William Smith
School of Languages and Cultures
Postgraduate research student
Full contact details
School of Languages and Cultures
Jessop West
1 Upper Hanover Street
Sheffield
S3 7RA
- Profile
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Thesis title: A Decolonial Approach to Language Policy in Lebanon
My research focuses on language policy in Lebanon, specifically the historical and contemporary discourses that afford Lebanon such a prominent status in Francophonie. Through the works of key theorists such as Walter Mignolo and Sabelo Ndlovu-Gatsheni, I approach language policy in Lebanon with a decolonial stance that reflects some of the contemporary work in Southern approaches to sociolinguistics. This includes centring the role of coloniality in my analysis of primary sources, as well as engaging with Arabic sources, both historical and contemporary.
The thesis follows language policy through three so-called ‘hot-points’ in Franco-Lebanese relations: the 1860-1 Civil War in Mount Lebanon, the 1919 declaration of the French Mandate for Syria and Lebanon, and the 2010 Pacte Linguistique. The decolonial approach traces the colonial roots of contemporary French intervention in language policy in Lebanon, with a focus on the ideological weight of language and discourse, and how this impacts and can be impacted by ‘modernity/coloniality’.
My research is funded by the AHRC via the White Rose College of the Arts and Humanities (WRoCAH).
- Qualifications
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MA Modern Languages and Cultures (French), University of Sheffield
BA French and Hispanic Studies (French, Portuguese and Spanish), University of Liverpool
- Research interests
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- Decolonisation and decolonial approaches to research
- Franco-Lebanese relations
- Language policy
- Arabic in higher education
- Francophone postcolonial studies
- Professional activities and memberships
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I am the PGR academic rep for SLC for the academic year 2023-4.
- Publications & conference papers
Publications
Smith, W. (2022) ‘Deconstructing Linguistic Binaries in Francophone Postcolonial Fiction: Towards a Linguistic Repertoire Approach’, French Studies Bulletin, 43(163): 12-16.
Smith, W. (2022) ‘Deconstructing linguistic binaries in Assia Djebar's L'Amour, la fantasia: From 'mother tongue' to linguistic repertoire’, Languages, Texts and Society, 5: 43-67.
Conference papers
‘Deconstructing linguistic binaries in Djebar’s 'L’Amour, La Fantasia' within sociolinguistic critiques of mother tongue ideology: advocating for a linguistic repertoire approach to language in postcolonial texts’ Society for French Studies Postgraduate Conference 2021, 28 May 2021 (online).
‘Discursive approaches to language policy in Lebanon: Conflict and colonial agency’ Workshop on Multilingualism in Conflict Zones, University of Reading, 28 September 2022 (in person).