Language and plurality

The “Heterogeneity and Cohesion” research focus was established in 2009 and re-launched as a research network in 2019. It comprises thematic clusters dedicated to examining the cohesion of social groups amid social diversity, both in historical contexts and in the present, in a transdisciplinary and interfaculty approach.

Initially, the cluster “Language and Plurality” focused on linguistic diversity from a sociolinguistic perspective. However, in 2019, we broadened the scope considering cultural studies approaches to include cultural entanglement processes between languages, based on various forms of exchange and negotiation. This expansion also addressed attributions to language(s), the relations between “national” language and “supranational” experience (diversity, alterity, similarity), the role of translation and interpreting in multilingual societies, and their contribution to the construction of cultures.

The “Language and Plurality” cluster serves as an interfaculty and transdisciplinary networking platform, welcoming all researchers exploring topics such as language as a reflection of social diversity in the past and present, communication cultures, diverse literary, cinematic, and other media productions, as well as the potential of language for both encounters and conflicts. The cluster aims to promote exchange through networking meetings and events that showcase research at the University of Graz in this field.

The cluster is connected with the doctoral program “Migration - Diversity - Global Societies”, the Field of Excellence “Dimensions of Europe” (i.e. the Cluster European Literatures and their Interrelationships), and the core topic of the Faculty of Humanities “Multilingualism, Migration, Cultural Transformation”.

The cluster is coordinated by Nadja Grbić (Translation Studies) and Olaf Terpitz (Centre for Jewish Studies)