Featured II

Maintaining the Balance: Investigating the Language of Political Extremism on the Western Slope

Arielle Wiedenbeck — Wed, 30 Apr 2025 17:14:16 +0000

Maintaining the Balance: Investigating the Language of Political Extremism on the Western Slope Arielle Wiedenbeck Wed, 04/30/2025 - 11:14

Elaina Caywood

Amid rising political polarization, a team of CU Boulder researchers partner with community organizations on Colorado’s Western Slope to examine how language, activism and civic engagement intersect in the fight against political extremism.

A study by David Rozado and Eric Kaufmann shows that U.S. news outlets increasingly use terms that denote far-right and far-left extremists, regardless of their political leanings. News outlets have increasingly used extremist terms and language since 2015, with a rapid increase since 2019. The study demonstrates a strong polarizing dynamic regarding how news outlets discuss political extremism. Polarization can result in a communicative standstill.

How can people discuss politics without falling into extremist language? And how can news outlets and public forums maintain their neutrality when referencing instances of political extremism? These are tough questions, but we can look to the work of Leah Sprain and her team, who conduct community-engaged research surrounding the language of political extremism on Colorado’s Western Slope.

The work originated during Sprain’s fellowship with the Office for Public and Community-Engaged Scholarship’s Higher Education and Democracy Initiative (HEDI) and community partners on the Western Slope. One group that particularly interested Sprain and her team was Restore the Balance.

Restore the Balance is a group with members from across the political spectrum. According to its website, the group works together for the purpose of “building an alternative to political extremism” through their political candidate rankings, petitions and letters to the editor, which can be found on their website.

Leah Sprain speaks to former congressional candidate Adam Frisch and PACES executive director David Meens at the Upper Colorado River Basin Water Forum at Colorado Mesa University, Oct. 30-31, 2023.

“They [Restore the Balance] try to bring together a group of people to think differently about how they engage in politics,” explained Sprain. “That effort really sparked this research project—thinking about how to make sense of when community groups try to call out things in their community.”

Calling out extremism within the Western Slope resonated with the community, drawing people to Restore the Balance meetings and encouraging responses to their petitions. Since its inception in 2022, Restore the Balance has gained 2,974 signatures for their pledge to address political extremism. However, the universal approach of Restore the Balance didn’t so easily “jibe with local politics.” The more the group tried to call out extremism, the more critics called them extremists.

Sprain’s research provokes questions surrounding the trade-offs of calling out extremism. While the effort deeply connects with many people, it also faces certain types of politicization, which could dampen the message. Should people accept this, or are there ways to work against these phenomena without using the language of extremism?

By analyzing Restore the Balance and Letters to the Editor in Grand Junction’s The Daily Sentinel, Sprain expands her view into the community’s conversation. These differing media outlets help frame research questions about what political extremism means to people on the Western Slope, what it means to address it, and more broadly, “how people think about democracy in times of crises.”

Given the nature of political communication, the research team takes an interdisciplinary approach. Professor of Journalism Mike McDevitt focuses on media aspects of communication, Associate Chair of Political Science Janet Donavan examines the political aspects, and Associate Professor of Communication Leah Sprain leads the team. The team also studies political theory approaches and measures laid out by Rod Hartin his book Civic Hope to compare Hart’s observations with their own observations made on the Western Slope.

“We look at the language of extremism and the dynamics within Restore the Balance and the Letters to the Editor,” said Sprain. “We can trace how people discussed political extremism before and after the creation of Restore the Balance and how the community reacted. From those reactions, we explore who gets called an extremist, the discursive practices around it, and what it means to think of political extremists as a category.”

To better understand some of these issues, the team engaged the CU Boulder community. By directly involving students, they gained valuable insight into the opinions of a younger generation of politically-engaged people. During Donovan’s fall 2024 class focused on civic engagement, political science students reacted to some concepts of civic hope and political extremism, analyzed Letters to the Editor and even wrote their own letters. By comparing the ideas generated by CU Boulder students with those in the Letters to the Editor—written primarily by older, white men—the team observed different perspectives about civic engagement. From this, new questions arose, such as: What makes a good community member or political conversation? Are these ideas tied to generational aspects? Connecting this back to the political situation in Grand Junction, these insights sparked discussions about which political theories are most relevant and useful when tackling political extremism today.

“We’re trying to take the research through all the ways in which students can help us think about these concepts and how we can generate pedagogical insights from that engagement,” explained Sprain.

CU Boulder students both challenged and affirmed the concept of civic hope, which contributed to their development of the concept. In turn, they learned about the relationship between internal efficacy — the extent to which people think they can make a difference in politics — to the broader notion of civic hope. These pedagogical and political insights from the students will be presented by Donovan at a regional political science conference this April.

Sprain’s previous work with Restore the Balance, during her HEDI Fellowship, examined what organization members were trying to accomplish, how they had responded to political events in their community and how best to communicate their responses. The team’s current research seeks to further understand the organization’s goals and develop approaches to addressing political extremism.

“Restore the Balance is deciding what kind of organization they want to be. So, thinking about this research might help them figure out their own issues. We’re asking questions they might not immediately consider,” said Sprain.

Through this model of community engagement, Sprain’s team collaborates with other groups on the Western Slope, such as the League of Women Voters. “Community-engaged research keeps us from being narrowly focused and allows us to think about how this research might address broader questions surrounding strategies for organizing and conducting civic work,” Sprain reflected.

Another aspect of this project involves writing workshops with people at Restore the Balance. In April, the team shared initial findings with the Restore the Balance board to observe their reactions, creating a reciprocal exchange in which the researchers learned more about community perspectives while those at Restore the Balance enjoyed a conversation that helped inform their ongoing civic work.

Following the success of their April workshop, the team will continue to plan more workshops for the fall. Their goal is to share their empirical research while involving the community, gauging reactions, and generating a productive conversation about the language of political extremism.

These conversations will help situate political dynamics within the community context so that academic insights don’t stand alone but become part of the communal conversation, all while maintaining an open, bipartisan attitude.

“The workshops will bring people together and allow them to talk across different perspectives,” Sprain described. “As researchers, we sincerely hold space for a broader range of reactions, as our research can benefit from these different perspectives, much like how democracy can benefit from multiple perspectives.”

This work raises big, important questions. While the research remains in the question-asking phase, the most important part is asking these questions and learning how to best engage communities in political conversations.

“So many parts of civic life and community democracy feel difficult and fraught. Because of what’s happening on the national level, many people are turning locally,” reflected Sprain. “I hope this effort provides research that helps people think about which types of civic action respond most effectively to what’s happening in their communities.”

As Sprain and her team continue researching political extremism on the Western Slope, we can all meditate on how best to participate in civic action without resorting to political extremist language. This engaged research is ongoing but will hopefully result in valuable insights that can help us navigate daily, changing political interactions.

To stay informed about Sprain’s work on political extremism on the Western Slope, visit the project website, Overcoming Extremism: Visibility and Voice on the Western Slope.

Amid rising political polarization, a team of CU Boulder researchers partner with community organizations on Colorado’s Western Slope to examine how language, activism and civic engagement intersect in the fight against political extremism.

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Members of the Restore the Balance board. Photo Credit: Restore the Balance

Apply for the Experiential Learning Design Accelerator

Arielle Wiedenbeck — Tue, 22 Apr 2025 19:20:27 +0000

Apply for the Experiential Learning Design Accelerator Arielle Wiedenbeck Tue, 04/22/2025 - 13:20

Applications now being accepted through June 1.

Have you been thinking about designing or redesigning an undergraduate course to integrate a community-based,
experiential learning component? Do you have a relationship with a community group or organization that wants to partner with you on the course? If so, this opportunity is for you!

In August 2025, a small cohort of CU Boulder faculty members will have the opportunity to join a University of Arizona program to support the design of undergraduate courses that integrate community-engaged, experiential learning opportunities.

Starts with a five-day, virtual, intensive workshop and offers the opportunity to participate in a year-long community of learning.
Introduces faculty members to a human-centered design approach for integrating external stakeholders and real projects in undergraduate courses.
Students work alongside their peers and community partners to develop desirable, feasible, and viable solutions to challenges informed by partners’ needs.

The Experiential Learning Design Accelerator is offered by the University of Arizona, in partnership with CU Boulder's Office for Public and Community-Engaged Scholarship (PACES) and the Center for Teaching and Learning. In its successful pilot year, the program was managed by CU Engage.

University of Arizona will provide mentorship and a community of practice among faculty who have successfully developed scholarship, including grant proposals, papers, and presentations based on engaged learning pedagogy.
PACES will support the CU Boulder cohort with connecting to a CU Boulder community of scholars interested in community-engaged scholarship and with developing a way to share their learning with the broader community.
The five-day, online, summer intensive will take place from Aug.11-18,10 a.m.- 4 p.m., Mon.- Fri. with Wed. as individual work time.
Faculty participants and their community partners (1 partner per faculty member) will receive stipends to support their participation: faculty participants ($2000) and community partners ($1000).

Please contact Lisa Schwartz with questions about the program, eligibility, or the application.

Apply for the Experiential Learning Design Accelerator here.

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Words of Hope: Revitalizing the Zapotec Language

Arielle Wiedenbeck — Tue, 25 Feb 2025 19:40:53 +0000

Words of Hope: Revitalizing the Zapotec Language Arielle Wiedenbeck Tue, 02/25/2025 - 12:40

Elaina Caywood

There are currently 7,164 languages worldwide; however, this number is decreasing each year. According to Ethnologue, a research center for language intelligence, about 44% of languages are endangered, and more than 90% of current languages will be extinct by 2050.

But, there is an effort to fight against language extinction. One of these efforts is based at the �鶹��Ƶ (CU Boulder).

With a grant from the Office for Public and Community-Engaged Scholarship (PACES), Associate Teaching Professor Rai Farrelly and Assistant Professor Ambrocio Gutiérrez Lorenzo are working together with community members and CU Boulder students to support and sustain efforts to revitalize the use of the variety of Zapotec within Teotitlán del Valle, Mexico.

Designed for elementary students, this poster illustrates the Zapotec translation for the English word “blue” in the center, surrounded by other Zapotec translations for places and things that are also blue, such as the sky and a butterfly. The places and things were selected based on what students would recognize in their communities.

Beginning with her graduate studies in Utah, Farrelly was involved in efforts to revitalize Shoshone and Goshute through developing materials and training teachers. Farrelly realized not only the importance of language documentation and revitalizations, but also the difficulties involved with such an endeavor. For example, due to the oral tradition of most Indigenous languages, there is often a lack of a written form—and therefore, a lack of written teaching materials. “The pedagogy piece is important,” said Farrelly. “You have to document the language, write the grammar, write the dictionary. And, without a way to teach it and materials through which to deliver it, it’s kind of just a place for linguists to learn about the language.”

Farrelly and Gutiérrez Lorenzo, a Zapotec speaker and community member, are colleagues in the Department of Linguistics at CU Boulder. They joined forces to develop a Global Seminar based in Teotitlán del Valle, where CU Boulder students had a chance to not only learn the variety of Zapotec in the community, but also assist teachers of Zapotec in assembling and creating materials.

Isabelle Altman is one of the master’s students at CU Boulder who attended the 2024 Global Seminar, gaining not only valuable insight into language revitalization in practice but also the importance of collaboration on such a project. “I consider myself to be a documentary and revitalization linguist,” said Altman. “However, I didn’t realize the importance of language learning, pedagogy and curriculum design in a revitalization endeavor. I got to collaborate with students with a variety of specialties, including Teaching English to Speakers of Other Languages (TESOL), linguistics and documentation. I believe that this collaboration between different areas allowed this project to be especially strong and effective in our creation of materials and connection with the community around us.”

As a prior research collaborator with Gutiérrez Lorenzo, Altman joined the Global Seminar to expand upon her academic career but found she appreciated the community-engaged approach of the project, stating that not only is it “unique” but also “extremely valuable.” Altman reflected, “By connecting and collaborating with the community in question, decisions can be made that involve everyone, but more importantly the community and its speakers. At the end of the day, the language belongs to its speakers.”

This Global Seminar provided Farrelly with another rich opportunity for community-engaged scholarship, an approach she has long appreciated. “The most important thing about community-engaged scholarship is that it’s driven by the community,” Farrelly explained. “A lot of academics come in with an idea of what they want to do, plow into communities and make decisions, then say ‘Thanks!’ and leave. PACES puts a lot of emphasis on mutual exchange, mutual benefit.”

Language Revitalization, especially the approach taken by Farrelly and Gutiérrez Lorenzo, relies heavily on input from the Teotitlán del Valle community. The community determines its needs and goals, guiding the direction of the project while collaborating with CU Boulder students to create much-needed materials and strategies for teaching the language. The students, in turn, gain valuable skills and a new level of empathy and understanding of Mexico that “feeds into their awareness and understanding of what’s happening right now” in the U.S.

“With the PACES grant, what we’re able to do is hire two graduate students in linguistics to build this online Zapotec resources hub where we’re having three entrance points: one for linguists or people interested in the language, one for the teachers of the language and one for students,” said Farrelly. “So, it’s going to be this really cool repository of materials and language, hopefully audio files and just different resources for Zapotec.”

The online hub has been a great source of collaborative work, both between CU Boulder students from different disciplines and community members within Teotitlán del Valle. Angelica, a collaborator within the Teotitlán community, uses the PACES stipend to continue teaching the Teotitlán variety of Zapotec year-round using the resources within the online hub.

Along with creating colorful posters and books to teach Zapotec, Farrelly, Gutiérrez Lorenzo and their team hope to expand their Zapotec Learning Hub and generate some excitement about the language. On a larger scale, she hopes that the team will create “some model or mechanism that really works with Zapotec” and can encourage other linguists and communities to apply what she has learned for revitalizing other endangered languages around the world.

But why does it matter if some languages are lost?

“Language is such a big part of our identity,” said Farrelly. “What’s encoded in all of those languages is a lot of information—about nature, animals, cures, the history of the world—that will all get lost if we lose the language. We lose the essence of a lot of cultures, of ways of being.”

This summer, Farrelly and Gutiérrez Lorenzo will again lead their Language Revitalization Global Seminar to Teotitlán del Valle, where they will continue to develop materials and teaching approaches to revitalize this specific variety of Zapotec within the community. For more information, visit the Global Seminar page.

As many languages face endangerment or extinction in the coming years, Associate Teaching Professor Rai Farrelly and Assistant Professor Ambrocio Gutiérrez Lorenzo are working together with community members and CU Boulder students to support and sustain efforts to revitalize the use of the Zapotec languages within Teotitlán del Valle, Mexico.

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Photo Credit: Rai Farrelly

Featured II

Maintaining the Balance: Investigating the Language of Political Extremism on the Western Slope

Amid rising political polarization, a team of CU Boulder researchers partner with community organizations on Colorado’s Western Slope to examine how language, activism and civic engagement intersect in the fight against political extremism.

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Apply for the Experiential Learning Design Accelerator

Applications now being accepted through June 1.

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Words of Hope: Revitalizing the Zapotec Language

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