Language in Times of War and Conflict

Image (above): The Right Hon. J.B. Chifley talking to Sergeant Pritchard, AWAS, the only woman interpreter of Japanese in the Australian Army, AWM 099452.

Language in Times of War and Conflict

An Interdisciplinary Symposium to be held at the Australian National University, Canberra

13-14 November 2017

This interdisciplinary symposium aims to bring together scholars and researchers working on diverse aspects of the topic of language in times of war and conflict. Language – from the language deployed in propaganda to the experiences of interpreters in war zones – is a critical part of the story of war. Yet it is not always made the explicit focus of study. A number of scholars have started to develop a body of work on the topic with some geographical areas (the UK, Europe) and conflicts (the First and Second World Wars) being better represented than others. We hope to encourage productive discussions that will increase our understanding of language in times of war and conflict.

Language in Times of War and Conflict: Program and abstracts

We will be launching the book Memory and the Wars on Terror: Australian and British Perspectives (Palgrave Macmillan, 2017) edited by Richard Gehrmann and Jessica Gildersleeve as part of the event.

Two small grants will be available to support postgraduates to attend the event. Please indicate if you are interested in applying for this funding when submitting your abstract.

Registration for this event will be free of charge. Please see the registration page on Eventbrite for more information.