CIP-seminar: The Englishization of universities - From language policy to linguistic justice

The CIP seminar series is an open forum for presentation and discussion of research related to language and internationalisation.

The series features presentations from employees at CIP as well as invited speakers.

At the upcoming seminar, Josep Soler Carbonell from the Department of English at Stockholm University will give a presentation on "The Englishization of universities: From language policy to linguistic justice".

Abstract

For a long time now, language dilemmas in higher education and academia more generally have been the object of study, analysis, and discussion amongst a broad range of stakeholders. In this chapter, two policy principles are examined to show and better understand the emergence of language-related tensions in academia: the maximin principle (Van Parijs, 2011) and the principle of linguistic subsidiarity (Bastardas-Boada, 2017). The former takes an economics of language stance and explains why, in multilingual encounters, English tends to be favored. The latter, by contrast, takes an ecology of languages perspective and puts emphasis on the preservation of domains of use for local languages over global ones.

Today, academia shows various degrees of multilingual contact, with a diversity of language assumptions and interests. As such, academia presents a prominent context where the above two principles clash. This clashing then results into various forms of language-related injustices. The second part of the chapter explores some of these injustices in more detail and proposes alternative frameworks though which linguistic injustices can be alleviated and, therefore, linguistic justice in higher education can be fostered. One such framework draws on a view of language premised on an ethics of responsibility (Levinas, 1981), which underscores a reduction of linguistic hierarchies and a stance of solidarity toward diverse forms of linguistic expression.

Practical information

The presentation will be in English but questions in both English and Danish are welcome.

Registration to the CIP-seminar is not needed but there will be a limited number of seats available.