Intersections of language studies and social/political movements, activism, and participation

Abstract

Language shapes – and is shaped by – historical, political, social, and cultural contexts. Research on language from such perspectives has historically been marginalized and compartmentalized within rigidly-defined academic disciplines. Within these dynamic contexts, there is a need to break down disciplinary silos and provide a forum for theoretical and empirical research from existing and emergent research methodologies for exploring the relationships among language, power, discourses, and social practices. Recent developments in the securitization of immigration, travel, and international relations illustrate how language studies intersects with social/political movements, activism, and participation. The political unrest around the world that is forcing large numbers of individuals to flee their homeland for safety, along with governmental policies to either accept or reject refugees, makes it very timely to examine how society engages in movements to support or reject refugees, engage in activism, and participate these movements. We define participation as bearing a range of meanings from the language that is used to talk about refugees and other immigrants, the ways that institutions respond to refugees/immigrants, as well as to the attitudes and behaviors that society expresses toward this population of vulnerable individuals. Empirical inquiry in this area of focus is not new. For example, Cortina, Makar, and Mount-Cors (2015) discuss dual-language programs as a social movement. Platt and Williams (2002) analyze letters written to Martin Luther King Jr. that expressed opposition to the integration of society in the U.S. during the Civil Rights era. The current situation in the world surrounding refugees, government policy on admitting or denying refugees, establishing travel bans, anti-Muslim sentiment, anti-immigrant policies, among others, has led to a host of social/political movements, other forms of activism and participation pertaining to these issues (Allexsaht-Snider, Buxton, & Harman, 2013; Almeida, Biello, Pedraza, Wintner, & ViruellFuentes, 2016). Since Buzan, Wæver, and de Wilde’s (1998) securitization theory, there has been increased interest in the role that language plays