We are pleased to announce the Call for applications for the First MPI-EVA/CHANA-PUCP/ELDP Winter School on Language Documentation, Archives, and Quantitative Methods for the Study of Linguistic Diversity and Cultural Evolution. This intensive training school will be held from August 25th to 29th, 2025, at the Pontificia Universidad Católica del Perú (PUCP) in Lima, Peru. Our Winter School provides postgraduate and early-career researchers in linguistics, cognitive sciences, and cultural evolution with intensive training in three key areas:

1. Language Documentation: Best practices for collecting, transcribing, and annotating linguistic data.

2. Language Archiving: Methods for preserving and making linguistic data accessible for future research.

3. Quantitative Methods: Statistical and computational techniques for analyzing linguistic diversity and cultural evolution.

The school includes five days of residential training in a range of methods from expert tutors. During the first two days, you will work with Mandana Seyfeddinipur and Kelsey Neely from the Endangered Languages Documentation Programme (ELDP). The sessions will cover key theories and methodologies in language documentation, with a particular focus on video recording techniques, data management, annotation tools, and best practices for archiving to ensure long-term access and reproducibility of linguistic research. Additionally, you will have the opportunity to gain insights into grant writing for documentation projects funded by ELDP.
During the second hald of the winter school you'll cover theoretical and conceptual material, do hands-on practical exercises with real linguistic data using use a variety of computational tools (BEAST, R and Python) and linguistic software (ELAN, EDICTOR), and get expert feedback on your own research. This immersive experience is designed to provide a strong foundation in both the theoretical underpinnings and the practical application of these crucial research skills.

Participants will gain practical experience with:

• Language documentation techniques using a variety of tools and linguistic software
• Contemporary practices on language archiving
• Software pipelines and databases for linguistic and cultural data management.
• Basic and advanced statistical methods to explore cultural and linguistic diversity.
• Statistical modeling of hypotheses related to cultural and linguistic diversity.
• Phylogenetic tree inference.
• Use of phylogenetic trees to study linguistic or cultural traits.
• Formulating strong research questions.

The curriculum is designed to equip researchers with the skills to address fundamental questions about linguistic diversity, language change, and the interplay between language and culture, using real-world linguistic datasets.

20 places are available for this Winter School, and participants will be selected through 'a careful review of research interests.

Furthermore, the program offers financial aid for travel expenses for up to 7 Latin American students who require it. The selection for these grants will be based on both academic merit and the applicants' demonstrated economical need.

Application process and submission link:

All applicants need to provide a CV and a one-page outline of their proposed or current research and detail how the school will benefit their projects. Applicants should also indicate if they would require travel funding.

Upload your application documents as one PDF file here. Please use a transparent file naming convention such as WS2025_PUCP_[your last name].pdf

Key Dates:

• Applications Close: May 30th, 2025
• Interviews: June 1st-10th, 2025
• Notification of Acceptance: June 15th, 2025

Further details about the school will be available shortly. We encourage interested postgraduate students and early-career researchers to prepare their applications.

• Frederic Blum (MPI-EVA)
• Scott Claessens (U Kent)
• Russell Gray (MPI-EVA)
• Benedict King (MPI-EVA)
• Kelsey Neely (ELDP)
• Mandana Seyfeddinipur (ELDP)
• Roberto Zariquiey (PUCP)

Registration will open for all accepted participants soon.

Coming soon.

Comming soon.

• Russell Gray (MPI-EVA)
• Iren Hartmann (MPI-EVA)
• Mandana Seyfeddinipur (ELDP)
• Mariana Poblete Rodríguez (PUCP)
• Roberto Zariquiey (PUCP)
   

Queries regarding our Winter School can be send to this e-mail address.