School of Languages and Cultures
We find ourselves in a period where the intricate interplay between language and culture is undergoing a profound re-evaluation. Rapid technological advancements, ecological imperatives and geopolitical shifts have collectively pushed language education and research into uncharted territories.
The emergence of new machine learning technologies and generative artificial intelligence promises to reshape the very contours of future cultural practice and meaningful human interaction (Harari, 2023).¹ At a fundamental level, the diversity of cultural and linguistic expression faces the risk of homogenisation through the overuse of these technologies. Simultaneously, ecological threats have also caused a need for a convergence across languages and cultures to describe and address planetary environmental crises (Chakrabarty, 2022).² Furthermore, linguistic forms and norms are increasingly challenged by seismic shifts in geopolitics.
Yet, within these challenges lies the potential for valuable scholarly responses and the opportunity to engage in trans/formative thinking and practice: (re)constructing ideas and practices that help us to think in new ways across the relationship between culture and language as we traverse new academic and intellectual frontiers.
LCNAU invites scholars, practitioners, early career researchers and postgraduate students to consider following questions:
We welcome abstracts and panel proposals addressing the following areas of interest:
The organising committee will also accept for consideration proposals which are not strictly related to these areas, but which focus on the field of languages and cultures more broadly.
More dates to come.
For all colloquium-related queries, please contact: lcnau2024.colloquium@sydney.edu.au
LCNAU is a network that brings together individuals, language programs, university structures and tertiary institutions. It aims to strengthen the tertiary languages sector in Australia through advocacy, collaboration, research and support.
LCNAU provides a vital link across the languages sector, by enabling increased systematic and regular collaboration and exchange. Leadership and guidance are urgently needed at various levels, from tutor to professor. LCNAU also strives to meet the need for leadership around models of delivery, models of assessment and curriculum development; this is underpinned by LCNAU’s goal of providing the most effective and rewarding learning experience for students.
LCNAU also functions as a lobby group for language education, something which has been sorely lacking. It contributes to challenging and changing public attitudes, which constitute an ongoing obstacle to achieving language education policy goals. LCNAU also interacts productively with other education sectors (primary and secondary), with business, and with other stakeholders.
1 Harari, Yuval Noah. (2023, May 14). AI and the future of humanity | Yuval Noah Harari at the Frontiers Forum – by Yuval Noah Harari [Video]. YouTube.
2 Chakrabarty, Dipesh. Foreword. (2022). In J. Thomas (ed.), Altered Earth: Getting the Anthropocene Right (pp. xi-xiv). Cambridge: Cambridge University Press. doi:10.1017/9781009042369.001
Connect with the School of Languages and Cultures