Multidisciplinary Approaches in Language Policy & Planning Conference
We invite papers and colloquia that approach language policy from a variety of theoretical and methodological perspectives, and in a variety of contexts, from the local/institutional to the national/global.
Abstracts of up to 300 words are welcome that address topics such as (but not limited to):
- Official & non-official language policies
- Language-in-education policies
- Language attrition, language revitalization + LP
- Heritage language policies
- LP and political economy
- LP, globalization, and superdiversity
- LP and the workplace
- LP and lingua franca
- LP and Indigeneity
- LP and transnational communities
- LP, signed languages, and Deaf studies
- LP and anti-racism/anti-oppression
- LP and political theory
- National identities and language policies
- LP and economics
- Methods of LP inquiry
Please see the conference website for details on how to format and submit your proposal.
We especially encourage language-policy practitioners to submit paper and/or colloquia sessions to share their work. We can imagine various session structures, including:
- overviews of a specific program (e.g., how a local, regional, or provincial language policy supports language revitalization programming, in which government representatives, teachers, and curriculum developers co-present);
- roundtable discussions in which policy-actors in a particular sector engage in dialogue about common issues and challenges they face in their work; and
- practitioner-research sessions that present findings from inquiry into a given language policy initiative.
Focus for 2019
For this year’s conference, we invite paper, colloquium, and practitioner proposals that are specifically oriented on critical approaches to the future of the field of Language Policy and Planning. These perspectives might be rooted in empirical or conceptual analysis, or a mixture thereof; and consistent with the tradition of this conference, we invite arguments from various disciplinary perspectives. One sign of how LPP has matured into a discipline unto itself is the appearance of multiple texts meant to define the parameters of the field. We are over a decade out from the first books that established LPP as a robust discipline (e.g. Ricento, 2006; Shohamy, 2006; Spolsky, 2004). More recently, Johnson (2013) and Hult and Johnson (2015) have offered useful updates with their books on the core concepts and research methods, respectively, in the field. Indeed, there are now two handbooks on LPP, so you know we’ve made the big time!
From this perspective of an established discipline, we specifically invite papers that offer critical approaches that challenge scholars and practitioners of LPP to think about and do our work differently. In the past, the LPP Conference has not published a conference proceedings. However, for this year, we plan to propose an edited volume that compiles the best papers from the 2019 conference presenting critical perspectives on the future of the field. When submitting your paper, colloquium, or practitioner proposal, please indicate whether you would like your work considered as part of this publication.