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Call for Participation: Summer 2026 Reading Groups

Deadline: Friday, May 15, 2026 

Ä¢¹½ÊÓƵ faculty are invited to participate in two Summer 2026 reading groups as we launch our Mellon Humanities for All Time project Generative Futures: Critical Language Inquiry in the Age of Artificial Intelligence. These reading groups will provide a shared foundation for our campus-wide work in Critical Language Inquiry and Critical AI Literacy, and will support participants as they explore how language, power, knowledge, translation, and emerging GenAI tools intersect in our teaching, learning, and scholarship. Together we will develop shared language for future work connected to the initiative.  

Participation from across all disciplines is encouraged. 

Participation and Expectations

Faculty who complete the reading group expectations will receive a $500 stipend. Participation also counts as one pathway to eligibility for Generative Futures Course Development/Revision Grants and Critical AI Literacy Module Grants. Hard copies of books and digitally accessible materials will be provided. Meetings will be held in person Thursday, Aug. 13 and Friday, Aug. 14, with a synchronous Zoom option available as needed. In addition to participating in the August discussion meetings, participants will complete the readings, contribute a final reflection, and share at least two concrete teaching ideas related to CLI and/or CAIL. Each of these requirements must be completed in order to receive the stipend. 

 by Friday, May 15. Facilitators will follow up with confirmation of participation, reading lists, and additional information.

Reading Group 1: Critical Language Inquiry (CLI)

This group grapples with the challenges and opportunities posed by our contemporary moment: a world that appears ever more diverse, global, and multilingual, yet is increasingly shaped by pressures toward monolingualism and the rise of artificially generated language. By centering Critical Language Inquiry, we hope to bring together faculty from across divisions to examine how language operates within and across disciplines. Through shared readings and discussions, participants will explore questions of complexity, multiplicity, and power: 

• How is language constructed and employed to facilitate learning, convey meaning, and create knowledge?  
• How do seemingly monolingual fields draw on diverse linguistic and cultural perspectives?  
• What is the role of translation and of multilingual and related literacies in the context of the liberal arts?  
• What are the benefits of humanistic inquiry, critical thinking, and in-depth study in an increasingly AI-mediated world?  
• How can we create opportunities for us and our students to slow down and think deeply about these questions?  
• How might an understanding of language ideology and recognition of linguistic and other diversity—within and across languages—help shape more inclusive pedagogies and envision alternative futures?  

This group is organized and facilitated by Nene Diop and Ane Steckenbiller. 

Reading Group 2: Critical AI Literacy (CAIL)

This group will focus on the broader implications of artificial intelligence through a humanistic lens. Through readings and discussion, participants will investigate how generative AI systems are trained, how data shapes their outputs, and how issues of bias, inequality, labor, and environmental impact are embedded within their development and use. The group will also consider how AI reshapes the production, interpretation, and circulation of language, as well as its influence on human thinking and knowledge creation. Emphasizing reflective and critical engagement, the reading group invites participants to develop more intentional, responsible, and context-aware approaches to engaging AI in their teaching, research, and professional practice.  

This group is organized and facilitated by Cory Scott and Steve Hayward.