Storylisteners for Democracy: Andrea Purdy Translates Democracy Across Language and Cultures

What power does language hold in a democracy? From deliberation experts to linguists to journalists, many experts will tell you it sits at the critical center. So when Adrea Purdy became a founding member of the Deliberative Journalism Project in 2021, it was to ensure the whole conversation did not occur in just one language. An Associate Teaching Professor of Spanish, Purdy is a native of Parral,Chihuahua, Mexico, Purdy received my Ph.D. in 20th Century Spanish American Literature from Texas Tech University in 1987. Her many areas of interest include: contemporary Spanish American prose, issues in culture, the teaching of reading and writing skills, and of course, translation, so important in a time when language can help, or hurt, our understanding of facts, truth, and each other.