Dr Kristy Beers Fägersten
Currently on maternity leave; normally responsible for MA program teaching, essay supervision
and some BA teaching
Academic Qualifications
BA in Foreign languages and literatures (French, German, Spanish) from University of Delaware
MA in French from University of Florida
PhD in Linguistics from University of Florida
Academic Interests
 Supervision: pragmatics, sociolinguistics, discourse analysis
 Research: corpus linguistics, discourse analysis, classroom discourse, electronic communication,
popular culture in communication
Courses Taught

Advanced Language Structure (undergraduate)

Theoretical Linguistics (undergraduate)

The Language of Electronic Communication (undergraduate)

B-essay supervision

Linguistic Concepts, Linguistic Awareness (graduate)

Issues in Sociolinguistics (graduate)
Teaching Experience
University of Florida, Department of Romance Languages and Literature (1991-1992)
Beginning French I
Beginning French II
University of Florida, English Language Institute (1995-1997)
Reading and writing
Grammar
Oral skills
University of Florida, Program in Linguistics (1995-1997)
Language and People
Introduction to Linguistics
Second Language Acquisition
Folkuniversitetet, Stockholm (1998-1999)
Cambridge First Certificate Gold
Cambridge Certificate of Proficiency in English
Cambridge Certificate in Advanced English
TOEFL Preparation
Business English
Stockholm University, English Department (2002-2003)
Språklig analys
Effective Communication
Survey of Linguistics
Pragmatics
Second Language Acquisition
Örebro University, Humanities Department (2004)
Survey of Linguistics
History of the English Language
Saarland University, Department of English (2004-2006)
Introduction to Linguistics (General)
Introduction to Linguistics (Syntax)
Grammar
Oral Expression
Culture studies-USA
Composition for exam candidates
Issues in Pragmatics
Corpus linguistics I
Corpus linguistics II (with Applied Linguistics and Translation/ Interpreting)
Linguistics for EFL teachers
Silence! An exercise in Discourse Analysis
Slang, swearing and sarcasm: The formalities of informal language
English on the Internet
Film and television dialogue
Mälardalens Högskola, Humanities Department (2006)
Global English
Books
2000. A Descriptive Analysis of the Social Functions of Swearing in American English. Unpublished
dissertation, University of Florida.
Book chapters and articles in journals
2000. Scrutiny on the Baltic: A Linguistic Diary from Sweden. The Sunshine State TESOL Journal
Messenger, Spring.
2000. Review of Street Speak: Essential American Slang and Idioms. The Sunshine State TESOL
Journal, Fall.
2005. Hesitations and repair in German. Proceedings of DiSS’05, Disfluency in Spontaneous Speech
Workshop. 10–12 September, Aix-en-Provence, France, pp. 71-76.
2006. Review of Swearing in English. Bad language, purity and power from 1586 to the present (T.
McEnery). Applied Linguistics 27 (3): 542-545.
2006. The discursive construction of identity in an Internet hip-hop community. Revista Alicantina
de Estudios Ingleses 19: 23-44.
2007. A sociolinguistic analysis of swearword offensiveness. Saarland Working Papers in Linguistics
http://scidok.sulb.uni-saarland.de/sulb/portal/swpl/
2008. (with K. McBride) The students’ role in distance learning. In S. Goertler and P. Winke (Eds.),
Opening Doors through Distance Learning Education: Principles, Perspectives and Practices.
San Marcos, TX: CALICO, pp. 43-66.
2008. A corpus approach to discursive constructions of a hip-hop identity. In R. Reppen and A. Ädel
(Eds.), Corpora and Discourse: The challenges of different settings. John Benjamins:
Amsterdam.
2008. Discourse strategies and power roles in student-led distance learning. Proceedings of
Identity and Power in the Language Classroom. 11-12 June, Umeå, Sweden.
2008. (with M. Schmid) Fluency and language attrition. (submitted to Applied Linguistics).
Conference papers and guest lectures
2000. A sociolinguistic investigation of swearing in American English conversation: Applied
linguistics and the social domain. American Association of Applied Linguistics Annual
Conference: Crossing Boundaries. Vancouver, Canada; 11-14 March, 2000.
2005. Real Language: A corpus study of hip-hop language. AAACL 6 – ICAME 26 Joint
Conference. Ann Arbor, Michigan; 12-15 May.
2005. Swearing and the discursive construction of identity among young adults. 9
International Pragmatics Conference. Riva del Garda, Italy; 10-15 July.
th
2005. I have tagit med the Eimer with Kuchen: Code-switching evidence for a single syntactic
system among child bilinguals. X. International Congress for the Study of Child Language.
Berlin, Germany; 25-29 July.
2005. Hesitations and repair in German. DiSS’05, Disfluency in Spontaneous Speech Workshop.
Aix-en-Provence, France; 10–12 September.
2006. Competing contractions in spoken English. ICAME-27. Helsinki; 24-28 May.
2006. Content management in adolescent-directed talk about sex. Sociolinguistics Symposium
16. Limerick, Ireland; 6 - 8 July.
2007. (with J. White) Discourse strategies and power roles in student-led distance learning.
Identity and Power in the Language Classroom. Umeå, Sweden, 11-12 June.
2007. The appropriation of media texts as conversational and pragmatic strategies. 10th
Conference of the International Pragmatics Association. Gothenburg, Sweden, 8-14 July.
Lectures in Popular Linguistics:
Swearing in American English. Language Day, Stockholms universitet; Autumn 2002; Spring
2003; Autumn 2003.
Svordomar i engelska. Stockholms stads Högskole- och Näringslivsvecka; Spring 2003.
Swearing in American English. Tag der offenen Tür, Universität des Saarlandes; July, 2004.
Corpus Linguistics of Hip-Hop, yo! Language Day, Stockholms universitet; Autumn, 2006.
University-internal presentations:
1996. Examining Swearing. University of Florida Graduate Student Forum.
1997. Comparing Swearing Among Native and Non-Native Speakers of English. University of
Florida Program in Linguistics seminar series.
2003. Swearing in American English: A Sociolinguistic Perspective. Örebro universitet,
Humanities Department seminar series.
2003. Swearing in American English: A Sociolinguistic Perspective. Stockholms universitet,
English Department seminar series.
2004. Swearing in American English: A Sociolinguistic Perspective. Universität des Saarlandes,
Higher seminar in linguistics.
2007. Swearing in American English: A Sociolinguistic Perspective. Högskolan Dalarna, Higher
seminar in linguistics.
2007. Discourse strategies and power roles in student-led distance learning. Högskolan Dalarna,
Higher seminar in linguistics.
Current Research
Electronic Communication and the Need for Speed. Funded by KK-Stiftelsen (The Knowledge
Foundation, Sweden), with Una Cunningham (Project Leader) and Elin Holmsten.
Research awards
1997. Swedish Government “SASS” Travel Grant.
1998. University of Florida College of Liberal Arts and Sciences Graduate Student Fellowship.
2000. University of Florida, Program in Linguistics Travel Grant for dissertation research.
2000. University of Florida Graduate Student Council Travel Grant for dissertation research.
2000. University of Florida Graduate School Research Grant for dissertation research.
2005. Universität des Saarlandes, Freunde der Universität, wissenschaftlicher Zuschuss.
International recognition
Member of PhD examination board:
2005. (Mitglied in der Promotionskommission als Vertreter der Gruppe Akademischer Mitarbeiter)
The linguistic construction of character relations in TV drama: Doing friendship in Sex and
the City. Claudia Bubel, Universität des Saarlandes: Anglistik, Amerikanistik und Anglophone
Kulturen. Summa Cum Laude.
Member of expert panels:
2005. Reviewer för Discourse Analysis, AAAL/CAAL 2005 (American Association for Applied
Linguistics, Canadian Association for Applied Linguistics). Responsible for evaluating and
ranking discourse analysis research abstracts.
2005/2006. AAAL Graduate Student Travel Awards Committee. Responsible for evaluating and
ranking competing research abstracts.
Academic memberships
2004 – present. International Pragmatics Association
2006 – present. American Association for Applied Linguistics
2006 – present. Association suédoise de linguistique appliquée (ASLA)