Symposium About Language and Society, Austin (SALSA)

Established in 1992, the Symposium About Language and Society–Austin (SALSA) is an entirely student-organized annual conference sponsored by the departments of Anthropology, Linguistics, and Communication Studies at The University of Texas at Austin. At present, SALSA has become internationally recognized by graduate students and faculty alike as a prestigious, interdisciplinary venue for presenting cutting-edge work on the relationship of language and culture to society.

Originally created through the joint efforts of students from the Linguistic and Anthropology Departments at The University of Texas, SALSA has developed into a truly interdisciplinary conference with contributions from various fields, including communication studies, foreign language education, educational psychology, media studies, speech communication, and numerous language departments. In the past, our annual proceedings have appeared in special editions of Texas Linguistic Forum. 

As a student organized conference, SALSA encourages interested graduate students from all disciplines to participate in the conference’s preparation each year, especially in the selection of abstracts. Each year, the Call For Papers is distributed in early September, with abstracts due by early November and notifications sent out by early December. 

SALSA’s rapid development is underscored by the distinguished scholars who present as keynotes, many of whom return as regular participants. In the past, four student-selected keynote addresses are presented each year. Beginning in 2023, one student-selected keynote will be presented annually.

Please visit the SALSA website for conference details and submission guidelines.