[Linganth] CfP Panel- AAA 2026: Concealment and Control

[Aljuran, Aidah]

CfP Panel- AAA 2026
Draft Panel Abstract:

Concealment and Control in Social Interaction
The concept of language control and concealment has recently garnered growing attention in anthropology and cognate disciplines, as scholars seek to understand how speech and social action (in this case, through practices of control and concealment) organize social life. In sociolinguistics, language control has been examined in relation to how speakers control sociolinguistic variation, overt commentary, stance-taking, and the performance of social identity. In anthropology, concealment has been closely linked to secrecy and secrets. Across both fields, scholars have emphasized the complex and multi-faceted nature of these practice, showing how they are shaped by language awareness (Babel 2016), cognitive processes (Campbell-Kibler 2016), intentionality (Debenport 2023), distributed knowledge (Sidnell 2005), secret knowledge (Mahmud 2014), sociopolitical status (Aljuran & Brewster 2023), social identity (Barrett & Hall 2023), cultural reproduction and social relations (Debenport 2015), risk (Jones 2011), privacy (Kulick 2015), and surveillance (Nader and Gusterson 2007), among others.
In this panel, we bring the sociolinguistic concept of language control into conversation with the anthropological concept of concealment to rethink language use in interaction. We approach concealment and control as creative, situated, and interactional practices that emerge under conditions of social pressure and transition. In contexts where visibility is both demanded and risky, individuals operate at the edge of being known or exposed, mobilizing linguistic and social resources to manage what can be said, to whom, and under what conditions, thereby reshaping the boundaries of knowledge, visibility, and social relations. We invite papers that explore the dynamics of concealment and control, drawing on ethnographic data across diverse regions, communities, and epistemological boundaries.
Interested panelists, please send abstracts (max 300 words) by (or before) April 27th to Aidah Aljuran at aljuran.1 at osu.edu. Include a title, author(s), institutional affiliation(s), and contact email(s). All panelists must commit to registering for the conference by the deadline.



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Aidah Aljuran, Ph.D.
Presidential Postdoctoral Scholar
The Ohio State University
256 Hagerty Hall, 1775 College Rd, Columbus, OH 43210
✉️ aljuran.1 at osu.edu



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