Language & society

Research in the School of Languages & Social Sciences focuses on the linguistic, cultural, political and historical factors that affect the behaviour of societies, organisations, countries and the European Union. We seek a clearer understanding of our interdependent global society through the analysis of political, economic, cultural and literary discourse.

Questions we are addressing include:

• What are the implications of the expanding European Union for the member states and their citizens? How is social change in Europe (immigration, citizenship, religion, work and welfare) impacting on European counties, the collective European Union, and Europe’s position in the world?

• How do human cultures, languages and beliefs evolve and relate to one another?

• What is the impact of societies with ‘super diverse’ populations (such as Birmingham) on service development and delivery, economic activity, community and the emergence of new cultural identities?

 Research groups

• Aston Centre for Europe 
• Bio-Energy
• Biomedical Engineering
• Centre for Forensic Linguistics
• Centre for Interdisciplinary Research in Language and Diversity (InterLanD)
• Centre for Research in Social and Political Sciences
• Dynamics and Control Research Group
• Environmental Systems & Safety Management
• Institute for the Study of Language & Society

Contact

For enquiries related to Aston’s languages & society research, contact Professor Malcolm Coulthard, Associate Dean (Research), School of Languages & Social Sciences.