Call for Abstracts – CLADES 2025

CALL FOR ABSTRACTS – CLADES 2025

Speaking for change, speaking about change: Language as a tool for social and environmental transformation

We invite colleagues to submit proposals for presenting their research and ongoing projects in our congress, Speaking for Change. Speaking about Change, which will take place 24-25 February 2025 in Groningen, The Netherlands. Presentations will be concentrated in the morning of the 25 February.

The congress seeks to explore the transformative power of language in shaping sustainable and equitable futures, in both societal and environmental perspectives. We welcome papers that engage with a variety of approaches to language, including, but not limited to:

• Ecolinguistics: How language influences our relationship with the environment and contributes to discourses on sustainability and ecological transformation.
• Critical Approaches: Examining how language can perpetuate or challenge ideologies related to gender, extremism, and exclusion, and how critical language awareness can foster inclusivity and social justice.
• Corporate and Business Contexts: Exploring language in corporate communication, including how discourse influences organizational change, corporate responsibility, and public perception of sustainability efforts.
• Minoritized and endangered languages: Exploring perspectives of Indigenous and endangered languages on social relations and the environment; revitalization/ reclamation of endangered and minoritized languages for the survival, health and wellbeing of Indigenous communities; inclusion of minoritized languages at the policy level to foster participation and social cohesion.

We are particularly interested in submissions that highlight empirical research, as well as work-in-progress projects or conversation starters that stimulate debate on the role of language in fostering change. Presentations should not only share findings but also invite participants to critically reflect on the implications of language for sustainability, equity, and democratic engagement.

We expect a mixed audience, including students and staff from diverse disciplines from social sciences to medicine school and stem, and including also stakeholders from outside the academic world. We therefore encourage participants to think in terms of innovative approaches and formats for their presentations, to be able to engage non-experts and youth with their contributions. 

• Abstracts should be a maximum of 300 words, outlining the research question, methods, and focusing on key insights and (potential) impact
• Include a brief bio of the presenter(s)
• Deadline for submissions: December 31, 2024 (submission is closed)

Please submit your abstract to EUclades@rug.nl