Projet de recherche BL/03/SA9 (Action de recherche BL)
UNESCO’s World Cultural Heritage programme prioritises the study, protection, and preservation of linguistic diversity and documentary linguistic heritage. Linguists have pointed at the crucial dimensions of ‘social justice’ and ‘linguistic human rights’ in these contexts, to guarantee the ‘belonging’ of all speakers in their social, political, and educational environment. In South Africa, a varied complex of factors (colonial dominance, racial discrimination, economic inequality) has impinged on linguistic diversity and the overall management of the cultural heritage of the country’s diverse peoples.
The relevance of these challenges
- transcends (South) Africa,
- easily informs research and policies in other contexts with a legacy of historical disadvantage, and
- calls for an ambitious research agenda, with societal and educational impact.
Our main project objectives are to :
- unlock hitherto neglected dimensions of language and social justice in the South African context,
- raise awareness of the link between linguistic heritage and other facets of cultural heritage,
- build capacity for scholarly and advocacy work in this area,
- inform language policies in primary, secondary and tertiary education on inclusion, belonging and linguistic justice in daily practice.
Our 3 specific cooperation topics are :
- The linguistic ecology in South Africa, from a ‘cultural heritage’ and ‘linguistic human rights’ perspective,
- The documentation and valorization of linguistic heritage in South Africa,
- The interplay between language, social justice and education in South Africa.
Added value of the network :
Prof. Antia’s team has an internationally recognized track record in research on linguistic social justice, and currently leads an initiative to review UWC’s language policy. UWC departments in ‘Arts and Humanities’ and ‘Education’ will be included in our activities to facilitate cross-disciplinary research, along with UWC’s Greatmore Campus, an arts and humanities research hub specifically aimed at bridging academia and culture in the urban context. Public outreach can be realized through the NRF-supported ‘Flagship on Critical Thought in African Humanities’ at UWC’s Centre for Humanities Research.
Prof. Vandenbussche’s team has published extensively on the topic of language and social justice, both from a present-day and a historical perspective. As VUB’s Commissioner for Metropolitan Challenges, he is in charge of the university’s language policy in the superdiverse city of Brussels, as well as for academic outreach to cultural and educational institutions (including opportunities for comparative follow-up activities with the research staff of the AfricaMuseum in Tervuren); as head of the International Society for Dutch Studies he has direct access to the expertise of all major research centres on Afrikaans.
Expected Results (‘Core achievements’ and ‘Enabling structures’ ):
- joint academic publications, policy briefs and conference presentations
- joint project applications
- student research (master’s theses, research portfolio)
- innovated/enhanced course curricula at VUB/UWC (with guest lectures from research team members)
- awareness-raising events in museums and culture hubs.
- strengthened institutional policies and structures at VUB/UWC for work on linguistic/cultural heritage preservation
- strengthened partnerships with cultural actors supporting the valorization of linguistic heritage and diversity
- integration of cooperation themes as spearhead research areas in VUB’s/UWC’s international partnership programmes
- joint VUB/UWC project blog
- outreach to civil society and community impact in Belgium and South Africa.
