About the series
Language and power is an interdisciplinary and evolving field, drawing from applied linguistics, sociolinguistics, political science, media studies, and beyond. Foundational works have established the intricate connections between language, knowledge, and power, yet contemporary shifts in global communication necessitate new approaches. By bridging disciplines and perspectives, the Cambridge Elements in Language and Power series provides a platform for both theoretical exploration and practical applications, examining how language functions as both a conduit and a barrier to power. It explores both empowering and oppressive dimensions, showcasing how language can be a force for inclusion, social justice, and transformation, as well as a tool for exclusion, harm, and control.
The overarching aim of the Cambridge Elements in Language and Power series is to provide accessible publications exploring the profound relationship between language and power, thereby examining how language shapes perceptions, constructs realities, and manipulates relationships within and among individuals, institutions, communities, and languages. In this series, we are interested in divergent and fresh conceptualizations and understandings of both language and power and the intricacies at the intersection of these two entities.
Areas of interest
- language for/in/and spirituality and development
- language and power as sources of healing, unity, and empowerment
- language as a mechanism of control, resistance, and weaponization
- language for/in/and cultural preservation and celebration
- language and power across disciplines and areas such as Indigenous studies, race/racism, decolonial studies, Southern perspectives, dis/ability studies, political science, religious studies, the legal field, ecology and environment, media and communication, and (mental) health sciences, to name a few
- language and power in identity and transformation
- language, power, and new technologies: AI, digital media, social media
- language and power as sources for inclusion and/or exclusion