2024
-
December 2024: Language, Power, Identity and Schooling
This month’s Spotlight was contributed by Hub member Marguerite Lukes. She works at the intersection of research, policy and practice in language and migration. Based in New York City, Marguerite is Director of Research at the national non-profit Internationals Network for Public Schools and is part-time faculty in New York University’s School of Education, Culture…
-
November 2024: Language as a Matter of Life and Death
This month’s Spotlight was contributed by Gerald Roche. He is a political anthropologist based at La Trobe University, Australia, and his work focuses on the intersections of language and power. He previously edited the Routledge Handbook of Language Revitalization, and he has recently published articles in Language in Society, State Crime Journal, and Emancipations: A…
-
October 2024: A Global Platform for Promoting African Languages: the AFLC Story
This month’s commentary is contributed by Avishta Seeras. The African Languages Conference (AFLC) was born out of a shared passion for the promotion and preservation of Africa’s rich linguistic heritage. In a world where languages are increasingly endangered, AFLC emerged as a beacon of hope for the continent’s languages. Founded by myself and Ady Namaran…
-
September 2024: English Is Not Thriving Everywhere
This Spotlight is contributed by Language, Culture and Justice Hub coordinator Leigh Swigart. It has become a commonplace to characterize English as the language of globalization, the contemporary sine qua non of international business, international education (see Rosemary Salomone’s May 2024 Spotlight), international law (see Leigh Swigart’s December 2022 Spotlight), international diplomacy, and more. English…
-
August 2024: The Bridge as a Cultural Confluence: Interpreting Language and Justice in Kakuma Refugee Camp
This month’s Spotlight was prepared by Ifigeneia Gianne, an undergraduate student at Bard College who is majoring in Anthropology and Theater. As an international student from Greece, Ifigeneia is no stranger to issues of language and culture. As part of her studies, she has had the opportunity to closely analyze a recent film that introduces…
-
July 2024: Access, Asset, Agency, and Advocacy: Four Pillars of Linguistic and Cultural Inclusion in Higher Education
Dr. Shawna Shapiro (Middlebury College) Over the past several years, many higher education institutions have begun to devote more attention to issues of diversity, equity, inclusion, and justice (DEIJ)—particularly as it pertains to the experiences of students of color and other groups that been historically marginalized. Although “diversity” has been a focal point for educational…
-
June 2024: Colonialingualism
This month’s feature comes from critical sociolinguist and Hub member Paul J. Meighan. His text introduces us to the notion of “colonialingualism,” which Paul developed in his 2022 article entitled “Colonialingualism: colonial legacies, imperial mindsets, and inequitable practices in English language education.” The languages implemented in mainstream education predominantly reflect the knowledge and belief systems…
-
May 2024: The Inequities of English Use in Global Higher Education Must Be Addressed
This month’s Spotlight* was contributed by linguist/lawyer Rosemary Salomone, the Kenneth Wang Professor of Law at St. John’s University School of Law (Queens, New York, USA). Her latest book is The Rise of English: Global Politics and the Power of Language (Oxford University Press). For more on this topic, view a recording of the Hub’s…
-
April 2024: Announcing the Language Rights Defenders Award
This month’s Spotlight on Language, Culture and Justice is contributed by Dr. Gerald Roche, Anthropologist and Associate Professor in the Department of Politics, Media, and Philosophy at La Trobe University. Gerald is a founding co-chair of the Global Coalition on Language Rights and has established the Coalition’s new Language Rights Defenders Award. Nominations for this…
-
March 2024: Linguistic Labor and Language Access in U.S. Schools
This month’s Spotlight is contributed by Hub member Molly Hamm-Rodríguez, Assistant Professor of Social Foundations of Education at the University of South Florida. In 2015, the U.S. Department of Education Office for Civil Rights and U.S. Department of Justice Civil Rights Division issued a “Dear Colleague” letter to address public schools’ responsibilities to ensure the…
-
February 2024: Considering Language about “the Conflict”
As the world remains transfixed by daily news reports about the ongoing conflict involving Israel and Palestine, playing out largely in Gaza, some observers have directed attention to how events are being verbally described in the English-language press. It would appear that a war of actions is being bolstered by a war of words.