The Swedish Society for the Study of English
The 2023 National Forum for English Studies held at Mälardalen University was a terrific success! Congratulations and many thanks to Thorsten Schröter, Olcay Sert, Elizabeth Wulff-Sahlen and Marwa Amri!
Is your English Department ready to host the next National Forum for English Studies in 2025? The SWESSE Board is now accepting expressions of interest and especially encourages bids from universities that haven’t yet hosted.
The 12th National Forum for English Studies will take place on 26-28 April 2023, at Mälardalen University, Västerås, Sweden.
In the current state of the world, with its challenges, threats and upheavals, be they of a military, political, cultural, economic, health- or climate-related nature, it is more important than ever to emphasize the need for relation-building and the capacity of language, not least English, to connect communities and overcome divisions and challenges. We therefore specifically invite proposals for talks and activities that address the communicative and unifying potential of English, including the teaching and learning of it. That said, the Forum remains open to all kinds of topics and perspectives falling within – or being of relevance to – English Studies in Sweden and beyond.
At the Forum, teachers and researchers are welcome to raise and discuss issues and questions, challenges and solutions, projects and findings regarding the study, promotion and use of English – from linguistic, literary, culture-and-society or pedagogical perspectives, including fruitful combinations of perspectives. This can be done in the form of classic research presentations, workshops, or inspirational accounts of professional/pedagogical development projects, experiments, strategies and solutions – in short, anything of interest to professionals in the field of English Studies in Sweden.
Three internationally renowned scholars have kindly agreed to give keynote talks at the Forum: Bo G Ekelund (Stockholm University), Fiona Farr (University of Limerick), and Tom Morton (Universidad Autónoma de Madrid). More information about them and their talks will be provided on the National Forum website.
In line with the ambition and scope sketched above, and following a certain tradition from earlier National Forums, we also intend to arrange for a number of discussion sessions, where specific categories of academics (such as doctoral students, lecturers and senior lecturers, and full professors) and/or special-interest groups (such as degree project supervisors and examiners, directors of study and program coordinators, or literature teachers) can come together to ventilate shared concerns. Suggestions in this regard, including proposals for organizing and chairing a discussion forum, are therefore welcome, too.
Individual papers: 20-minute presentations followed by 5 minutes of questions and discussion. Abstracts should not exceed 250 words, excluding the title of the talk, author name(s), affiliations, email addresses, reference list, and 3-5 keywords.
Panels: 90-minute sessions based on 3-4 thematically related papers and leaving room for joint discussion. Abstracts should include the rationale for the session as well as the abstracts for the individual contributions, not exceeding 1000 words in total (excluding the title of the panel, author names, affiliations, email addresses, reference lists, and 3-5 keywords).
Workshops: 60- or 90-minute sessions with instruction and active participation. Proposals should not exceed 250 words, excluding the title of the workshop, organizer name(s), affiliations, email addresses, and 3-5 keywords.
Discussion sessions: 60- or 90-minute sessions for the discussion of a specific topic or concern regarding English Studies in Sweden and/or among a defined group of participants. Proposals should include a rationale for the session but not exceed 250 words, excluding the title, organizer name(s), affiliations, email addresses, and optional keywords.
The deadline for submitting proposals for contributions will be 15 January 2023. A response can be expected within the subsequent weeks. The deadline for early-bird registration will be 28 February 2023.
Additional information about the keynote speakers, abstract submissions, other important deadlines, registration, the program and more will be made available on the Forum website.
Inquiries can be sent to the following Forum email address: nationalforum2023@mdu.se
‘NAES 2022’ is the triennial Conference of the Nordic Association of English Studies which will take place at Stockholm University on 11–13 May 2022. Keynote speakers are Terttu Nevalainen, Helsinki University, Ulrikke Rindal, University of Oslo, and Virginia Langum, Umeå University.
There’s still time to propose a paper, panel or poster. Details on the conference website.
The guest editors of a special issue in the journal Languages invite contributions on ‘Language Practices in English Classrooms – from Primary School to Higher’. Languages is an international, multidisciplinary, peer-reviewed open access journal; APCs will be waived for articles published in the issue. This issue will be edited by Pia Sundqvist, Erica Sandlund, Marie Källkvist, & Henrik Gyllstad.
Potential contributors should submit a word document with a title, a 300-word abstract, and a 50-word bio (for each author) to the Editorial Office (languages@mdpi.com) by 1 June, 2021.
The English Department at Södertörn University will host the National Forum for English Studies nest year. The Forum will take place on 21-23 April 2021 on the Södertörn University campus, about 20 minutes south of Stockholm city centre. The theme for the Forum is, ‘Rethinking English Studies’:
In a global context of rising nationalism and populism, of closing borders and faltering supranational arrangements, what is the role reserved for English? Following Brexit, are we to expect a shift in the symbolic status of the language and its culture at a European and national level? What can English Studies as an academic field offer society in this context? As the intellectual and professional expectations of students of English change, how is our discipline to rethink its purpose and future? This National Forum will offer an opportunity for teachers and researchers in linguistics, literature and pedagogy to reflect on these and other questions of relevance to the study of English in Sweden today.
The confirmed keynote speakers are:
Titles and abstracts for the keynote lectures and a call for papers, panels, and workshops relevant to the Forum theme, the keynote lectures, or English studies will be announced in August. Information will be sent by mail, and regular updates will also be available on the 2021 Forum website.