MLMC Research Team
Ji Chen
Ji is a junior majoring in anthropology and minoring in IGS and linguistics, and an international student from Fuzhou, China. Being an international student and an English learner herself, Ji is super excited to be part of a research project that she has tremendous personal linkages with. Within her majors and minors, she is specifically interested in sociocultural and linguistic anthropology, as well as language acquisition. The intersection between language and culture has always been a fascinating topic for Ji, and she wishes to expand her research experience and hone her research skills in exploring a topic that genuinely intrigues her. Ji looks forward to promoting language and cultural diversity through unpacking the multilingual experiences of international student communities, and she can’t wait to see the enormous influence on language and racial justice that this project brings to the Brandeis campus.
Nhi Le
Nhi was raised in Lancaster, Pennsylvania, and earned her bachelor’s degree in Classics from the University of Vermont. Since graduation, she has spent several years working abroad as a teacher’s aid for a special needs school in Ecuador, as an assistant English teacher in Japan, and, more recently, as an education specialist with the Peace Corps in Thailand. She is pursuing a master’s degree in anthropology to expand upon her experiences in linguistic anthropology, cultural relativism, identity and personhood. Her enthusiasm for languages stems from growing up bilingual in English and Vietnamese, and this led her to study Latin, American Sign Language, Spanish, Japanese, and Thai. “Multilingual Life on a Monolingual Campus” aligns with her personal and professional research interests to explore the intersections of language and identity and how intercultural empathy plays a role in communication between people from different backgrounds.
Anh Nguyen
Anh is originally from Vietnam and is currently an MA student in the Sustainable International Development program at the Heller School for Social Policy and Management in Brandeis University. Their research and professional areas of focus include education and justice for marginalized groups, namely ethnic minorities, girls, and LGBTQ+ individuals. Having visited several countries in Asia, South Africa, and Australia, as well as living and working in Vietnam, Hong Kong, and the US, they take both personal and professional interests in understanding the complex cultural and linguistic dynamics in an intercultural space within unique local political and social contexts. They are new to tomato gardening and enjoy sketching and reading in their free time.
Ella Russel
Ella is a senior from Cambridge, Massachusetts, majoring in international and global studies and minoring in legal Studies and mathematics. In the summer of 2019, she went to The Netherlands on the Brandeis in The Hague study abroad program to study international law. There Ella developed an interest in communication challenges that arise in international courts, where linguistic differences can play a significant role in the outcome of a case. Her experiences in The Hague inspired her to assist Leigh Swigart as she launched the Language, Culture and Justice Hub in 2020. She is excited to join the MLMC project and looks forward to studying the experiences of multilingual students on campus and thereby gaining insight into an increasingly multicultural world. Ella also served as the MLMC project coordinator over 2021-22.
Angela Self
Angela is a senior at Brandeis University, majoring in Anthropology and minoring in Religious Studies and Islamic and Middle Eastern Studies. The reason that she wanted to become involved in the MLMC project stemmed from her involvement as a tutor to English language learners in Waltham, mostly adults whose children were in the Waltham Public School System. Angela was in awe of their ability to grasp language so quickly despite the barriers they faced living in a foreign land. This led her, in turn, to become interested and involved in this campus project and she is excited to see what the group’s research will uncover.
Will Simmons
Pronouns: he/they
Will is an international and global studies major and Hispanic studies minor from Portland, Oregon. He is Taiwanese-American and lived in Asia for several years before moving to the United States. As part of the Hispanic Studies program, and having recently worked with a nonprofit focused on international education, he is very interested in the intersection of postcolonial theory and intercultural experiences of education. Growing up in multicultural, multilingual environments, Will also has personal experience with and interest in dynamics of language, culture, identity and experience. He is familiar with a variety of methods of understanding and expressing experience, including oral history, ethnography, and analysis of spatial practices. He is hoping to bring a focus on the theme of visibility to the MLMC project.
