Exploring Language Varieties in the Diaspora: Methodological and Theoretical Approaches

*Recognition of ECTS depends on your home university.

Physical mobility

The physical part will take place from 23 to 27 June 2025 in Lausanne (Switzerland), and will include:

• lectures on the application of different theories and methods related to the course topic;
• student presentations of case studies (different language scenarios) and discussions, including different theories, methodologies, languages, and cross-disciplinary perspectives that are relevant to fully understand the topic, e.g. what is the role of religion in language maintenance and shift (different case studies), multilingualism and identity construction in the diaspora etc.
• field trips concerning (linguistic) aspects of migration and heritage/ preservation: trips to the Musée romain de Lausanne-Vidy and a walk along the Via Huguenots

The preparation and the presentations require the students to

• apply knowledge of interdisciplinary approaches within the fields of migration studies;
• give an account of different linguistic case studies;
• demonstrate an understanding of the concepts of language heritage;
• perform data collection, data mining and analysis;
• draw conclusions from state-of-the-art theories/ methodology based on relevant literature;
• show awareness of timely research questions within the relevant fields;
• critically reflect on existing theories linked to the topic of language and migration; as well as the applicability of existing methods to a range of different scenarios;
• critically assess and present own and others’ research;
• reflect on societal challenges related to migration and diaspora;
• demonstrate intercultural competences and an understanding of multilingual settings.

 Structure:

• 22 June, 17:00 -19:00 CET - Introductions, first exchanges, and structure of the physical part
• 23 June, 09:00 - 17:00 CET -  Lectures & discussions and student presentations
• 24 June, 09:00 - 18:00 CET - Student presentations and visit of the Musée romain de Lausanne-Vidy
• 25 June, 09:00 - 17:00 CET - Lectures & discussions and student presentations
• 26 June, 09:00 - 18:00 CET - Student presentations and walk along the Via Huguenots
• 27 June, 09:00 - 13:00 CET - Student presentations and final discussion

Virtual part

The virtual part will take place every Wednesday between 16:00 - 18:00 CET, from 5 March to 9 April 2025.

This part familiarizes students with the general topic, followed by detailed background information related to different theories, data sources, and research methodologies. The students have to prepare:

1. a summary and presentation of theoretical case studies,
2. a presentation on data sources (methodology part),
3. an individual project that will be supervised by the instructors.

Structure:

• 5 March 2025: Introductory meeting
• 12 March 2025: Theoretical approaches: Reading across disciplines
  Relevant articles from fields like heritage linguistics, language variation and change, language contact studies, migration and identity, etc. will be focused on. The students have to prepare 3 articles, i.e. 2 shared articles and a third individual article for which they have to prepare a 2-page summary and present their individual article during the meeting (pecha kucha).
• 19 March 2025: Methodological approaches: Diachronic and synchronic perspectives; interdisciplinary humanities/ social science approaches
  Familiarisation with key terminology and types of sources - students prepare presentations on different data sources and/or case studies depending on their specialization.
• 26 March 2025: Methodological approaches: Diachronic and synchronic perspectives; interdisciplinary humanities/ social science approaches
  Familiarisation with data collection - students prepare presentations on different data collection methods and/or case studies depending on their specialization.
• 2 April 2025: Methodological approaches: Diachronic and synchronic perspectives; interdisciplinary humanities/ social science approaches
  Familiarisation with data mining and data interpretation - students prepare presentations on different data mining methods/data interpretation and/or case studies depending on their specialization.
• 9 April 2025: Individual consultation/ tutoring – individual project preparation

These sessions give the students the possibility to discuss their projects with the different teachers who all have different language-related but complementary expertise; it thus allows for an in-depth focus on different language -related migration scenarios.

The different elements require the students to:

• acquire and apply knowledge of interdisciplinary approaches within the fields of migration studies;
• give an account of different linguistic case studies;
• demonstrate an understanding of the concepts of language heritage;
• categorise different types of sources;
• demonstrate an understanding of data preparation and interpretation;
• perform data collection, data mining and analysis;
• draw conclusions from state-of-the-art theories/ methodology based on relevant literature;
• show awareness of timely research questions with the relevant fields;
• critically reflect on existing theories linked to the topic of language and migration, as well as the applicability of existing methods to a range of different scenarios;
• critically assess and present own and others’ research;
• reflect on societal challenges related to migration and diaspora;
• demonstrate intercultural competences and an understanding of multilingual settings.

Requirements

This course is open to Bachelor's, Master's and PhD's students at CIVIS member universities, with a strong interest in the topic of language, migration and identity. They should have completed a BA in a language / linguistics degree and / or any relevant discipline of the humanities/ social sciences. 

Participants should have a good level of spoken English for the discussions and presentations. Written work can be submitted in different languages, notably English, German, French, Italian, Swedish.

An individual research project in the field of migration studies would be advantageous.

NB: Visiting Students - Erasmus Funding Eligibility

To be eligible for your selected CIVIS programme, you must be a fully enrolled student at your CIVIS home university at the time you will be undertaking the programme. Click here to learn more about the eligibility criteria.

Students from CIVIS’ strategic partner universities in Africa can also apply for participation in this course. One or two African students are eligible for UNIL mobility scholarships upon selection.

Application process

Send your application by filling in the online application form by 31 October 2024, including:

• CV
• Motivation letter

Applications will be evaluated based on:

• check of the list of prerequisites;
• content of the motivation letter;
• potential research project in the field of migration studies.

Apply now

Assessment

Assessment of oral presentations:

1. Virtual component: presentation of a theoretical article and presentation of a selected data source;
2. Physical component: presentation of an individual research project (case study).

Assessment of written assignments:

1. Virtual component: report linked to the presentation of the theoretical article;
2. Physical component: pre-circulated papers of the individual projects, with a specific focus on research question, theory, data, method, and results;

• assignments during the virtual component: 3 ECTS
• presentation of the individual research project and discussions of case studies during the physical component: 3 ECTS.

Blended Intensive Programme

This CIVIS course is a Blended Intensive Programme (BIP): a new format of Erasmus+ mobility which combines online teaching with a short trip to another campus to learn alongside students and professors across Europe. Click here to learn more about CIVIS BIPs.

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