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Engaging UBC Okanagan students and Hollywood audiences alike

Dr. Christine Schreyer bridges academia and entertainment through her expertise in language and culture

July 19, 2024

Dr. Christine Schreyer can pinpoint the exact moment when she knew she wanted to become an anthropologist. It was during a Grade 6 social studies class focused on the Indigenous People of Canada where her interest in other cultures and languages was ignited, and where she first learned the word “anthropologist.”

That pivotal occasion led Dr. Schreyer to pursue her love for languages by taking high school courses in French and Spanish. From there, she learned Latin and Cree in university, and eventually found her niche in the field of linguistic anthropology.

“I would describe myself as a language fangirl—I’m very passionate about language. I hope my students see that passion in my teaching, but also understand how my research is tied to it,” explains Dr. Schreyer, an Associate Professor of Anthropology in UBC Okanagan’s Department of Community, Culture and Global Studies.

In addition to teaching courses in linguistic anthropology, she also supervises both undergraduate and graduate students in research projects related to language revitalization, language documentation and language education, with a focus on Indigenous education.

“Take, for example, my work with the Splatsin First Nation in Enderby. Every time I’ve taught a course on language revitalization, my classes have done projects with that community, like a handbook of their Secwépemc phrases that can be given to community members.”

Dr. Schreyer also supervises students interested in constructed languages and has gained a student following for her research with the Na’vi speech community from the movie Avatar. She has created a number of languages featured in Hollywood films, including the Kryptonian language in Man of Steel, the Eltarian language in Power Rangers: The Movie, the Beama/Cro-Magnon language in Alpha, the Atlantean language in Zack Snyder’s Justice League, and multiple languages in Rebel Moon 1 & 2 and The Spiderwick Chronicles.

“I’m a little famous in certain circles,” Dr. Schreyer shyly concedes.

Within the classroom, she implements a combination of effective strategies to meet the needs and interests of her students, such as flexible deadlines and multi-access, where students can participate in-person or online so that anyone can join her lectures. Every one of her courses is discussion-based.

“Despite her classes being lecture style, she highly values the input of her students,” says Agata Beau Ramos, one of Dr. Schreyer’s Bachelor of Arts students.

“She regularly gives us opportunities to chime in with our opinions or questions. The safe learning environment she creates is highly motivating and allows for more intimate connections between students.”

“Dr. Schreyer is a very gifted instructor. She nurtures students’ enthusiasm in course topics by encouraging students to explore their own interests wherever possible, and by providing opportunities for students to apply their learning in creative and tangible ways.”

To supplement and enrich her classes, Dr. Schreyer incorporates the use of Padlets (visual boards for organizing and sharing content), online periodicals, TED Talks, podcasts, spoken word performances and various social media platforms. She also offers unique assignments like editing Wikipedia articles to add peer reviewed academic citations. Her classes have had a huge effect on the platform, adding hundreds of references to improve its credibility.

“Dr. Schreyer is a very gifted instructor. She nurtures students’ enthusiasm in course topics by encouraging students to explore their own interests wherever possible, and by providing opportunities for students to apply their learning in creative and tangible ways,” says doctoral student Emily Comeau.

In recognition of her contributions to teaching and learning, Dr. Schreyer was awarded the 2024 Killam Teaching Prize.

Recently named Director of the Institute for Community Engaged Research, Dr. Schreyer will spend the near future focusing on her research while also mentoring graduate students, faculty and community partners in doing good community-based research.

“It will be interesting to see how that different kind of teaching and mentoring works and how I can bring that back to my classes. I think it will make excellent partnerships for the way I approach my teaching.”