Convenors: Holly Warner, Aishee Bhattacharya, Dr Clay Becker

When: Every Wednesday, 16:00-17:00 BST, Weeks 2-9 of Term 3 (30th April 2025 - 18th June 2025)

Where: A0.23 (Social Sciences Building, University of Warwick) and Microsoft Teams (linked below)

Please note: Seminars on 7th May 2025 and 18th June 2025 are on Microsoft Teams ONLY

Join the meeting nowLink opens in a new window

Meeting ID: 330 833 016 998

Passcode: aL2Bd38s

Bonus seminar

When: Thursday 12th June 2025, 15:00-16:00 BST,

Where: A0.23 (Social Sciences Building, University of Warwick) and Microsoft Teams (linked below)

Join the meeting nowLink opens in a new window

Meeting ID: 328 205 990 653

Passcode: Kc96iB7Q

Wednesday 30/04/2025 - 16:00-17:00

"Not sure what I was told but I’m still wagging my tail" – Exploring pet-inclusion in veterinary consultations

Eleonora Kacl, University of Basel

Abstract

TBC

Bio

TBC

Wednesday 07/05/2025 - 16:00-17:00 - ONLINE ONLY

From AI to human interaction: Transference, prompting, educational implications and the evolving landscape of language learning

Leonardo Marinho Dias Lima, University of Exeter

Abstract

TBC

Bio

TBC

Wednesday 14/05/2025 - 16:00-17:00

Navigating theory and practice: Insights from MA TESOL teacher-students

Katie Webb, University of Warwick

Abstract

TBC

Bio

TBC

Wednesday 21/05/2025 - 16:00-17:00

Constructing static places in a mobile world

Dr Marianna Patrick, University of Warwick

Abstract

TBC

Bio

TBCLink opens in a new windo

Wednesday 28/05/2025 - 16:00-17:00

Interculturality and the Munchausen Effect: What is it? And why does it matter for research in applied linguistics

Dr Ashley Simpson, Moray House School of Education and Sport, University of Edinburgh

Abstract

This talk inspired by Interculturality and the Munchausen Effect (2024: Routledge) addresses two interrelated theses on interculturality; namely that the speaking subject in interaction reproduces the egocentrism and phonocentrism of the Munchausen Effect. In considering the first, I trace the ways in which interculturality research has historically supposed the ‘speaking subject’—that is, the research participant—as the basis of truth and knowledge, not giving context to the discursive layers or paratexts involved in analyzing the subject’s speech. This notion of the ‘speaking subject’ being taken at face value prompts my second interrelated argument on representation and historical conceptualizations of community in interculturality research, whereby, in trying to represent their subjects, researchers can impose a sense of community affiliation onto their subjects in negating their subjective identities. The talk serves as a conceptual response to calls for epistemological diversity in advocating for a critical interdiscursive approach to research on interculturality.

Bio

Dr Ashley Simpson is a Lecturer in Language Education at Moray House School of Education and Sport, University of Edinburgh, UK. Dr Simpson is also Co-Head of Institute of the Language Education at Moray House School of Education and Sport, University of Edinburgh, UK. He has published extensively on Intercultural Communication including the monographs; Interculturality and the Political within Education (with Fred Dervin, 2021: Routledge) and Interculturality and the Munchausen Effect (2024: Routledge). He has also co-edited the volumes (2020) The Meaning of Criticality in Education Research: Reflecting on Critical Pedagogy (London: Palgrave Macmillan), and, (2020) Intercultural Competence in the Work of Teachers: Confronting Ideologies and Practices (London: Routledge).

Wednesday 04/06/2025 - 16:00-17:00

Sociocultural perspectives on digital reflective practice in teacher education

Cecilia Nobre, University of Warwick

Abstract

TBC

Bio

TBC

Wednesday 11/06/2025 - 16:00-17:00

Title TBC

Vincent Tse, University of Warwick, and Dr Kimberly Tao, Hong Kong Polytechnic University

Abstract

TBC

Bio

TBC

Thursday 12/06/2025 - 15:00-16:00 - BONUS SEMINAR

Abnormal deceivers and fertile subjects: Stance-taking ethics by doctors of intersex patients

Prof Brian King, University of Hong Kong

Abstract

TBC

Bio

TBC

Wednesday 18/06/2025 - 16:00-17:00 - ONLINE ONLY

Neoliberal feminism and the discourse of self-improvement

Dr Giuliana Ferri, IOE UCL, International Centre for Intercultural Studies

Abstract

This talk presents work from an upcoming book on neoliberal feminism and the discourse of self-improvement. The language used in popular self-help books to construct the image of a successful female neoliberal worker is analysed using Feminist Critical Discourse analysis (Lazar, 2007). Looking at the role of reproductive labour in contemporary neoliberal, post-Fordist work arrangements (Fraser, 2020; Hochschild, 1983), the presentation will focus on the key themes of empowerment, leadership, and work-life balance to demonstrate that qualities historically associated with women's domestic roles, such as empathy and emotional engagement, have been strategically revalued as desirable assets within the contemporary neoliberal workplace. This analysis explores the idea of a 'female advantage' in communication, popularized by the work of Deborah Tannen (1990), to convey how self-help narratives aimed at women in leadership normalize precarious labor conditions within a flexible job market.

Fraser, N. (2020). Fortunes of Feminism. From State-Managed Capitalism to Neoliberal Crisis. London, New York: Verso.

Hochschild, A. R. (1983). The Managed Heart: Commercialization of Human Feeling. Berkeley: University of California Press.

Lazar, M. M. (2007). Feminist critical discourse analysis: articulating a feminist discourse praxis. Critical Discourse Studies, 4(2), 141-164.

Tannen, D. (1991). You Just Don’t Understand: Women and Men in Conversation. London: Virago.

Bio

Giuliana Ferri is a Lecturer in Language and Intercultural Communication at IOE University College London. Her research expertise includes language and identity, language and intercultural communication, ethics and intercultural education. Some of her publications include Intercultural Communication: Critical Perspectives and Future Challenges (Palgrave, 2018). She is on the editorial board of Language and Intercultural Communication. She is currently writing a book on Neoliberal Feminism and the Discourse of Self-Improvement for the series Language, Society and Political Economy (Routledge).

See the recordings of our previous seminars here (please note that not all seminars are recorded):

Language Culture Matters Seminar RecordingsLink opens in a new window

See the list of our previous seminars here:

Language Culture Matters Seminar ArchiveLink opens in a new window