International Conference
Dates:
11th and 12th of December 2017, University of Bern, Switzerland
In December 2017, the University of Bern will host an interdisciplinary conference that brings together internationally renowned scholars and young researchers working in the fields of sociolinguistics, critical discourse studies and linguistic anthropology/ethnography. In this regard, we invite the submission of abstracts for presentations. The number of participants will be limited to 20, in order to facilitate a tightly structured conference that affords sufficient time for discussion.
City Talk - Call for papers (PDF, 160KB)
As its intellectual foundation and uniting theme, the conference focuses on the ever-growing web of interdependent urban zones that facilitate the increased and intensified transnational movement of people, products, and information that typifies the contemporary world: “the city”. Our aim is to generate new ideas and advance interdisciplinary knowledge and discussion at the important interface between language, society and “the city” in a globalizing world. We define “the city” here as, at once:
- a discursive formation (i.e. as ‘text’);
- an often-potent marker of identity (i.e. through ‘talk’);
- lived-in, moving, embodied and situated space (i.e. ‘place’), and;
- a key site of (global) cultural and economic production, consumption, and social inequality.
Society builds cities, but how do cities, in turn, shape society, for better or worse?
We welcome contributions that use a diverse set of analytical and methodological frameworks. We encourage presentations taking a multimodal approach to communication – inclusive of, but not limited to, spoken/written language.
For MA students wanting to attend some of the lectures for credits, please consult the Guest Lecture & Events page to see which lectures are open to the public.
