Language and Super-diversity: Explorations and interrogations

University of Jyväskylä, Finland (June 5-7, 2013)

The annual conference organised by the University of Jyväskylä Department of Languages and Centre for Applied Language Studies (who will be joined this year by  the International Consortium on Language and Super-diversity [link no longer active]) will bring together scholars from a variety of linguistic fields (e.g. linguistics, sociolinguistics, sociology of language, linguistic anthropology, applied linguistics, discourse studies, new literacy studies, pragmatics, ethnography and multi-modality) in order to investigate the phenomenon of super-diversity (Vertovec 2007). In the words of the organisers:

The conference provides a forum for researchers to explore the forms, processes, practices and effects of super-diversity and the multi-faceted challenge it poses to language study, calling forth a revision of some of its key tools – its theoretical apparata, methods of data gathering and analytic concepts.

Plenary speakers

• Michael Silverstein (U. Chicago),
• David Parkin (Oxford),
• Christopher Stroud (U. Western Cape)
• Sirpa Leppänen (U. Jyväskylä).

There will also be a round-table discussion on Language and Super-diversity, with Jan Blommaert (Tilburg), Ben Rampton (KCL), Karel Arnaut (Max Planck Institute for the Study of Religious and Ethnic Diversity), Jens Normann Jørgensen (U. Copenhagen), Robert Moore (Penn Graduate School of Education) and Cécile Vigouroux (Simon Fraser U.)

Call for papers

Proposals for posters, papers and thematic panels are invited on topics relevant to language and super-diversity. A non-exhaustive list of possible topics includes:

• multilingualism
• language and globalization
• language crossing, switching, and mixing
• contact-induced language variation and change
• polylanguaging, translanguaging, metrolingualism
• linguistic landscapes
• new literacies
• computer-mediated discourse
• language assessment for the determination of origin and citizenship
• language (education) policy
• language socialization
• narratives of cultural belonging and difference

Abstracts are to be submitted through the conference abstract management system (Update: link no longer active). Although the language of the conference is English, the use and visibility of other languages is encouraged (e.g., in handouts and slides). More information on preparing an abstract can be found here (Update: link no longer active).

Important dates

Submission of abstracts opens	22nd June 2012
Deadline for panel proposals	15th November 2012
Deadline for paper & poster proposals:	15th December 2012
Notification of acceptance/rejection (panels)	15th January 2013
Notification of acceptance/rejection (papers and posters)	15 February 2013