Routledge Language and Social Justice in Practice

From bilingual education and racial epithets to gendered pronouns and immigration discourses, language is a central concern in contemporary conversations and controversies surrounding social inequality. Developed as a collaborative effort by members of the American Anthropological Association’s Language and Social Justice Task Force, this innovative volume synthesizes scholarly insights on the relationship between patterns of communication and the creation of more just societies. Using case studies by leading and emergent scholars and practitioners written especially for undergraduate audiences, the book is ideal for introductory courses on social justice in linguistics and anthropology. Review "Finally a book that squarely calls language for what it is––a crucial form of social action. Revolutionary in its approach to language, as well as the ways in which scholarship is developed collaboratively, this book forges new paths for language studies. In providing us with a lens that links language to race discourse, education, health, social activism, and law, the book shows how language operates to limit equitable participation and how it can be used to radically reimagine a world with social justice." Ofelia García, The City University of New York, USA "Language and Social Justice in Practice is an inspired collective rebuttal to those―academics and other citizens alike―who would erase or minimize the crucial role of language and communicative practices―in reproducing structural violence and promoting social injustice. In twenty-four hard-hitting chapters, these authors challenge hegemonic concepts and practices like "the language gap," "illegal migrants," "linguistically isolated" families, linguistic colonization, and racial slurs repackaged as Native American mascots. These engaged and activist scholars brightly illuminate a path for transforming academic knowledge about language into political action and social justice. Paul V. Kroskrity, University of California, USA." About the Author Netta Avineri is Associate Professor of Teaching English to Speakers of Other Languages/Teaching Foreign Language (TESOL/TFL) at the Middlebury Institute of International Studies at Monterey. Laura R. Graham is Professor of Anthropology at the University of Iowa. She served as Chair of the American Anthropological Association’s Committee on Human Rights and is founding Chair of the Association’s Committee on Language and Social Justice. Eric J. Johnson is Associate Professor of Bilingual/ESL Education at Washington State University Tri-Cities. Robin Conley Riner is Associate Professor of Anthropology at Marshall University. Jonathan Rosa is Assistant Professor in the Graduate School of Education, Center for Comparative Studies in Race and Ethnicity, and, by courtesy, Departments of Anthropology and Linguistics, at Stanford University.