We Are What We Speak Ann Arbor District Library

Today in conversation with Natalia Rocafuerte - experimental visual artist - about grappling with English in school, the “faux pas” of mixing English and Spanish in public, and code-switching in everyday life. Host: Aliyah Mitchell; Editor: Aliyah Mitchell; Produced in partnership with Ann Arbor District Library and recorded at Fifth Avenue Studios.

Part two with Natalia Rocafuerte - experimental visual artist - about navigating life with a long name, her project “Dream Machine Archive”, living on and near borders, and how language can be a sign of class or power. Host: Aliyah Mitchell; Editor: Aliyah Mitchell; Produced in partnership with Ann Arbor District Library and recorded at Fifth Avenue Studios. | Featured: “Dream Machine Archive” by Natalia Rocafuerte.

Today in conversation with Javaad Alipoor – playwright, activist, director, and artistic director of Javaad Alipoor Company – about memorable childhood language stories, the way social status can guide languages taught and learned, how he approaches language in his political theatre work, and the role of technology and language in radicalization. Host: Aliyah Mitchell; Editor: Aliyah Mitchell; Produced in partnership with Ann Arbor District Library. With thanks to the University of Michigan’s University Musical Society.

Today in conversation with Michela Russo - lecturer of Italian and Spanish at University of Michigan - about the story of her Northern and Southern Italian accents, what it takes to learn a language, her father’s yearslong documentation of her speech progression and complexities of assimilation. Host: Aliyah Mitchell; Editor: Aliyah Mitchell; Produced in partnership with Ann Arbor District Library and recorded at Fifth Avenue Studios.

Part two with Michela Russo - lecturer of Italian and Spanish at University of Michigan - about her personal language philosophy, unpacking various language-related faux pas, and navigating language anxieties at places like hospitals, insurance companies, and banks. Host: Aliyah Mitchell; Editor: Aliyah Mitchell; Produced in partnership with Ann Arbor District Library and recorded at Fifth Avenue Studios.

Today in conversation with independent filmmaker Nancy Savoca and independent producer Richard Guay, about growing up with competing messages around language, what it means to build community with people of diverse language backgrounds, and more. Host: Aliyah Mitchell; Editor: Aliyah Mitchell; Produced in partnership with Ann Arbor District Library and recorded at Fifth Avenue Studios.