There has been robust debate within political science and applied linguistics alike about the legitimacy and viability of language rights as a strategy for resolving language conflicts in society. This paper introduces a political-economy approach as elaborated by Bale (2015), Holborow (2015), and Ricento (2015) to rethink the potential of language rights. 

About the speaker:

Jeff Bale is associate professor of Language & Literacies Education at OISE/University of Toronto. His research focuses on language policy, history of education, and language teacher education. His work has appeared in Language Policy, Annual Review of Applied Linguistics, and Teachers College Record, and he is co-editor with Sarah Knopp of Education and Capitalism: Struggles for Leaning and Liberation (Haymarket Books, 2012). Bale taught ESL and German for 10 years in urban secondary schools in the United States before moving into academic work.

This event is sponsored by the Language Management Interdisciplinary Research Group (LMIRG).