The Struggle for a Multilingual Future

Reviews / Votes

I recently included the book in a syllabus for a course consisting largely of anthropology majors and the students expressed great appreciation for its insights. This is an important landmark in the linguistic anthropology of policy and education. * Chaise LaDousa, Journal of Linguistic Anthropology * The narrative style and the ethnographic detail presented here create a holistic picture of the sociolinguistic situation in pre- and post-civil war Sri Lanka in its struggle for a multilingual future. * Journal of Multilingual and Multicultural Development * The Struggle for a Multilingual Future offers a timely, incisive analysis of how ethnicity is (re)inscribed and lived through language in (post-)civil war Sri Lanka. This important book is remarkable for its ethnographic detail and for its keen sense of how language policies, and the ideologies that animate them, impact the imaginations and everyday lives of Tamil and Muslim students. Davis masterfully offers a vivid portrait of life in this fraught multiethnic and multilingual context. * Constantine V. Nakassis, Associate Professor of Anthropology and Associate Faculty of Comparative Human Development and Cinema & Media Studies, University of Chicago * Christina Davis gives us an intimate understanding of the effects of some two decades of civil war, showing us why, in the absence of national reconciliation, students place their hopes for a viable future in cosmopolitan cities and foreign migration. It is a fine study, and its implications are profound. * Thomas R. Trautmann, Professor Emeritus of History and Anthropology, University of Michigan * I believe that this book can offer valuable insights for those who are interested in delving into intricacies of language and identity politics in multicultural settings. * Lasni Buddhibhashika Jayasooriya, Educational Review * The book contributes important insights for scholars and for instructors who seek to teach students to understand the intersectionality of language, conflict, and education. It would be a great reading for courses in language and education, anthropology of education, and conflict and peace studies. This book offers a great example of how an anthropologist can skillfully address intersections in a comprehensive way. * Yasmina E. Haddad, Anthropol & Educ. *