Third Call for papers, conference announcement: Language and Super-diversity: Explorations and Interrogations

[Sonya Sahradyan]

Language and Super-diversity: Explorations and interrogations

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

Invited speakers
* Michael Silverstein (University of Chicago)
* David Parkin (University of Oxford)
* Christopher Stroud (University of Western Cape)
* Sirpa Leppänen (University of Jyväskylä)

Invited round-table discussion on Language and Super-diversity
* Jan Blommaert (University of Tilburg)
* Ben Rampton (King’s College)
* Karel Arnaut (Max Planck Institute for the Study of Religious and Ethnic Diversity)
* Jens Normann Jørgensen (University of Copenhagen)
* Robert Moore (Penn Graduate School of Education)
* Cécile Vigouroux (Simon Fraser University)

Deadline for abstracts: Panel proposals, November 15, 2012; paper and poster proposals, December 15, 2012.
Guidelines for submission: http://www.jyu.fi/superdiversity/call-for-papers 
 
Description of the conference

During the past few decades, the face of social, cultural and linguistic diversity in societies all over the world has changed radically, producing complexity of a different kind than what has traditionally been captured in the notion of multiculturalism. This ‘new’ diversity, or super-diversity (Vertovec 2007), encompasses a wide range of societal and cultural transformations that stem mainly from accelerated processes of geocultural and mediated globalization of the last two decades.

Super-diversity manifests most notably in such demographic and social changes as the tremendous increase in the categories of migrants, not only in terms of nationality, ethnicity, language and religion, but also in terms of motives, patterns and careers as migrants, processes of insertion into, settling in and interactions with the host societies. It is also witnessed in the increasing complexity of both physical and virtual spaces and their compressed and multi-scalar character. It shows in the enhanced mobility of people and the speed with which they can move between and access other places. In the same way, communication, the dissemination of information and the mediation of cultural practices and products are increasingly characterized by rapidity, simultaneity and ubiquity. Technologies of communication and information circulation offer new opportunities for interaction in which identifications are not organized on the basis of local, ethnic or national categories only but which are characterized by translocality, connectedness and heterogeneity.

In language use, a crucial effect of super-diversity is that the language and cultural biographies and repertoires, forms of communication and interaction between individuals, groups and communities cannot be presupposed. Language uses are not necessarily tied to national or ethnic groups or to standard varieties of language. Instead, they encompass a broad field of less predictable actors, activities and creative energies. In new combinations and intertwining of stability and instability, reliance on tradition and established normative orders are tied in with situated emergent forms of practice.

To capture, describe and explain the forms, processes, practices and effects of super-diversity, sociolinguists are faced with a multi-faceted challenge, calling forth a revision of some of their key tools – their theoretical apparata, methods of data gathering and analytic concepts (Blommaert and Rampton 2011). The aim of this international conference is to explore and interrogate the perspective offered by super-diversity, a perspective which for sociolinguistic study has tremendous heuristic potential.

References
Blommaert, J. and Rampton, B. Language and Superdiversity. Diversities. 2011, vol. 13, no. 2. UNESCO. www.unesco.org/shs/diversities/vol13/issue2/art1
Vertovec, Steven. 2007. Super-diversity and its Implications. Ethnic and Racial Studies, 30(6), pp. 1024–1054.
 
Third Call for Papers

This international conference invites scholars to propose topics relevant to language and super-diversity. These can include (but are not limited to) both contemporary and historical studies on

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

In terms of settings, the conference welcomes work on different everyday, institutional and educational settings at mega-cities, small places in centres and margins, as well as in mediated translocal communicative environments.

Studies on any languages and (inter)disciplinary takes (e.g. linguistics, sociolinguistics, sociology of language, linguistic anthropology, discourse studies, new literacy studies, pragmatics, ethnography, multi-modality and language education) are welcome.

Young and beginning scholars are warmly encouraged to contribute; the conference fee will be waived for five students from non-EU countries (applications to be included in the online registration form, to appear on the conference website).

Submissions are solicited for thematic panels, papers, and posters. Each participant may have at most two presentations at the conference: one single-authored and one co-authored paper/poster.

The language of the conference is English, but we encourage the use and visibility of other languages in bi/multilingual handouts, slides, etc.
 
Instructions to panel organizers

Panels will have a maximum duration of three hours. The panel can be thematically organized sessions, but also data sessions are welcome. The panel organizer needs to make sure that the participants submit their abstracts to the Conference Management System in time. If the panel organizer decides that the presentations or data samples be circulated between all the panel members before the conference, s/he should check that their materials are submitted to the Conference Management System.

Panel organizers should:
submit a proposal (see below) by 15 November 2012 and confirm that all invited contributors have agreed to participate
coordinate the submission of abstracts by contributors (max. 300 words each) before the same deadline as above
chair their panel at the conference
act as mediators between the contributors and the Conference Organizing Committee

Submitting panel proposals:
Proposals for a thematic panel should be submitted electronically via the Conference Management System by the panel organizer.

The proposal should include:
information on the panel session (title, topic, organizer(s) and discussant(s)); a maximum of 8 keywords covering the subject, methodology and theoretical framework(s)
all the individual abstracts (maximum of 300 words) by the invited contributors, submitted to the Conference Management System
a general overview abstract (maximum of 900 words) for the whole panel which will include:
the topic and how it relates to the conference themes;
rationale for the panel and its aims and objectives;
discussion questions;
how the session will be organized (discussion format, number of papers, discussants/participants);
a short list of key references
 
Abstracts in English should be submitted via the Conference Management System on the conference website.
The deadline for panel submissions is November 15, 2012.
All submissions will be double blind reviewed; notification of acceptance January 15, 2013.
 
Papers and posters

Papers and posters are different forms of presentation but should be of an equally high quality and discuss original work. Both papers and posters will be submitted to the same refereeing process. The Organizing Committee reserves the right to place proposals for papers and posters in either category in consultation with the reviewers.

Submitting a proposal for a paper:
Individual papers will be allocated 30 minutes (20 minutes for presentation and 10 minutes for questions). Abstracts in English (max. 300 words) should be submitted via the Conference Management System.
The deadline for paper submissions is December 15, 2012.
All submissions will be double blind reviewed; notification of acceptance February 15, 2013.

Submitting a proposal for a poster:
Each presenter will be provided with 120 x 90 cm of board space (portrait). They may also provide handouts with examples or more detailed information. Abstracts in English (max. 300 words) should be submitted via the Conference Management System.
The deadline for poster submissions is December 15, 2012.
All submissions will be double blind reviewed; notification of acceptance February 15, 2013.
 
Scientific committee

Sirpa Leppänen, Karel Arnaut, Dong Jie, Martha Karrebæk, Ben Rampton, Chris Stroud, Max Spotti and Cécile Vigouroux

Local organizing committee

Sirpa Leppänen, Mia Halonen, Henna Jousmäki, Samu Kytölä, Mikko Laitinen, Mika Lähteenmäki, Taina Saarinen, Sonya Sahradyan, Minna Suni, Elina Westinen

Conference secretary: Saija Peuronen
Financial secretary: Satu Julin
Event Coordinator: Taru-Maija Heilala-Rasimov

Contact: superdiversity at jyu.fi