Skip to main content
Intellect

Failure to communicate topic of BYU Barker lecture Nov. 13

Donald K. Jarvis, professor of Russian and chair of the Germanic and Slavic Languages Department at Brigham Young University, will present the James L. Barker Lecture Thursday, Nov. 13, at 11 a.m. in 2084 Jesse Knight Humanities Building on the BYU campus.

The lecture, titled "Failure to Communicate," will explore miscommunication and its relationship to ethnocentrism, greed and self-absorption.

Jarvis received his doctoral degree from Ohio State University in 1970. His research has focused on Slavic culture and pedagogy.

He is a co-author of "Nachalo: When in Russia," a widely used first-year Russian textbook and has written several books on language teaching and faculty development. Jarvis has also served as the dean of General Education.

The annual James L. Barker Lecture in Language and Linguistics honors Barker, a former language department chair at BYU and internationally renowned scholar in phonetics. Barker was a professor of German, French, Spanish and Italian. The lecture is sponsored by the Barker family.

For more information, contact Karmen Smith at (801) 422-2779.

Writer: Thomas Grover

Related Articles

data-content-type="article"

BYU celebrates 150 years with a scientific twist on a birthday tradition

October 28, 2025
BYU is marking its 150th anniversary with a creative spin on a classic celebration: blowing out birthday candles in BYU style.
overrideBackgroundColorOrImage= overrideTextColor= promoTextAlignment= overrideCardHideSection=false overrideCardHideByline=false overrideCardHideDescription=false overridebuttonBgColor= overrideButtonText= promoTextAlignment=
data-content-type="article"

BYU student shines in prestigious Chinese Bridge competition, attracting over 100 million viewers

September 25, 2025
BYU sophomore Ashley Breinholt placed second in the global finals of the Chinese Bridge competition on Aug. 24 in China. Breinholt’s finish marks the highest placement ever achieved by a BYU student in the event’s 24-year history.
overrideBackgroundColorOrImage= overrideTextColor= promoTextAlignment= overrideCardHideSection=false overrideCardHideByline=false overrideCardHideDescription=false overridebuttonBgColor= overrideButtonText= promoTextAlignment=
data-content-type="article"

I love to see the temple… but I need a microscope

September 23, 2025
In honor of BYU’s 150th anniversary, electrical engineering professor Greg Nordin and student Callum Galloway have created 150 microscopic replicas of existing LDS temples, all on a 12-by-19 millimeter microchip. Each of these unique temples — 150 different floor plans to celebrate 150 years of BYU — is less than a grain of rice in length.
overrideBackgroundColorOrImage= overrideTextColor= promoTextAlignment= overrideCardHideSection=false overrideCardHideByline=false overrideCardHideDescription=false overridebuttonBgColor= overrideButtonText= promoTextAlignment=
overrideBackgroundColorOrImage= overrideTextColor= promoTextAlignment= overrideCardHideSection=false overrideCardHideByline=false overrideCardHideDescription=false overridebuttonBgColor= overrideButtonText=