Recovering Language in Higher Education

Reviews / Votes

"Bernstein (1979: 300-1) challenged educators "to understand systematically how to create a concept which can authenticate the child's experience and give him or her those powerful representations of thought that he or she is going to need to change the world outside." This powerful, conscientious and self-conscious monograph by Monbec and Ding draws on Bourdieu, Social Semiotics and Ethics to engage directly with his challenge - filling the black hole of knowledge blindness in education with wisdom every teacher needs to know." (Jim Martin, Professor in Linguistics (Personal Chair), University of Sydney, Australia)

"Part I . explains how we came to be where we are, by dissecting the role of language in the university system as we know it, in its neoliberalism, . and even in the fractioning of disciplines. As such, it is controversial. I imagine debating with students and colleagues claims such as "language is . often misconstrued in the language classroom" . It is exquisitely detailed and referenced, but very recognisable and ultimately depressing. We need to return to a focus on language as a semiotic resource and dispel the illusios. . It is a step that we can take in a socially just and ethical manner that enables us to begin that journey, to share a view of language and how it construes disciplinary worlds and lead to change in the role of language across the university. Thank you, Laetitia and Alex, for a welcome call to action!" (Sheena Gardner, Professor of Applied Linguistics, University of Coventry, UK)

"In this excellent work, Laetitia Monbec and Alexander Ding take the ontological realism of Bernstein, Bourdieu and Bhaskar and apply it rapier-like to the cankerous and fetid knowledge regime that is neoliberal higher education. Not only do they break the illusio, but they also offer new lines of thinking and action for language specialists working in this domain. A profound critical intervention." (John P. O'Regan, Professor of Critical Applied Linguistics, University College London, UK)

"This is work that is simultaneously courageous and cautious, as it seeks to meet the broader threats that higher education faces with a model of language teaching that empowers both teachers and students. Bringing together Bourdieu's Field Theory and Social Semiotics to map out the possibilities for agency that academics still have in such choppy waters, the authors balance their critique of existing approaches with an awareness of their own audacity. The suggestion that we can still reclaim some space in our classrooms and in the interstices of our institutions to speak back against the erasure of knowledge is an inspiring one. With its blend of theoretical insight and practical resources, the book offers a way forward." (Dr Shobha Avadhani, Senior Lecturer, Department of Communication and New Media, National University of Singapore)

"The pervasive logics of neoliberalism in higher education has functioned to strip academics of tools and dispositions to act as agents of change in a social world in dire need for hope, solidarity, and deeper meaning. Linguistics and language education remain no exception to this trend, partly due to the continued influence of linguistic and pedagogical ontologies that uphold ideologically neutral views of the relationship between language, education, and society. This volume develops and illustrates a principled approach to tackling social justice endeavors through language education. It proposes a powerful articulation and critique of sociological, social semiotic, and ethical principles that extends the fields' collective knowledge base for mobilizing multiliterate multisemiotic praxis within and beyond universities. The authors' balanced deconstruction of dominant beliefs and practices sets the scene for critical discussions that recenter language as a privileged site for building a more just, solidary and hopeful social order ." (Dr. Jesús Guerra-Lyons, Assistant Professor, Language Institute-Universidad del Norte, Colombia)