Jefferson "Jonah" Konah

Jeff “Jonah” Konah (they, she, he) Jonah graduated from Pitzer College with a B.A. in Linguistics/Spanish Language and Culture and is currently pursuing an M.A. in Spanish Linguistics and Pedagogy at Middlebury College Vermont. They are an interdisciplinary teaching artist whose research and pedagogical interests are within the field of critically applied linguistics. Their senior thesis “Category is: 怎麼講 Les Pájares..” investigates various ways in which queer speakers of AAE, Caribbean Spanish, and Taiwanese Mandarin linguistically perform the intersection of their queer and racio-ethnic identities. Since undergrad, they have been continuing to ponder how racio-queer identity, performing arts, and second language acquisition theory can be utilized to substantiate the learning and speaking of an additional language as well as intercultural community building and understanding. Jonah has explored such themes in various contexts and roles such as being a dancer and fellow with Ballet Hispanico’s Pa’lante Scholars, a teacher with New York Language Center, a Writing and Speaking Fellow at NYU Shanghai, a Huayu Enrichment Scholarship recipient at National Taiwan Normal University, and as an international participant of the  LGBTQ Ballroom scene with the House of Louboutin. Jonah, with great anticipation, looks forward to interning with the BADLab this summer, researching the linguistic aspects of Black, queer, and multicultural identity.