Contact Information
707 S. Mathews Ave
Urbana, IL 61801
Office Hours
Biography
Robin grew up in Newport News, Virginia. She completed Bachelor's Degrees in French and Spanish at George Mason University in Fairfax and her Master's in Applied French Linguistics at the University of Alabama. At UIUC, she is working towards a Ph.D. in French Linguistics with an emphasis in Romance Linguistics. Her research examines relationships of power between gender and sexual identities, multilingualism, and community organization.
She also co-hosts the GradLings podcast, a program dedicated to the promotion of graduate students working in all branches of linguistics.
Research Interests
Historical sociolinguistics
Linguistic anthropology
Queer linguistics
Raciolinguistics
Feminist critical discourse analysis
Minoritized languages
Language policy and planning
Language ideologies
Semiotics
Education
Ph.D. French Linguistics, University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, expected 2023
M.A. Applied French Linguistics, The University of Alabama, 2018
B.A. Foreign Languages, French, George Mason University, 2015
B.A. Foreign Languages, Spanish, George Mason University, 2015
Lavender Languages Institute. Florida Atlantic University, Boca Raton, FL, 2021. (Virtual)
Genevan Paleography Workshop. Calvin College, Grand Rapids, MI, 2018.
Linguistic Society of America Summer Institute. University of Kentucky, Lexington, KY, 2017.
Grants
University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign
Foreign Language & Area Studies Fellowship – European Union Center, AY 2020-2021
Foreign Language & Area Studies Fellowship – European Union Center, Summer 2020 [declined]
Knudson & McPherson Fellowship – Department of French and Italian, 2020
Research Assistantship – Department of French & Italian, 2019
Student participation award – North American Research Network in Historical Sociolinguistics Research incubator at KFLC, 2020
H. Henry Meeter Center Genevan Paleography Fellowship – Calvin University, 2018
Awards and Honors
Center for Innovation in Teaching and Learning's (CITL) Teachers Ranked as Excellent by their Students
- Fall 2018 (distinction for outstanding ratings)
- Spring 2019 (distinction for outstanding ratings)
- Spring 2020 (distinction for outstanding ratings)
- Fall 2020 (distinction for outstanding ratings)
- Spring 2021 (distinction for outstanding ratings)
Courses Taught
FR 101: Elementary French I
FR 102: Elementary French II
FR 103: Intermediate French I
FR 207: Writing and Grammar Workshop
GWS 275: Politics of Fashion (recitation instructor)
Additional Campus Affiliations
Department of Gender and Women's Studies
Department of Spanish and Portuguese
Department of Linguistics
European Union Center
Unit for Criticism and Interpretive Theory
External Links
Selected research presentations:
Turner, R. (2022, April). The Queer Archive as a Site of Intervention and Resistance. Poster presentation at the 2022 meeting of the Society for Linguistic Anthropology, University of Colorado at Boulder.
Turner, R. (2021, October). Les identités sexuelles et linguistiques marquées après la Révolution tranquille. Paper presentation at Colloque du réseau de la recherche sur la francophonie Canadienne, Université d’Alberta, Campus Saint-Jean.
Turner, R. (2021, May). Ethics of the Queer Archive: Minoritized Language, Queer Time, & Archival Activism. Paper presentation at the 17th annual International Congress for Qualitative Inquiry, University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign.
Turner, R. (2021, May). Publicly Circulating Discourses of Racialization in Quebec Media. Paper presentation at the 17th annual International Congress for Qualitative Inquiry, University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign.
Turner, R. (2020, March). Galician education influences on neofalante identity, attitudes, and language practices. Poster presentation at the Georgetown University Round Table 2020, Georgetown University.
Turner, R. (2020, February). Linguistic Constructions of Agency in the Grassroots Political Movement. Paper presentation at the twelfth annual meeting of Illinois Language and Linguistics Society, University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign.
Turner, R. (2020, February). Indexicalities of Community Membership in Multilingual Political Campaigning. Paper presentation at the second annual Sociolinguistic Symposium, University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign.
Selected pedagogical practices presentations:
Turner, R. (2020, November). Bridging the Gap: Looking at language and literature courses in French program curricula. Presentation at Diversity, Decolonization, and the French Curriculum (DDFC) Conference. Online, Sam Houston State University & University of Louisiana-Lafayette.
Turner, R. (2020, February). Authentic texts: What do you adapt and how do you use them?. Presentation at the Spring 2020 Language Teaching Share Fair, Center for Language Instruction and Coordination, University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign.
Turner, R. (2019, November). Co-constructing a World: Global Simulation in the Elementary FL Classroom. Presentation at the 2019 ACTFL Annual Convention and World Languages Expo, Washington DC.
Turner, R. (2019, November). Global Simulation Strategies for the FL Classroom. Presentation at the 2019 Language Teaching Share Fair, Center for Language Instruction and Coordination, University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign.
Turner, R. (2019, October). Global Simulation as a Vehicle for Oral Proficiency. Presentation at the 2019 ICTFL Fall Conference, Naperville, IL.
Roncoroni, F. & Turner, R. (2019, May). A Study of Global Simulation for Engagement, Intercultural Awareness, and Fluency in Spontaneous Speech of Intermediate II French Learners. Poster Presentation at the 11th Annual SLATE Graduate Research Symposium, University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign.
Workshops & Panels:
Turner, R. (2021, March). A Sociolinguistic Approach to Bilingual LGBTQ+ Communities & their Histories. Panel presentation at the Lavender Languages and Linguistics Conference, California Institute of Integral Studies.
Turner, R. (2020, April). Indexicalities of Queerness and Personhood in “Emergent” Bilingual Montréal. Workshop presentation at the North American Research Network in Historical Sociolinguistics (NARNiHS) Research Incubator, The Languages, Literatures, and Cultures Conference at the University of Kentucky.
Turner, R. (2019, September). Temporal Perspectives on Language and Queer Identities. Panel presentation at the Solidarities of Difference Graduate Student Colloquium, University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign.
Invited talks:
Morgan, W.J., Robertson, W.B., & Turner, R. (2019, February). Navigating Linguistic Research and the Graduate Student-Faculty Dynamic. Panel presentation at The University of Alabama Languages Conference, Tuscaloosa, AL.
Turner, R. (2018, April). The Foundation of Emoji Social Semiotics. Presentation at The Mallet Assembly, The University of Alabama.
Highlighted Publications
Turner, R.S. (2021). Pronouns. In K. Strunk & S.A. Shelton (Eds.), Encyclopedia of Queer Studies in Education. Brill.
Recent Publications
Blogs:
Cipolla, S., Turner, R., & Zalewski, N. "Graduate Student Meeting with Professor Phillip M. Ayoub". EUC blog. European Union Center, 23 October 2020. http://eucenterillinois.blogspot.com/2020/10/graduate-student-meeting-with-professor.html
Turner, R. "Classroom Combatting Language Loss: a look at Basque in France and Spain". Linguis Europae, European Union Center.
Turner, R. "Engaging with Structuralism on its Own Terms". Response to Constantine Nakassis's lecture "Structuralism", Modern and Critical Theory Lecture Series 2019, Unit for Criticism and Interpretive Theory, 23 September 2019. https://unitforcriticism.wordpress.com/2019/09/23/professor-constantine-nakassis-on-structuralism-response-by-robin-turner-department-of-french-and-italian/
Turner, R. "'If it worked, we wouldn't need it': on the politics of deconstruction". Response to Geoffrey Bennington's lecture "Politics in Deconstruction", Modern and Critical Theory Lecture Series 2018, Unit for Criticism and Interpretive Theory, 22 October 2018. https://unitforcriticism.wordpress.com/2018/10/22/geoffrey-bennington-on-the-politics-of-deconstruction-response-by-robin-turner/