CFP: The African CAT: Language, Identity, and Communication Accommodation in African Contexts

“Publication

Call for papers: The African CAT: Language, Identity, and Communication Accommodation in African Contexts, Language and Intercultural Communication. Deadline: abstract only, 1 December 2025.

Guest Editors: Howard Giles (University of California, Santa Barbara, USA & University of Queensland, Australia) and Tekena Mark (Rivers State University, Nigeria)

Over the past five decades, Communication Accommodation Theory (CAT) has evolved into one of the most empirically rich and theoretically robust frameworks for understanding how individuals adapt to—or distance themselves from—others in interpersonal and intergroup communication. Originally formulated as Speech Accommodation Theory (Giles, Taylor, & Bourhis, 1973), CAT has since expanded to encompass a wide range of verbal and nonverbal behaviors, including accent, dialect, speech rate, gestures, clothing, and even silence as well a wide array of social groups, languages, applied and institutional contexts, new technologies (e.g., human-machine interactions and social media) and even non-human species (e.g., Giles, Markowitz, & Clementson, 2025).

Yet, despite its global applicability, African communicative practices have remained under-researched in CAT scholarship and, indeed, in intercultural scholarship more generally. That said, there has, very recently, been a flurry of CAT activity on a broad range of topics emerging from all around the continent of Africa. This Special Issue is, therefore, very timely and aims to cohere and expand developments in CAT and their possible synergies with intercultural communication research through African perspectives. Toward the latter end, this will be achieved, for instance, by drawing attention to indigenous languages, sociocultural norms, multilingual negotiations, and communicative strategies shaped by colonial legacies, identity politics, and evolving digital cultures.

Key theoretical developments relevant to this Special Issue include entrainment, mimicry, interactive alignment (van de Pol et al., 2023), and the dynamic co-existence of convergence, divergence, and maintenance (Guydish & Fox Tree, 2021). We invite rich, context-sensitive, and culturally-grounded analyses that speak to everyday communicative realities in African communities, institutions, and diasporas. In line with the editorial vision of Language and Intercultural Communication (LAIC), authors are especially encouraged to explore and establish synergies between CAT and the critical approach to intercultural communication, as developed in IALIC (International Association for Languages and Intercultural Communication) and reflected across LAIC’s publications. This may involve questioning power dynamics, ideological positioning, colonial histories, and the ethics of communicative encounters.

CFP Interactional Competences and Practices in a Second Language

ConferencesCall for papers: Interactional Competences and Practices in a Second Language, Newcastle University, UK, 24-26 August 2026. Deadline: 21 November to 20 February 2026.

The fifth ICOP-L2 conference will be hosted by Newcastle University in the North-East of England and by the University’s Applied Linguistics & Communication (ALC) research team. ALC at Newcastle has a long and proud history of research in social interaction research, and L2 interaction more specifically, dating back over 20 years.

A Call for Papers will be circulated in mid-September.

Mingshi Cui: Reflections on the Object Diasporas in Museums

Guest PostsReflections on the object diasporas in museums. Guest post by Mingshi Cui.

Sitting atop a display stand at the Museum of Fine Arts (MFA), Boston, a wooden sculpture of the Bodhisattva of Compassion, Guanyin, quietly receives admiration from museum visitors. This Guanyin sculpture, originally from a Buddhist monastery in China, was removed and sold in the early 1900s, and then became part of the MFA’s Asian Collection. Now in the Art of Asia gallery room 274, with the same gaze of serenity and compassion once cast down upon the worshippers in the temple, it encounters museum visitors from different parts of the world who come to seek aesthetic pleasure and culturally diverse experiences.

The Bodhisattva of Compassion, Guanyin sculpture at the MFA, Boston
The Bodhisattva of Compassion, Guanyin sculpture at the MFA, Boston
© Mingshi Cui 2025

Part of my research interest involves examining how object diasporas in museums with the same place of origin are classified and displayed differently based on the distinct criteria and missions of the organizations. Using the biographical approach to trace the social lives of displaced objects now held in cultural institutions like museums, I examine how a specific group of objects has been appropriated and integrated into various narrative strands within different social and organizational contexts; and how the objects’ diasporic journeys reflect the complex history of intercultural encounters between nations throughout history.

Download the entire post as a PDF.

Morehouse College: Assistant Professor in Intercultural / Interracial Communication (USA)

“JobAssistant Professor in Intercultural / Interracial Communication, Morehouse College, Atlanta, GA, USA. Deadline: 5 December 2025 preferred, but open until filled.

The Division of Humanities, Social Sciences, Media, and Arts at Morehouse College invites applications for a Tenure-Track Assistant Professor position in the Department of Communication Studies, beginning August 1, 2026. A candidate who possesses expertise in teaching intercultural communication and interracial communication with a strong foundation in the breadth of communication theory as it pertains to detecting and effectively navigating marginalization and power dynamics (e.g., gender, race, socioeconomic status, sexuality) is preferred.

The department is seeking someone who thinks creatively about teaching, engages in scholarship, and can be committed to the mission of Morehouse College—to develop men with disciplined minds who lead lives of leadership and service. The successful candidate will serve our mission by emphasizing the intellectual and character development of our students, and by assuming a special responsibility for teaching the history and culture of Black people.

The candidate will teach a 3-3 load, advise and mentor students, and will be expected to maintain an appropriate level of scholarly activity and service necessary to secure tenure and promotion at the College. The candidate will also be expected to support the college’s general education curriculum.

Davidson College: Assistant Professor of Communication Studies (USA)

“JobAssistant Professor of Communication Studies, focus on intercultural/international, Davidson College, Davidson, NC, USA. Deadline: 21 November 2025.

The Communication Studies department at Davidson College invites applications for an Open-Rank position in Communication Studies, with a focus on Intercultural/International Communication starting July 1, 2026. They are seeking candidates who have both a strong commitment to interdisciplinary undergraduate education and an active research agenda. They are particularly interested in candidates whose teaching experience encompasses public speaking, intercultural and/or international communication, communication theory, research methods, and courses within secondary areas of expertise that could inform the development of elective courses within Communication Studies. Secondary areas of expertise are flexible, though candidates with scholarship in activism and social justice, and health communication are most desirable. The successful candidate’s primary teaching responsibility will be in the Communication Studies department with a periodic opportunity to contribute a course to the Writing Program. The candidate’s Ph.D. in Communication Studies should be completed by July 1, 2026. The candidate will participate in departmental and college service, such as rotational work as department chair and/or Speaking Center director, Honors Society advisor, advising senior research including capstones and theses, and serving on institutional committees. Tenure-track faculty at Davidson teach four courses in their first year and five each year thereafter.

CFP Culture Matters Here (Latvia)

ConferencesCall for papers: Culture Matters Here: Cultivating Creative Place-Based Innovation in Non-urban Communities, Valmiera, Latvia, 11-13 May 2026. Deadline: 8 December 2025.

The IN SITU Final Conference, “Culture Matters Here. Cultivating Creative Place-based Innovation in Non-urban Communities,” will take place in Valmiera, Latvia, from 11-13 May 2026. Organised within the project IN SITU – Place-based Innovation of Cultural and Creative Industries in Non-urban Areas, the conference will be a dynamic forum for exploring cutting-edge research and practices in place-based innovation and creativity of the cultural and creative industries (CCIs) in non-urban areas.

This conference is co-organised by the Latvian Academy of Culture and the Centre for Social Studies of the University of Coimbra in cooperation with the European Network of Cultural Centres, Culture Action Europe and all the IN SITU project partners, and in conjunction with our local associates, Valmiera County Municipality and Vidzeme University of Applied Sciences. The IN SITU project receives support from the European Union’s Horizon Europe Research and Innovation Programme (Grant Agreement no. 101061747).

This event will be a catalyst for networking, exchange, and knowledge-building among participants, furthering understanding of the issues and opportunities for rural creative work, and contributing to a more supportive environment for cultural and creative actors in non-urban areas. Organizers invite scholars, researchers, artists, cultural practitioners, activists, policymakers, and decision-makers from across the world and a wide variety of disciplines to submit proposals for presentations of papers and projects. They welcome participation by the large community of the European Rural Pact, including the Community Group on Culture and Creativity in Rural Areas.

All submissions should offer an original contribution to the vital topic of place-based innovation and the transformative power of the creative and cultural sector in forging more inclusive, resilient, and sustainable communities in rural and non-urban areas. Participants will also share key insights from their research, highlight project results, and look ahead to future plans. Additionally, the event will host the premiere of the IN SITU documentary, offering an inside look at their Labs and case studies.

CFP Taos Institute: Co-Creating Social Worlds (USA)

Conferences

Call for papers: Co-Creating Social Worlds Symposium, Taos Institute, held at Mercy University, New York, NY, USA, 27-28 February 2026. Deadline: 15 November 2025.

Amid dissonance and division, gather as improvisers of possibility, ensemble players in care, and weavers of bridges toward a more generous world—an ecology of connection where human and more-than-human lives entwine in fragile, co-creative rhythms, reminding us that we belong to a living, breathing assemblage greater than ourselves. Join for a vibrant gathering across disciplines to deepen our connections and spark meaningful collaboration–re-imagining our personal, public, and political lives.

word cloud for Co-Creating Social Worlds

Anna Lindh Foundation: ALF in Motion (2025-6)

Grants

ALF in Motion: Anna Lindh Foundation Mobility Programme, Alexandria, Egypt. Deadline: 8 November 2025.

ALF in Motion gives intercultural dialogue civil society entities the chance to connect face-to face with partners from a complementary shore of the Mediterranean. ALF in Motion provides financial support to cover mobility costs. Through this programme, entities can choose to develop projects with new partners, bring an expert to their existing event, co-create art or produce new knowledge. In this programme, ALF introduces four distinct modalities.

Choose the modality that best fits your intercultural dialogue initiative:

Mobility for Partnership
Duration: Minimum 7 days, excluding traveling days
Funding: 1.300 euro
Purpose: Develop joint project proposals for international donors

Mobility for Action
Duration: Minimum 2 days, excluding traveling days
Funding: 1.000 euro
Purpose: Bring external expertise to workshops, debates, trainings, and cultural events, among others

Mobility for Creativity
Duration: Minimum 20 days, excluding traveling days
Funding: 2.200 euro
Purpose: Host artists and creative individuals for collaborative cultural initiatives

Mobility for Knowledge
Duration: Minimum 7 days, excluding traveling days
Funding: 1.300 euro
Purpose: Partner with specialized entities to produce intercultural dialogue know-how

CFP Navigating Afro Knowledges: Exploring Practices and Theories in Digital Diaspora Studies (Germany)

ConferencesCall for papers: Navigating Afro Knowledges: Exploring Practices and Theories in Digital Diaspora Studies, University of Bremen, Germany, 17-19 June 2026. Deadline: 31 October 2025.

In recent years, Digital Diaspora Studies have emerged as a vibrant interdisciplinary field at the crossroads of media studies, migration studies, and postcolonial studies, exploring the complex interplay between technology, communication, arts, culture, and identity within diasporic communities. As diasporic individuals and communities navigate the digital landscape, they engage in practices that not only reshape their identities and the dynamics of belonging1, but also contribute to the circulation of knowledges that have been ignored in mainstream spaces due to systems of domination and hegemonic power relations. However, the internet is also a space shaped by ‘race’ and racialization.

This conference invites participants to explore, challenge and reframe the theoretical and methodological tools currently used in the study of digital diasporas. It foregrounds the lived practices, creative expressions, and activist interventions that emerge from Afrodiasporic cyberspaces, positioning them not at the margins, but at the centre of digital cultural production and critique, with particular focus on Romance-speaking countries.

1000 Words for Belonging: A Podcast about Languages and Belonging in the Classroom (UK)

Podcasts1000 Words for Belonging: A Podcast about Languages and Belonging in the Classroom, Institute of Languages, Cultures and Societies, University of London, UK.

1000 Words for Belonging PodcastsHow can we acknowledge the multiple languages and dialects that are present in young people’s lives? And what happens if we don’t? Following 6 years of creative collaboration between Neela Doležalová, an East London primary school and the School of Advanced Study at the University of London, this new podcast series shares insights and questions from the multilingual classroom.

What does it mean to belong? Are there different types of belonging? What is the difference between belonging and ‘fitting in’? What role does language play in a sense of belonging? Inspired by the 1000 WORDS FOR WEATHER project, Neela went back to Gearies Primary School to work on a multilingual arts project entitled 1000 WORDS FOR BELONGING. Over one year, all of the students in Year 6 explored the concept of ‘belonging’ through playwrighting, poetry and visual art. The project has been documented on instagram and through the creation of a new podcast. The project was part of a collaboration between the School of Advanced Studies, educators and local artists.