1. Student Catalogue
  2. Exploring Language Varieties in the Diaspora: Methodological and Theoretical Approaches

Exploring Language Varieties in the Diaspora: Methodological and Theoretical Approaches

The virtual part will take place every Wednesday from 4-6pm CET/CEST from 5 March to 9 April 2025.   This part familiarizes students with the general topic, followed by detailed background information related to different theories, data sources, and research methodologies. The students have to prepare (a) a summary and presentation of theoretical case studies, (b) a presentation on data sources (methodology part), and (c) an individual project that will be supervised by the instructors.   Structure:   •      Week 1 - 5 March 2025: Introductory meeting   •      Week 2 - 12 March 2025: Theoretical approaches: Reading across disciplines Relevant articles from fields like heritage linguistics, language variation and change, language contact studies, migration and identity, etc. will be focused on. The students have to prepare 3 articles, i.e. 2 shared articles and a third individual article for which they have to prepare a 2-page summary and present their individual article during the meeting (pecha kucha).   •      Week 3 - 19 March 2025: Methodological approaches: Diachronic and synchronic perspectives; interdisciplinary humanities/social science approaches Familiarisation with key terminology and types of sources; Students prepare presentations on different data sources and/or case studies depending on their specialization.   •      Week 4 - 26 March 2025: Methodological approaches: Diachronic and synchronic perspectives; interdisciplinary humanities/social science approaches Familiarisation with data collection; Students prepare presentations on different data collection methods and/or case studies depending on their specialization.   •      Week 5 - 2 April 2025: Methodological approaches: Diachronic and synchronic perspectives; interdisciplinary humanities/social science approaches Familiarisation with data mining and data interpretation; Students prepare presentations on different data mining methods/data interpretation and/or case studies depending on their specialization.   •      Week 6 - 9 April 2025: Individual consultation/tutoring – individual project preparation These sessions give the students the possibility to discuss their projects with the different teachers who all have different language-related but complementary expertise; it thus allows for an in-depth focus on different language-related migration scenarios.   The different elements require the students to •      acquire and apply knowledge of interdisciplinary approaches within the fields of migration studies; •      give an account of different linguistic case studies; •      demonstrate an understanding of the concepts of language heritage; •      categorise different types of sources; •      demonstrate an understanding of data preparation and interpretation; •      perform data collection, data mining and analysis; •      draw conclusions from state-of-the-art theories/methodology based on relevant literature; •      show awareness of timely research questions with the relevant fields; •      critically reflect on existing theories linked to the topic of language and migration, as well as the applicability of existing methods to a range of different scenarios; •      critically assess and present own and others’ research; •      reflect on societal challenges related to migration and diaspora; •      demonstrate intercultural competences and an understanding of multilingual settings. Learn about different theoretical and methodological approaches that allow you to fully explore language varieties in the diaspora past and present.
Application Deadline
Virtual Part starting date 2025-03-05
Virtual Part closing date 2025-04-09
Total student workload 170
Specific field of studies Linguistics, Languages, but also Literatures, History, Philosophy, Theology, etc.
Pre-requisite for selection CV Motivation Letter
Academic pre-requisites for applicants This course is open to students at CIVIS member universities with a strong interest in the topic of language, migration and identity. The should have completed a BA in a language / linguistics degree and / or any relevant discipline of the humanities / social sciences. Participants should have a good level of spoken English for the discussions and presentations. Written work can be submitted in different languages, notably English, German, French, Italian, Swedish. An individual research project in the field of migration studies would be advantageous.
Physical Part starting date 2025-06-23
Physical Part Description The physical part will take place from 23 to 27 June 2025 in Lausanne (Switzerland) and will include the following elements:   •      Lectures on the application of different theories and methods related to the course topic; •      Student presentations of case studies (different language scenarios) and discussions, including different theories, methodologies, languages, and cross-disciplinary perspectives that are relevant to fully understand the topic, e.g. what is the role of religion in language maintenance and shift (different case studies), multilingualism and identity construction in the diaspora, etc. •      Field trips concerning (linguistic) aspects of migration and heritage/preservation: trips to the Musée romain de Lausanne-Vidy [https://lausannemusees.ch/en_GB/museums/musee-romain-de-lausanne-vidy] and a walk along the Via Huguenots [ https://www.via-huguenots.ch/fr/]   The preparation and the presentations require the students to •      apply knowledge of interdisciplinary approaches within the fields of migration studies; •      give an account of different linguistic case studies; •      demonstrate an understanding of the concepts of language heritage; •      perform data collection, data mining and analysis; •      draw conclusions from state-of-the-art theories/methodology based on relevant literature; •      show awareness of timely research questions within the relevant fields; •      critically reflect on existing theories linked to the topic of language and migration; as well as the applicability of existing methods to a range of different scenarios; •      critically assess and present own and others’ research; •      reflect on societal challenges related to migration and diaspora; •      demonstrate intercultural competences and an understanding of multilingual settings.   Structure: •      Sunday, 22 June 2025 from 17-19h: Introductions, first exchanges, and structure of the physical part •      Monday, 23 June 2025 from 9-17h: Lectures & discussions and student presentations •      Tuesday, 24 June 2025 from 9-18h: Student presentations and visit of the Musée romain de Lausanne-Vidy •      Wednesday, 25 June 2025 from 9-17h: Lectures & discussions and student presentations •      Thursday, 26 June 2025 from 9-18h: Student presentations and walk along the Via Huguenots •      Friday, 27 June 2025 from 9-13h: Student presentations and final discussion
Physical Part closing date 2025-06-27
Language level required B2
Field of studies related to the course Social Science and Humanities
Course location University of Lausanne
Course language English French German Italian Swedish