Connect with Faculty: ESPERANTO: The Rise and Fall and Rise of the International Language

Connect with CSU Faculty, A Friends of the Library Series Tuesday, April 8, 2025 11:30 am – 12:30 p.m. Featuring Jeremy Genovese, PhD Emeritus Associate Professor of Human Development and Educational Psychology Presenting ESPERANTO: The Rise and Fall and Rise of the International Language Location: Michael Schwartz Library Connection Lounge ((1st floor, near front desk) The constructed language Esperanto was invented in 1887 to facilitate international communication and understanding. Esperanto was designed to be easy to learn with phonetic pronunciation and a simple, consistent grammar. The Esperanto movement grew rapidly but suffered a severe setback in the run up to the Second World War. The language was specifically condemned by Hitler. Stalin labeled it “the language of spies.” In recent decades, Esperanto has regained ground with the rise of the internet. Today the Esperanto movement is a growing transnational community of speakers who regularly communicate either virtually or in person. This is a free event open to the campus community and the Friends of the Library.