Anglophone Context Research Articles

Transnational Voices in Academia

In this paper, two transnational doctoral students and language educators of color engage in a reflexive dialogic conversation focusing on intersectional aspects of their identities and positionalities. Utilizing duoethnography research methodology, they explored their academic and professional journeys in post-secondary education both in their home countries and in an Anglophone context. A discussion on the negotiation of their positionalities in their immediate academic, professional, and sociocultural contexts is provided. We argue that unveiling one’s positionality requires a prolonged reflexive engagement that assists in establishing quality in qualitative research as well as exploring fluidity in positionality. We close with implications and invitations to use duoethnography as a path to self-exploration, solidarity, and allyship.

Formal and informal foreign language learning at university: blurring the boundaries

ABSTRACT This paper is concerned with the integration of informal language learning into university language modules in a foreign language environment. It begins by exploring the evolving nature of formal and informal language learning. This is followed by analysis of a pedagogic innovation intended to integrate foreign language activities in an informal university space shared by domestic and international students into formal German and Spanish language modules in an anglophone context. The initiative is evaluated within an action research framework using the following research instruments: student attendance data, reflective reports, end-of-module student surveys and a collaborative debrief with two language tutors. The results indicate that the explicit integration of informal language learning into formal language modules increases student engagement with informal language learning, provides opportunities for oral practice in particular, and supports the development of language learner autonomy. While care must be taken to ensure that the informal nature of the informal language learning experience is retained using low stakes assessment and a fluid, flexible, student-led pedagogical approach, the findings indicate that the explicit integration of informal language learning activities into formal language learning has the potential to expand the personal learning environment of the foreign language learner to their benefit.

Din as Discourse in the Anglophone Caribbean

This essay discusses Belinda Edmondson’s Creole Noise: Early Caribbean Dialect Literature and Performance (2022). The author shows how Edmondson challenges Standard English dismissals of anglophone Caribbean vernaculars as an inferior form of English and reorients the historical legacy of Anglo-Creoles by pushing against the assumption that these Creoles are a lingua franca restricted to Black folk cultures in the Caribbean. Beginning with European migration to the Caribbean, Creole Noise charts the colonial and postcolonial emergence of robust, creative vernaculars in the anglophone context. The lively, well-written book reveals how multiple constituencies have contributed culturally to the unique Caribbean language variants that refashioned the English language and enriched global literature.

Kant’s Ongoing Relevance for Philosophy of Science

AbstractIn this introductory article we reconstruct several broad developments in the scholarship on Kant’s theory of natural science with a particular focus on the Anglophone context over the past half-century. Our goal is to illuminate the co-development of Kant scholarship and the philosophy of science during this period and to identify points of influence in both directions. In section 2 we present an overview of the scholarship on Kant’s account of natural laws. In section 3 we survey the diverse interpretations of Kant’s views on biology and consider recent appeals to Kant by philosophers of biology. In section 4 we explore several recent developments in philosophy of science that have potential synergies with Kant scholarship. Our aim is not simply to establish that Kant’s philosophy can have relevance for philosophy of science but also to point out where it has been and continues to be relevant. Appreciating this relevance, we suggest, can help identify productive lines of inquiry for Kant studies.

Instructors’ navigation and appropriation of gender-inclusive Spanish at a U.S. University

ABSTRACT Drawing on in-depth qualitative interviews, we examine Spanish language instructors’ interpretation and appropriation of gender-inclusive language (GIL) policy at a U.S. university. Policy appropriation is represented as a spectrum with varying degrees of policy rejection, avoidance, and engagement across and within participants. Policy rejection was based on language as an inappropriate arena for LGBTQI+ rights, prescriptivists views of language, and language authorities’ rejection of GIL; policy avoidance was based on lack of authority and prescriptive views of language; and policy engagement was rooted in ideas related to identity, representation, and inclusion. This study makes a contribution to understanding foreign language instructors’ appropriation of GIL in an Anglophone context and the complex realities and views that impact policy implementation. Since GIL is gaining prominence across the world, we suggest that foreign language departments encourage academic discussions on GIL so that instructors can make informed decisions about how and why to integrate GIL in the teaching of Spanish as a foreign language.

Archiving Black Diasporas

Archiving Black Diasporas

The Evidence of Things Translated

For several years now, James Baldwin’s life, portrait, and work have enjoyed a central place in the public eye. Although social and audiovisual media have made significant contributions to Baldwin’s return to the cultural and political limelight, the circulation of his published writings remains a vital part of the author’s ubiquity. Moreover, since Baldwin’s omnipresence in bookstores transcends an American or even Anglophone context, this international and multilingual circulation contributes to Baldwin’s world literary standing, as befits the self-described “transatlantic commuter.” This article moves beyond the customary approach to Baldwin’s published success by tracing presently circulating European translations of his work. The article examines the historical developments in Baldwin’s European circulation-through-translation from the time of his death (1987) up until the present, including brief discussions of the French, Italian, and West German translations from the 1960s onward. Of special interest are the pioneering and dominant roles that French and Italian publishers have played since the late 1990s, and the acceleration in circulation that took place across the continent in the wake of the films I Am Not Your Negro and If Beale Street Could Talk. The article concludes with a few remarks on the translation strategies of several key publishers in France, Italy, Germany, and Romania.

‘Runaway’ foreign film productions from a global South perspective: film workers’ memories and site-specific traces from Thailand

ABSTRACT This article explores the subject known in the Anglophone context as ‘runaway’ film productions through examining records by peripheral film workers and the legacy associated with a specific film location in Thailand. Considering the post-Cold War period when ‘foreign’ filmmaking had just taken off and the more recent (post)-COVID-19 labour movement within the country, the article proposes a revisit to film production history via a consideration of on-the-fringe paratexts, sporadically circulated in the public domain, as a way to explore discourses associated with this kind of transnational film productions. The article draws on two key written records associated with the making of The Killing Fields (1984) namely a set diary by the late Sompol Sungkawess, a writer/translator who worked as a local assistant director for the film; and a published monologue by the late Spalding Gray, a playwright/performer who took a minor role in the movie. By conducting a ‘palimpsestuous reading’ of these accounts along with various site-specific traces, the article explores past and present conditions and practices with the aim to project alternative imaginaries of transnational screen service industry from a global South standpoint.

L2 Chinese teachers’ beliefs about engagement strategies for students in Australia: Findings from Q methodology research

In most Anglophone countries, the lack of engagement in the second language (L2) classroom has been recognised as one of the greatest challenges for L2 teachers, but there have not been many studies addressing teachers' beliefs about the issue. This study uses Q methodology to explore teachers' beliefs about engagement strategies held by teachers who teach Chinese as an L2 in Australian secondary schools. Twenty-five teachers with diverse backgrounds were recruited in this study, and they were asked to complete a Q-sort containing 48 statements related to engagement strategies. In the process, we identified four recurring clusters of beliefs as follows: orthodox subject-centred, progressive student-centred, nurturing effort-promoting and authoritative competition-encouraging. All teachers realise that following the structure of a given textbook closely and teaching to the test are not suitable approaches in Australia. However, they show different opinions about emphasising students’ efforts, creating a fun learning environment and empowering students as partners in their learning. Implications for L2 Chinese teaching and teacher professional development in the Anglophone context are provided in this study.

The Invisible Genre: Towards a Definition of Literary Anthology in the Anglophone Context

Anthology as a genre is often given short shrift in Anglophone dictionaries of literary terms. Despite the abundance of anthologies on the book market, this genre tends to be perceived as a given that does not require much explanation. The author of this article challenges such a standpoint and, taking her cue from C. Hugh Holman’s handbook definition, considers the examples he gives in order to draw conclusions about how the concept of anthology has been used throughout the time starting from Richard Tottel’s miscellany (1557) and finishing with Francis Turner Palgrave’s Golden Treasury (1861). Relying on recent research in the theory and practice of Anglophone anthology, the author discusses the main qualities of this genre from historical perspective. She traces in particular the anthology’s involvement in democratization of literature, on the one hand, and its implication in constructing literary history and cultural imperialism, on the other hand.

Revolutionary Violence and the Rise of the Art Novel

Revolutionary Violence and the Rise of the Art Novel

A Critique of the ‘Author Function’ Concept in Art History

Since the 1970s, the incorporation of European critical theory into the academic discipline of art history within the Anglophone context has become an established scholarly convention. This article aims to attend to one example of this institutionalised referencing practice: Michel Foucault’s notion of the ‘author function’ as explicated in the famous essay, ‘What is an Author?’ From Craig Owen’s attempt to develop a ‘materialist cultural practice’ to Caroline Jones’s recent exploration of the ‘artist-function’ in the reception of Robert Smithson’s work, Foucault’s concept has proved to be a rich source for art historians. That being said, the deployment of ‘author function’ has, as I will show, come at the price of a more careful examination of Foucault’s essay – one that does not permit the seamless reproduction, via a citational practice, of a concept from one study to the next.

A Q Methodology Study Into Vision of Italian L2 University Students: An Australian Perspective

AbstractThis study explores language learners’ motivation from the perspective of vision, a concept that has specifically been identified as one of the next challenges for motivation research. Having conceptualized vision as a powerful motivational component of the language learning process, and focusing on the learner's individual perspective, we employed Q methodology to identify the visions, as imagined here and now, of students’ second language (L2) selves. While Q methodology is becoming increasingly popular in applied linguistics, thanks to its ability to offer a scientific and holistic investigation of subjectivity, no study has previously employed it to gain in‐depth understanding of how learners of Italian in an Anglophone context envision themselves as future bilingual or multilingual speakers. Students from an Australian university ranked statements related to imagined scenarios of L2 selves, and factor analysis of these ranks exposed 3 motivational profiles: ‘the multilingual fan with an edge,’ ‘the mobile and linguistically competent,’ and ‘the lover of the Italian culture.’ By engaging in new and fresh ways to understand language students and their self‐visions, this study contributes to the understanding of motivation and provides a useful tool for comparison for other languages, as well as other institutional and geographical contexts.

The motivations and identity aspirations of university students of German: a case study in Australia

Abstract In the English-dominated field of L2 motivation, there is a need for more research on learners of languages other than English. This is particularly important in English-speaking countries, where issues involving the recruitment and retention of language students are pressing. This study discusses the main qualitative findings of a study on the motivations and identity aspirations of university students of German in Australia. The findings obtained through a questionnaire (n = 86) are complemented by in-depth interviews conducted with a small sample of respondents (n = 5). The study shows that learners of German are instrumentally, integratively and intrinsically motivated and wish to shape identities as international professionals with unique linguistic skills (Exotenmotiv, see Riemer 2006), tourists and anti-tourists, bilingual speakers in a monolingual Anglophone context and educated individuals (Bildungs-Selbst, see Busse 2015). This research furthers our knowledge on this learner population in Australia and, more broadly, on Anglophone elective language learners, as well as students of German as a foreign language in other contexts. It also contributes to our understanding of the link between motivation and processes of identity creation and development.

A Genuine Refutation? A Response to Gabriel Rockhill’s “Foucault: The Faux Radical“

The last decade has witnessed a steady increase in scholarly work within the Anglophone context that takes as its point of departure a reappraisal of the institutionalized set of intellectual practices that are codified and unified by the capacious category of “critical theory.” Grounded in large part on Bruno Latour’s essay “Why Has Critique Run out of Steam? From Matters of Fact to Matters of Concern,” this reappraisal has focused on the limits of critique and its legacies as instantiated in the works of mostly German and French thinkers of the interwar and postwar period.2 Some academics have called for a rethinking of the responsibility and purview of critical thinking, whereas others have argued for the necessity of situating critique within a broader set of intellectual orientations—as simply one mode of thinking within a vast array of other modes.3

Conceptualising the role of the translator in the global circulation of literature: The case of Look Who’s Back and Jamie Bulloch’s translatorship

In the study of literary translation, the role of the translator has often been compared to that of the author. As such, and particularly within Anglophone contexts, questions pertaining to who takes ethical and auctorial responsibility for a literary translation dominate discussions of the translator’s role. However, as we expand the scope of literary translation studies to broader sociological and publishing practices, such as the selling and acquisition of translation rights, the creation of paratextual materials, and the promotion of translated literature within a receiving cultural or linguistic context, we similarly need to expand our understanding of the role of literary translators within such processes. To demonstrate this, this article presents a case study of Look Who’s Back and the role of translator Jamie Bulloch in the novel’s movement from German to English, referred to here as his translatorship. In doing so, this article argues that within the contemporary Anglophone context, literary translators serve as key agents in the selection and circulation of foreign-language literature into English that goes beyond their oft-perceived impotence within wider publishing practises.

Academic policy advice in consensus-seeking countries: the cases of Belgium and Germany

Research on policy-advisory systems worldwide has shown that historically dominant sources of advice traditionally located in-house to the government have been increasingly supplemented by other actors and outside knowledge. However, the vast majority of research has concentrated on the anglophone context. Yet, countries with a consensus-seeking, neo-corporatist tradition provide a special case in terms of policy advice and merit more scholarly attention. What counts as evidence in these countries is the expert rationality of institutional representatives. The position and role of academic research in consensus-based systems is unclear, and is the focus of this article. Can we observe commonalities across consensus-style countries, or do differences prevail? We investigate two typical consensus-seeking countries: Belgium and Germany. To examine the supply side of policy advice, the article reviews current evidence regarding their policy-advisory systems. For the demand side, we present insights from a survey among federal ministerial officials. We find common trends between the two cases but their nature and extent are idiosyncratic. In Belgium, the supply of and demand for academic policy advice is comparatively lower, while the German case exhibits more change in the advisory landscape and institutionalisation of the supply of and demand for academic research. Points for practitioners • Countries with a consensus-seeking, neo-corporatist tradition provide a special case in terms of policy advice. • The findings suggest that there are common trends but their nature and extent are idiosyncratic. • In Belgium, the supply of and demand for academic advice is comparatively lower. • Germany’s policy-advisory landscape exhibits more change and institutionalisation of the supply of and demand for academic research.

The Internationalization of Higher Education: National Interpretations of a Global Model

Internationalization is a rapidly growing trend among higher education institutions (HEIs) around the world. This article situates internationalization within comparative education by theorizing it as processes of global diffusion and localization. It analyzes survey data from administrators at 1,439 HEIs in 137 countries to understand their interpretations of the benefits of internationalization. Findings show that administrators at HEIs in knowledge-intensive economies, and those in the United States and Anglophone Canada in particular, are more likely to frame benefits in terms of enhancing students’ international awareness, while revenue generation is much more likely to be cited in other Anglophone contexts. It argues that in Anglophone North America, higher education is being leveraged to combat histories of parochialism; in knowledge-intensive economies, it is seen as supporting pipelines of skilled labor; and in Anglophone contexts outside of North America, it is framed as an economically valuable export. Understanding where discursive repertoires resonate sheds light on how local actors understand the role of international higher education. The findings point to ways in which an Anglophone context mediates understandings of the benefits of internationalization and also how understandings of internationalization are influenced by nations’ positions in larger global contexts.

The Political Is Personal: The Importance of Affective Narratives in the Rise of Poly-activism

There is a considerable gap on how social movements that center around non/monogamies decide to organize and articulate their strategies, as well as how they manage their tensions with other activist groups and ideologies or even the State. In addition to this, the fact that much of the literature that circulates is written in English and in an Anglophone context, hampers the ability of researchers to come into contact with other experiences of non/monogamies. This article gives a situated account of the rise of the Portuguese polyamorous social movement and shows how interpersonal relationships fundamentally shape the way activism is performed, and how archives are also important in establishing the identity of activists and activist groups. Using data from the Portuguese polyamorous group PolyPortugal, and interviews with high-profile activists, I argue that the idea of a politics of relating (the politicized analysis of how we connect and perform a given ethics of connection) is a conceptually useful tool to think about the transformations of contemporary intimacies, but it is also fundamental to think about how activism is done by people and for people – people who relate to one another, who exist in tension.

Art History at the Barricades

Art History at the Barricades