Andrew and Jennifer: Linguistics, widening participation and dog borrowing.

In this episode, guests Andrew Wilson and Jennifer Culbertson talk about linguistics, widening participation, dog borrowing and more.

Andrew is the President of Edinburgh University Students’ Association for 2019/20. Pausing his studies in English Language and Linguistics this academic year, Andrew’s instead been focused on widening participation to higher education and making the cost of student living more affordable. 

Jennifer is a Reader in the Centre for Language Evolution at the University of Edinburgh. Her research focuses on understanding how languages are shaped by learning and use. In 2019 she won the Chancellor’s Award for Rising Star, recognising outstanding contribution towards enhancing the research reputation of the University.

She received her PhD in Cognitive Science from Johns Hopkins University in her hometown of Baltimore, Maryland.

Each episode of Sharing things is a conversation between two members of our university community. It could be a student, a member of staff or a graduate, the only thing they have in common at the beginning is Edinburgh. We start with an object. A special, treasured or significant item that we have asked each guest to bring to the conversation. What happens next is sometimes funny, sometimes moving and always unexpected.

Find out more at www.ed.ac.uk/sharing-things-podcast

All episodes of season two of Sharing things were recorded before the 23 March 2020 (COVID-19 lockdown in the UK).