Tasha Austin
Assistant Professor
LEARNING AND INSTRUCTION
Specialty/Research Focus
Curriculum and Instruction; ESL/ENL/Bilingual; Educator Preparation; Racism and AntiBlackness
Professional Summary:
Tasha Austin is an assistant professor of teacher education, language education and multilingualism. Her research uses critical race theory and Black feminist epistemologies through a raciolinguistic perspective to qualitatively examine language, identity and power, and the ways in which anti-Blackness emerges in language education and (language) teacher preparation. Through her purposeful enactment of critical consciousness and engaged pedagogies, her praxis seeks to effect meaningful change in the field of language education and within teacher education more broadly.
Education and Training:
- PhD, Rutgers, School of Graduate Studies, Education (2022)
- MA, Rutgers School of Graduate Studies, Education (2021)
- EdM, Rutgers, Graduate School of Education, Language Education (2007)
- BA, Douglass College, Spanish Language and Culture (2006)
Awards and Honors:
- Young Investigator Award; Exceptional Scholars University at Buffalo; 2025-07-22;
- Anthony J. Papalia Award for Outstanding Article in a State or National Foreign Language Publication; New York State Association of Foreign Language Teachers; 2024-11-08;
- Early Career Award; American Council on the Teaching of Foreign Languages Research Special Interest Group; 2024-09-13;
- NAEd/Spencer Postdoctoral Fellowship; National Academy of Education/Spencer; 2024-05-29;
- Stephen A. Freeman Award for Best Published Article; Northeast Conference on the Teaching of Foreign Languages; 2023-03-04;
Recent Publications:
Journal Articles:
- Austin, T. (2025). The Role of Black Languaging in Conjuring Countertextual Knowledges. Language Awareness.
- Austin, T. (2024). Black mothers as bad teachers: Intersectional raciolinguistic erasure in teacher preparation curricula. Journal of Curriculum and Pedagogy, 1–23.
- Austin, T. & Anya U. (2024). World Languages for Black Linguistic Reparations. Foreign Language Annals.
- Austin, T. (2023). Limited capital: a genealogy of culturelessness in (language) teacher education. Educational Linguistics.
Book Chapters:
- Austin, T. (2023). Modeling Cultural Competence: Digital Reflective Journaling in Teacher Preparation. In From Being Woke to Doing# theWork (pp. 240-250). Brill
Recent Grants:
Grants:
- Excavating the Oral Histories of Black World Language Teachers; Foundation and Research Organization; Spencer Foundation; Awarded; (02/01/2024-01/31/2026)
- American Speech-Language-Hearing Association’s Advancing Academic-Research Careers (AARC) Award; Foundation and Research Organization; American Speech-Language-Hearing Association; Awarded; (09/01/2023-05/01/2024)
- University at Buffalo, Graduate School of Education Micro-Funding for Research Program; Foundation and Research Organization; University at Buffalo, Graduate School of Education; Awarded; (02/01/2023-06/30/2023)
Recent Activities:
Editorials and Reviews:
- Teachers of English to Speakers of Other Languages Journal
Sep 2023-Oct 2023 - Equity & Excellence in Education
Jun 2023-Aug 2023
Professional Service:
- Racial Justice in Multilingual Education [Review Board]
Jan 2026-present - Teachers of English to Speakers of Other Languages (TESOL) Bi and Multilingual Special Interest Group Newsletter Co-Editor
Jun 2023-Jun 2024 - American Council on the Teaching of Foreign Languages, National Federation of Modern Language Teachers Association and Modern Language Journal ACTFL-NFMLTA/MLJ Emma Marie Birkmaier Award for Doctoral Dissertation Research in World Language Education Co-Chair
Jan 2023-Dec 2023