Alessandro Duranti is Distinguished Professor of Anthropology and Dean of Social Sciences at UCLA. His publications include Key Terms in Language and Culture (Wiley-Blackwell, 2001) and A Companion to Linguistic Anthropology (Wiley-Blackwell, 2004). He is a member of the American Academy of Arts and Science and the recipient of various awards, including the John Simon Guggenheim Fellowship, the UCLA Alumni Distinguished Teaching Award, and the American Anthropological Association/Mayfield Award for Excellence in Undergraduate Teaching.