Call for papers: The language of Covid-19

The language of Covid-19: discourse analytic and sociolinguistic approaches to an ‘unprecedented’ health crisis.

Two Day Colloquium - University of Sussex October 22- 23, 2021

This is intended as the first of a series of interdisciplinary colloquia on the language of the Coronavirus epidemic. We invite papers that explore various aspects of the recent phenomenon and address any facet of its impact on society. Contributions may consider approaching the topic from a variety of angles and investigate among others:

• Time phases of Covid (What are the different discourses of the first and second lockdown? Has the narrative around the pandemic changed from 2020 to 2021?)
• Space comparative responses to Covid (Given the relationship between language and culture, can we identify differences in individual countries’ and groups’ discursive approaches to and responses to Covid?)
• Actors: Who’s talking and is talked about Covid? (Who speaks about Covid? Who are Covid’s social actors? Public institutions? The health experts? The people? Do all groups speak the same Covid language or different ones? Is the language of Covid equalising or inciting inequality?)

The above are not the only topics and we encourage contributions from any aspect of linguistics and welcome any interdisciplinary approach. Special Interest Groups/Thematic Panels are also welcome.

Call for Papers

Send a 300-word abstract by 31 July to the organisers, Roberta Piazza and Justyna Robinson (University of Sussex): r.piazza@sussex.ac.uk and justyna.robinson@sussex.ac.uk.

We aim to communicate the results of the abstract screening process in September.

The colloquium will be held on Zoom. The 20-minute presentations will be pre-recorded and uploaded on the conference website and Q&A sessions will be alive. The conference fee is £30.