Linguistic superdiversity as a "new" theoretical framework in applied linguistics: panacea or nostrum?

The MOSAIC Centre for Research on Multilingualism, University of Birmingham, is delighted to host Professor Stephen May who is a Professor in Te Puna Wānanga (School of Māori Education) in the Faculty of Education and Social Work, University of Auckland, New Zealand. He is an international authority on language rights, language policy, bilingualism and bilingual education and critical multicultural approaches to education.

Abstract

While the recent preoccupation with superdiversity and multilingual (urban) repertoires in critical applied linguistics is a welcome development, the concept, and its application in applied linguistics, also have some significant, as yet largely unacknowledged, limitations. This presentation will explore these limitations and what might be done about them (if anything) in light of a more sceptical take on the current enthusiasm for linguistic superdiversity.

This event is free and open to all. However, can you please register with Sarah Martin at s.l.martin@bham.ac.uk