Linguists as Agents for Social Change

In this article, I examine and promote the role of linguist as agent for social change. I discuss the history and mission of organizations and individual linguists who are dedicated to service through linguistics. I describe the social and community service activities of linguists that may fall just outside of the realm of linguistic scholarship in the most traditional sense. I then provide models for ways in which linguists can become even more socially engaged through social service and public outreach. I highlight the academic sharing and public dissemination of knowledge that linguists already possess as a way for all linguists to be socially active. I then describe my own experiences participating in and teaching service learning‐based research courses.