In academia, we operate through language. We teach, we publish, and we collaborate sometimes in one, sometimes in several languages. How and why do we make language choices in academia? When is multilingualism an asset and when does it become a problem?
During a two-day seminar, we will listen to three plenary presentations. Senior Lecturer Åsa Mickwitz from the University of Helsinki will talk about her experiences of bilingual higher education, Secretary General Pauliina Raento from the Association for Science Publishing in Finland will discuss the challenges of language choice and research communication, and Associate Professor Johanna Ennser-Kananen from the University of Jyväskylä will reflect on the university as a multilingual workplace.The programme also includes panel discussions.
The event is free of charge and open to anyone interested, but primarily targets individuals working at universities or higher education institutions, or with the publication of scholarly works.
The seminar languages are Swedish, Finnish, and English. Keynote lectures will be interpreted into English on Thursday. You can participate in the seminar either on-site in Jyväskylä or online via Teams.
The event is organized by the Society of Swedish Literature in Finland (SLS) in collaboration with the Department of Language and Communication Studies at the University of Jyväskylä.
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PROGRAMME
Day 1
25th of September, 13:00–17:00
Utbildning och forskning inom den flerspråkiga akademin
13:00 Opening remarks
Åsa Palviainen and Nina Edgren-Henrichson (SLS)
13:15 Keynote: “Ja måsta liksom kolla upp i en ordbok va perustuslaki är.” Vägen till tvåspråkig expert – strategier och praktiker
Åsa Mickwitz, University Lecturer, University of Helsinki
14:15 Coffee break
14:45 Keynote: Tiedejulkaisemisen kielet
Pauliina Raento, Secretary General, Federation of Finnish Learned Societies
15:45 Break
16:00 Panel discussion
Participants: Åsa Mickwitz, Pauliina Raento, Camilla Lindholm, and Nina Pilke
17:00 End of Day 1
Day 2
26th of September, 10:00–12:00
Akademin som flerspråkig arbetsplats
9:45 Morning coffee
10:00 Keynote: Multilinguality at the university: too much and not enough?
Johanna Ennser-Kananen, University of Jyväskylä
11:00 Panel discussion
Participants: Johanna Ennser-Kananen, Åsa Palviainen, Henrik Rahm and Taina Saarinen
11:45 Closing remarks
Siv Björklund and Anna Slotte
Keynote Speakers
Åsa Mickwitz is a university lecturer in pedagogy at the Centre for University Pedagogy (HYPE), University of Helsinki. Her main research interests include multilingualism, linguistic diversity, and student learning. She is also an Associate Professor in pedagogy at Åbo Akademi University.
Pauliina Raento is a versatile and experienced expert in scholarly publishing and editing. She has edited several special issues and article collections in Finnish and English for academic journals and served as editor-in-chief of the Finnish geographical journal Terra, as well as editor and editorial board member for several international journals. Since 2019, Raento has been Secretary General of the Federation of Finnish Learned Societies. She previously worked as a professor of cultural geography.
Johanna Ennser-Kananen is an Associate Professor of English at the University of Jyväskylä. Her work focuses on culturally and linguistically sustaining education, particularly on epistemic justice in educational contexts. This entails the deconstructing of Eurocentric and anthropocentric norms and the search for more sustainable ways of being an academic.
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The seminar is part of the programme celebrating the 140th anniversary of SLS in 2025. During the year, we are organizing three academic seminars at universities in Finland: in May at Tampere University, in September at the University of Jyväskylä, and in November at University of Turku.
For more information: info@sls.fi or +358 9 618 777 (weekdays 9:00–12:00 and 13:00–16:00)
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