Echoes of Linguistic Internationalism

Description

This paper explores the echoes of linguistic internationalism within Swedish university life, where internationalisation remains a key political priority. It historicises internationalism and internationalisation as a backdrop for examining the experiences of internationally recruited academics in the humanities. Drawing empirically from interview accounts of six academics, we illuminate how institutional responses to different communicative repertoires shape scholars' voice, institutional access, and language (ir)responsibility. Our discussion reveals how prioritising English simultaneously facilitates scholars' professional voice yet undermines their long-term access to career opportunities. Specifically, linguistic internationalism appears to temper the collective desire for international recruits to learn Swedish, inadvertently contributing to broader gatekeeping processes of sociolinguistic closure. Engaging with a politicised ethics, the paper critically examines the tensions between political demands for internationalisation and ethical demands for language responsibility. Ultimately, we aim to unsettle prevailing assumptions underlying language policy and practice in Swedish academia, advocating instead for a reflexive and critically engaged 'language responsibility' that opens toward a new internationalism that remains both ethically attuned and politically responsive.

Period	28 Apr 2025
Held at	Stockholm University, Sweden
Degree of Recognition	International