Members’ Publications

The Routledge Handbook of Discourse and Disinformation – Stefania M. Maci, Massimiliano Demata, Mark McGlashan, Philip Seargeant (eds.)

Stefania M. Maci, Massimiliano Demata, Mark McGlashan, Philip Seargeant (eds.) The Routledge Handbook of Discourse and Disinformation Routledge, 2023, pp. 454. ISBN: 9781032124254 This handbook offers a comprehensive overview of research into discourses of disinformation, misinformation, post-truth, alternative facts, hate speech, conspiracy theories, and “fake news”. Divided into two sections, it provides a detailed look at the methodological challenges and approaches for studying disinformation, along with a wide range of case studies covering everything from climate change denial to COVID-19 conspiracies. The studies address how discourses of disinformation are constructed and developed, what rhetorical and persuasive strategies they employ, how disinformation can be discerned from real news, and what steps we might take in order to create a more trustworthy news environment. Authored by leading experts from around the world, and showcasing the most up-to-date methodological approaches to the topic, the volume makes a significant contribution to current linguistic research on politics, and is an essential guide to the discourses of disinformation for advanced students and researchers of English language studies, linguistics, and media and communication studies. https://www.taylorfrancis.com/books/edit/10.4324/9781003224495/routledge-handbook-discourse-disinformation-stefania-maci-massimiliano-demata-philip-seargeant-mark-mcglashan

The Routledge Handbook of Discourse and Disinformation – Stefania M. Maci, Massimiliano Demata, Mark McGlashan, Philip Seargeant (eds.) Read More »

The Research-Practice Interface in English for Specific Purposes. Past, Present and Future – Ersilia Incelli, Renzo Mocini, Judith Turnbull (eds.)

Ersilia Incelli, Renzo Mocini, Judith Turnbull (eds.) The Research-Practice Interface in English for Specific Purposes. Past, Present and Future Cambridge Scholars, 2022, pp. 297. ISBN: 1-5275-8910-2 This volume, edited by Ersilia Incelli, Renzo Mocini and Judith Turnbull, is a Festschrift in honor of Professor Rita Salvi, acclaimed scholar of English and English linguistics in the Faculty of Economics at ‘Sapienza’ University of Rome for many years. The book, made up of fourteen chapters, stems from the work of scholars, researchers and colleagues who have been working with Professor Salvi throughout her long career. These numerous research projects have dealt with a wide range of topics revolving around English linguistics, from Global English to business discourse, from teaching and testing techniques to ESP and corpus linguistics. ESP represents the main focus of this book, including both theoretical and practical aspects connected to the teaching of specialized English. To be sure, in a globalized and hyperspecialized world, an English language course based merely on the four basic skills that mainly involves everyday language is simply not enough to prepare students to be proficient English users in their future professional lives. The pedagogical benefits of ESP expose students to real-life specific occupations and practices. Undoubtedly, the book proves to be a valuable tool for researchers and particularly for language teachers and educators in their key role as mediators between research and teaching. https://www.cambridgescholars.com/product/978-1-5275-8910-0

The Research-Practice Interface in English for Specific Purposes. Past, Present and Future – Ersilia Incelli, Renzo Mocini, Judith Turnbull (eds.) Read More »

Beyond Standard English. Variation and Change in Eastern England – Carmen Ciancia

Carmen Ciancia Beyond Standard English. Variation and Change in Eastern England Carocci, 2023, pp. 104. ISBN: 978-88-290-2028-7 When foreign learners of English take up an English course, they are commonly taught the standard form of the language. However, when they visit an English speaking country for the first time (e.g. the UK), they face difficulties in understanding the real English, mostly in terms of pronunciation differences. Why? This and many other questions are answered in this book, which explores the hidden mechanisms of how language works, the complex relationship between language and ideologies, and describes language as a social phenomenon by showing how societal structures affect the way people talk, particularly in Eastern England. Other topics covered include fieldwork and data analysis for students and researchers embarking on research projects in Sociolinguistics.

Beyond Standard English. Variation and Change in Eastern England – Carmen Ciancia Read More »

Space and Place as Human Coordinates: Rethinking Dimensions across Disciplines – Arianna Maiorani, C. Bruna Mancini (eds)

Arianna Maiorani, C. Bruna Mancini (eds) Space and Place as Human Coordinates: Rethinking Dimensions across Disciplines Cambridge Scholars, 2021, 1-5275-7462-8, 1-5275-9873-X This truly multidisciplinary book explores how culture-founding terms like ‘space’ and ‘place’ have been reconsidered, re-elaborated and how they have acquired new meanings through academic research that crosses the traditional borderline between the humanities and social sciences. All chapters explore from different perspectives how the notions of space and place are still modelling our sense of reality by investigating social and cultural phenomena of various types that evolved between the 20th and 21st centuries. The essays collected here provide evidence of the growing necessity of building bridges across disciplines to allow knowledge, in general, and academic work, in particular, to work towards new forms of epistemology. The book will be of particular interest to scholars and students in the areas of cultural studies, discourse analysis, multimodality, communication and media, linguistics, literary and film studies, anthropology and ethnography. https://www.cambridgescholars.com/product/978-1-5275-7462-5/

Space and Place as Human Coordinates: Rethinking Dimensions across Disciplines – Arianna Maiorani, C. Bruna Mancini (eds) Read More »

Space(s) of the Fantastic. A 21st Century Manifesto – David Punter, C. Bruna Mancini (eds)

David Punter, C. Bruna Mancini (eds) Space(s) of the Fantastic. A 21st Century ManifestoRoutledge, 2021, ISBN Hardback: 9780367680282, ISBN Paperback: 9780367681692 This book provides a series of new addresses to the enduring problem of how to categorize the Fantastic. The approach taken is through the lens of spatiality; the Fantastic gives us new worlds, although of course these are refractions of worlds already in being. In place of ‘real’ spaces (whatever they might be), the Fantastic gives us imaginary spaces, although within those spaces historical and cultural conflicts are played out, albeit in forms that stretch our understanding of everyday location, and our usual interpretations of cause and effect. Many authors are addressed here, from a variety of different geographical and national traditions, thus demonstrating how the Fantastic – as a mode, a genre, a way of thinking, imagining and writing – continually traverses borders and boundaries. We hope to move the ongoing debate about the Fantastic forward in a scholarly as well as an engaging way. https://www.routledge.com/Spaces-of-the-Fantastic-A-21st-Century-Manifesto/Punter-Mancini/p/book/9780367681692#

Space(s) of the Fantastic. A 21st Century Manifesto – David Punter, C. Bruna Mancini (eds) Read More »

Professional Discourse across Medicine, Law, and Other Disciplines: Issues and Perspectives – Girolamo Tessuto

Girolamo Tessuto, Richard Ashcroft, Vijay, K. Bhatia (eds.) Professional Discourse across Medicine, Law, and Other Disciplines: Issues and Perspectives Cambridge Scholars, 2023, pp. 385. ISBN: 1-5275-9471-8 This volume provides a stage for an extensive exploration of the interface between medicine, law and other disciplines or professions. It offers the reader opportunities to understand how this integrative, interactive interdisciplinary process can be examined through the lenses of language, discourse, and communication. Grown out from the newly established CIRLaM (Centre for Interdisciplinary Research in Language and Medicine) that builds upon extensive research done by CRILL (Centre for Research in Language and Law), contributions in this volume cover cross-wise issues raised by paradigmatic cases of bioethics and law, nursing ethics and law, pharmacy ethics and law, bioethics and religion, risk management and ethics, social inclusion and bioethics, and environmental ethics. This book is part of the Medical Discourse and Communication international, double-blind referred series (formerly Legal Discourse and Communication) – Editor-in Chief: G. Tessuto. https://www.cambridgescholars.com/product/978-1-5275-9471-5

Professional Discourse across Medicine, Law, and Other Disciplines: Issues and Perspectives – Girolamo Tessuto Read More »

“22nd International Conference on Communication, Medicine, and Ethics (COMET)”

Title: “22nd International Conference on Communication, Medicine, and Ethics (COMET)” Dates: 26-28 June 2024 Place: University of Brescia Local organising committee: Annalisa Zanola, Umberto Gelatti Please check: https://comet2024.unibs.it/ for full call for papers and deadlines The COMET conference aims to bring together scholars from different disciplinary backgrounds involving various healthcare specialties and the human and social sciences. A special emphasis is on the dissemination of ongoing research in language/discourse/communication studies in relation to healthcare education, patient participation and professional ethics. Title: “After Shock: New Perspectives in Literary Studies and Linguistics” Dates: 10-11 June 2024 Place: Roma Sapienza University Steering and organising committee: Hal Coase, Paolo D’Indinosante, Sophie Eyssette, Giulia Magro, Sara Riccetti, Joanna Ryszka Please check: https://aftershock2024.us.edu.pl/ for full call for papers and deadlines Doctoral students of the 37th cycle of the PhD programme of Studies in English Literatures, Language and Translation at Sapienza University of Rome and Silesia University at Katowice are launching a call for papers for the graduate forum conference: “After Shock: New Perspectives in Literary Studies and Linguistics”. In the face of ongoing disasters including the climate crisis, the pandemic, war in Europe and conflicts worldwide, as well as blatant manifestations of social injustice taking place on both a localised and a planetary scale, we might be prone to think that we have reached a capacity of response that is beyond shock, that we have become numb to events that affect us both directly and indirectly. Can literature continue to make felt and bring home the intolerability of everyday events that may otherwise pass without remark? Does our ‘response-ability’ depend on our being shocked, and how is such a response figured in language? Email: aftershock2024@us.edu.pl.

“22nd International Conference on Communication, Medicine, and Ethics (COMET)” Read More »

Special Issue of Languages: “Current Trends in Ecolinguistics” (2024)

Special Issue of Languages: “Current Trends in Ecolinguistics” (2024) Guest Editors: Douglas Mark Ponton, Lucia Abbamonte. Please check: https://www.mdpi.com/journal/languages/special_issues/0BBBUSA8TN, for full call for papers and deadlines Ecolinguistic research provides the scientific foundation for understanding the complex web of interactions among language, the non-human world, and the environment. As human activities continue to shape the world, ecolinguistics remains a cornerstone for the promotion of sustainability (Stibbe 2019), conservation of habitats (Blackmore and Holmes 2013), and the well-being of ecosystems and human societies. Ecolinguistics sheds light on how language can facilitate or hinder sustainable environmental practices and broaden our understanding of the ecological interconnectedness of our world (Goatly 2001; Stibbe 2015). A strong understanding of these issues has never been more necessary, and it is our hope that ecolinguistics will continue to evolve and increase its influence on current and future generations’ attitudes towards nature and the non-human world (Zhou 2022). This Special Issue will focus on research that highlights current trends in ecolinguistics (Finke 2018; Lechevrel 2009; Huang 2016)

Special Issue of Languages: “Current Trends in Ecolinguistics” (2024) Read More »

CFP: Storytelling, Identity Formation, and Resistance in North American Indigenous Culture

CFP: Storytelling, Identity Formation, and Resistance in North American Indigenous Culture Through stories, knowledge and culture within and between communities is passed from generation to generation. Oral narratives were used and are still used to share rituals, customs, and traditions of a community. The truths within Indigenous communities are reflected and grounded within their stories and Elders play a key role in passing knowledge. They “mentor and provide support and have systematically gathered wisdom, histories, skills, and expertise in cultural knowledge” (Iseke 561). Their stories shape identity and empower Indigenous communities and peoples. Stories indicate beliefs, attitudes, and perceptions of people. For instance, Datta emphasizes that “stories can vary from the sacred to historical, some focus on social, political, and cultural ways, some are entertaining, even humorous, some tell of personal, family, community, or an entire nations’ experience” (37). Indigenous stories represent Indigenous knowledge and can be a way to resist colonial power, through memories of the past. Additionally, memories as expressed through story for the basis for … the future. Elders “use their knowledge for the collective good” (Iseke 561). A person’s identity is shaped not only through their experience and knowledge of life but also by what is passed through community. Identity is shaped through cultural memory of the groups and communities. A common shared knowledge serves to connect individuals to the community. Memory can maintain the identity of the people who live within a community. The shared memory that passes from generation to generation, fashions culture and history. According to Assmann, “the term is cultural memory, it is ‘cultural’ because it can be realized institutionally and artificially, and it is ‘memory’ because its relation to social communication it functions in exactly the same way as individual memory does in relation to consciousness” (9). Culture connects history, myth, tradition, and identity which are bound together through story. Through memory, one can preserve the past and shape the future. With the aid of memory, communities can remember their traditions, history, and values and while making them speak to the present. One recalls not only what he learned and experienced but also how others have reacted to this knowledge; therefore, there is always interaction between an individual and their community. Storytelling is a way to share memories between generations. This call for papers will focus on the importance of storytelling in Indigenous communities, specifically within the context of North America. The storytelling can function as a method to overcome the past traumas, shape identity, resist colonial power and resurge the community. Moreover, storytelling helps the Indigenous community to avoid the false information spread about their culture while bringing awareness to both the community and outsiders. Fake news is widespread by colonializers has been damaging Indigenous peoples’ rituals, history, and identity while stories told by Elders can be a way to inform the people about the true facts remained untold, masked, or deformed. Some previous books focused on the importance of stories. Fagundes and Blayer’s edited book Oral and Written Narratives and Cultural Identity: Interdisciplinary Approaches (2007) contains 6 sections which emphasize on place, autobiographical voices, oral identities, textualized identities, and children’s stories. The book emphasizes on a general understanding of identity and storytelling. Archibald’s Indigenous Storywork: Educating the Heart, Mind, Body, and Soul (2008) is an attempt to bring in storytelling in educational context. In her book, she emphasizes on the power of stories in teaching about Indigenous people. Christensen et al. edited a book entitled Activating the Heart: Storytelling, Knowledge Sharing, and Relationship (2018) that deals with understanding, sharing, and creating stories. They use various mediums such as autobiography, poetry, and scholarly books to indicate how storytelling educates people. Besides, Xiiem et al. also edited a book related to Indigenous studies entitled Decolonizing Research: Indigenous Storywork as Methodology (2019) and focused on Indigenous communities in Australia, Canada, and New Zealand and shared some knowledge on how stories work as a method of decolonizing Indigenous history. Perspectives on Indigenous writing and literacies (2019) edited by Cocq and Sullivan explored Indigenous literacy across five continents. It deals with challenges that Indigenous writers face and new approaches that can pave the path for hopeful future for Indigenous writing. These books tackled the importance of storytelling and the current call for paper will focus on the role of storytelling among Indigenous peoples in Canada to heal the trauma, shape the subjectivity, and resist the colonial power. The call for paper seeks contributions from literary and non-literary disciplines such as memoirs, novels, diaries, movies, tv series, and documentaries to give a more holistic view of the power of the stories among Indigenous peoples in Canada. Through storytelling, the Indigenous people are not passive victims of colonization but active participants of shaping their own culture, rituals, and traditions. Hence this CFP for a volume, tentatively titled Storytelling, Identity Formation, and Resistance in North American Indigenous Culture, seeks expand the existing literature on the concept of storytelling as healing and identity formation by seeking for contributors from a range of different fields. Therefore, this call for papers seeks to gather proposal exploring literary and non-literary texts (including but not limited to feature films and documentaries) that exploit the power of storytelling, among Indigenous people of North America, as a therapeutic tool in different contexts. In this light, we are seeking contributions that engage with but not limited to Canadian Indigenous Studies and related disciplines. Contributions are sought concerning, but not limited to, issues such as: • Storytelling as an act of resistance and empowerment • Storytelling and notion of self in relation to others • Storytelling as a testimonial act • Stories and historical construction of events • Stories and representation of Indigenous knowledge The papers will be peer-reviewed. Interested contributors should send their proposals to Kamelia Talebian Sedehi (Kamelia.talebiansedehi@uniroma1.it). Please write in the subject: abstract for CFP on Storytelling. The manuscript collection will be submitted to John Benjamins press for consideration for publication. Timeline Deadline: 30/09/2023 – Abstracts (300 words) Notification of acceptance: 15/10/2023

CFP: Storytelling, Identity Formation, and Resistance in North American Indigenous Culture Read More »

CfP: Special Issue on “Audiovisual Translation and Media Accessibility in the Age of Streaming Platforms”, TRANSlation & INTerpretinglity in the Age of Streaming Platforms”

Guest editors: Sofía Sánchez-Mompeán, University of Murcia, Spain; Serenella Zanotti, Università Roma Tre, Italy Streaming platforms have marked a watershed in today’s film industry, revolutionising mainstream TV distribution systems and reshaping viewers’ consumption habits (Jenner, 2018; Pedersen, 2018). Users are now holding the reins of their own entertainment experience and enjoy relatively more freedom in deciding when, where and how to view media products. The way in which this new reality is impacting audiovisual translation (AVT) and media accessibility (MA) with respect to producers, practitioners, audiences and workflows is worth bringing into focus. The global success of subscription-based services—such as Netflix, HBO Max, Amazon Prime, Hulu and Disney+—has brought with it a growing demand for localised content, substantially increasing the availability of audiovisual products translated into multiple languages through captioning and revoicing techniques (Chaume, 2019). According to Los Angeles Times, in 2021 Netflix released 5 million minutes of dubbed programming and subtitled 7 million minutes (Lee, 2022). Localisation has thus become a game changer for streaming companies wishing to attract a wider audience and to lead an international market that is no longer dominated by English-language originals (Hayes, 2021). As a matter of fact, many of the latest most-watched on-demand series are non-English shows from South Korea (Squid Game), France (Lupin) or Spain (La Casa de Papel), to name but a few. This new AVT landscape has exerted a dramatic impact on localisation demands and trends such as the rise in the consumption of dubbed material in English-speaking markets (Chaume, 2018; Ranzato & Zanotti, 2019; Hayes, 2021; Sánchez-Mompeán, 2021; Spiteri Miggiani, 2021) or the faster speed at which fan-based translations are being generated to anticipate professionally released versions (Díaz-Cintas, 2018; Dwyer, 2021). The surge in the popularity of AVT and MA practices has favoured the expansion of non-local productions beyond their language barriers, but it has also left translated content increasingly prone to comparisons and criticism due to the relative easiness of access to the different localised versions. Although negative comments are not always justified, especially when disregarding the nature of translation and the constraints attached to it (Orrego-Carmona, 2021), some have served to fight for higher quality levels, up-to-date conventions and better working conditions (Spiteri Miggiani, 2021, 2022), thus turning AVT and MA into hot topics of discussion nowadays. Notwithstanding that the work of translators seems to be gradually raising its visibility in society, the challenges faced by practitioners as well as the dominant trends in the production and consumption of localised content for over-the-top platforms and the current technological developments such as cloud-based localisation services (Bolaños-García-Escribano & Díaz-Cintas, 2020; Chaume & de los Reyes Lozano, 2021; Georgakopoulou, 2021) are still unexplored from the point of view of academic research and practice. We are interested in both theoretical and practical approaches that focus on AVT and MA in the current streaming era. Topics of interest include, but are not limited to, the following: Dubbing research and practice Voiceover research and practice Subtitling research and practice Subtitling for the d/Deaf and hard-of-hearing (SDH) research and practice Audiodescription (AD) research and practice Fan-based translations (e.g., fansubbing, fandubbing, parodic dubbing…) Reception and perception studies (e.g., audiences’ profile, challenges…) New consumption habits (e.g., binge-watching, virtual communities…) Quality parameters and conventions (e.g., use of automatic translation, use of a pivot language…) Creative practices in AVT and MA Cloud-based platforms and workflows and technological trends Production and distribution tools in AVT and MA Training, pedagogical approaches and new professional profiles  Key dates 1 September 2023: abstract submission to the guest editors (300 words; references not included in wordcount). Please email your abstract to both guest editors: sofia.sanchez@um.es and serenella.zanotti@uniroma3.it. 30 September 2023: notification of abstract acceptance/rejection. 31 March 2024: submission of full papers via the journal website. Stylesheet: https://www.trans-int.org/index.php/transint/about/submissions#authorGuidelines. April-October 2024: peer-review and revision period. 1 January 2025: deadline for submission of revised versions. July 2025: publication of special issue. http://www.trans-int.org/index.php/transint/announcement/view/23

CfP: Special Issue on “Audiovisual Translation and Media Accessibility in the Age of Streaming Platforms”, TRANSlation & INTerpretinglity in the Age of Streaming Platforms” Read More »

Torna in alto