing from and to friends, May 21, 2008)

my new best friend is . . . (inspiration for the name for the blog category, May 22, 2008)