Department Chair of Speech-Language-Hearing Sciences
University of Minnesota
Benjamin Munson, PhD is many things. For the purposes of this conference, he is professor and chair of the Department of Speech-Language-Hearing Sciences at University of Minnesota. He conducts research on, among other things, how gender, sexuality and race are conveyed and perceived through patterns of phonetic variation, both by neurodiverse children and adults. This work has made him acutely aware of the power of voice to convey many different messages, convolved together in a single, sometimes evanescent signal.
Munson is also queer, a recovering alcoholic, a former AIDS activist, a husband, a brother, an uncle and a cat dad. He is an alumnus of University at Buffalo, Ohio State University and the Harris County jail (Houston, TX). His life's work has given him unique opportunities to weave together academic work with advocating for justice, practicing spirituality and providing service to others.