Call for Papers: Journal of Language, Identity, and Education

[Suresh Canagarajah]

VYAKARAN: South Asian Languages and Linguistics Net
Editors:  Tej K. Bhatia, Syracuse University, New York
          John Peterson, University of Munich, Germany
Details:  Send email to listserv at listserv.syr.edu and say: INFO VYAKARAN
Subscribe:Send email to listserv at listserv.syr.edu and say:
          SUBSCRIBE VYAKARAN FIRST_NAME LAST_NAME
          (Substitute your real name for first_name last_name)
Archives: http://listserv.syr.edu

The Journal of Language, Identity, and Education
Thomas Ricento and Terrence G. Wiley, co-editors
Call for Papers
Special Topic Issue: Celebrating Local Knowledge on Language and Education
Guest Editor: Suresh Canagarajah

Scholars in a variety of disciplines have recently displayed a sensitivity to
the ways in which academic knowledge is contextual. The establishment of
legitimate knowledge is implicated in conflict and power. Historically,
scholarly circles in the western hemisphere have played a dominant role in
knowledge construction processes. While European colonialism enjoys a shaping
influence in the formation of many disciplines, a particularly effective way
in which this dominance is maintained today is through the centralization of
academic publishing practices.

    The consequences of this limited participation in knowledge construction
affect all communities. In the language-related disciplines, we realize that
such central constructs as the native speaker, speech community, and
linguistic competence lack complexity, generating a search for new
terminology. We also find that the dominant models in language planning,
bilingual education, language acquisition, and literacy are not
representative of the experiences of many communities. Imposing these
constructs on diverse local contexts  may result in negative outcomes.

    While we have been fortunate to read occasional articulations of these
problems  in mainstream publications, there is a need for a more focused
exploration. The purpose of this special issue is to re-examine knowledge
about language, especially as it relates to educational concerns. Education
refers here not only to language teaching, but to the implications of
language in the knowledge creating/disseminating practices of any discipline.
Both micro-level processes of linguistic communication  and macro-level
sociolinguistic affairs are of relevance. Papers may critique dominant
constructs in the light of research in atypical settings; explore the
implications of existing paradigms for periphery communities; articulate
local knowledge on communicative and pedagogical practices; critique the
assumptions of central constructs in the context of divergent lived
realities; negotiate the conflicting knowledge traditions across communities;
or  imagine ways in which meaningful collaboration can improve international
understanding and disciplinary discourse.

    The Journal of Language, Identity, and Education invites contributions to
this special issue to be published in Winter 2002. Papers which bridge
focused research and reflexive interpretation, local cases and global
concerns, and theorization and practice are preferable. Contributions from
nontraditional settings and under-represented scholarly circles are
encouraged. We are currently soliciting two- to three-page abstracts for this
issue. Send two copies of the abstract and a biographical statement (of about
50 words) with a full mailing address, daytime/evening phone numbers, and
e-mail address (if available). Proposals for Brief Reports and Book Reviews
are also welcome. Abstracts should be mailed no later than February 10th 2001
to the following address:
Suresh Canagarajah, Department of English, Box G-0732, Baruch College of the
City University of New York, New York, NY 10010. E-mail:
suresh_canagarajah at baruch.cuny.edu