On 3 June 2019, WIHEA and the Centre of Applied Linguistics jointly hosted the Inaugural Lecture of Professor Jo Angouri to celebrate her recent appointment as Professor (Research & Teaching).

We construct the social world we live in through language. Conversely, societal structures impose boundaries on individual agency in language use. In this lecture, titled ‘Those prejudices run, run deep’; Why language matters, Jo reflected on the implications of this axiom for social justice. Drawing on recently completed and ongoing work on refugee integration and gender equality, Jo discussed how in/exclusion is enacted in and through language. She argued that we are all guardians of politico-linguistic borders and invited the audience to reflect on their role in perpetuating or challenging the social order. Looking back and looking forward, she wove in her own reflections on the social relevance of linguistic teaching and research and shared her vision for the future of the discipline in 21st-century academia.

Full Length Lecture