Meeting Description
Connecting the Dots in a Glocalized World 2016 provided a forum for the exchange of ideas in the four main disciplines of language, linguistics, literature and translation. As the title for the conference suggests, the aim was to highlight the relationship between global themes and local practices. The focus thus was on the under-examined interactions that occur as globalization takes on negotiated forms in different contexts. With an emphasis on interdisciplinary studies and methodologies, the conference centralized research which extended theory, methodology and application (e.g. translation and technology; linguistic frameworks for literary analysis); it also highlighted research that linked local scholarly and pedagogical projects with global concerns (e.g. English as a local/global language; social media and language choice). Proposals which fell outside the focus of the conference, but within the disciplines of language, linguistics, literature and translation, were also be considered.
Keynote Speakers
Jan Blommaert (Linguistics), Tilburg University, The Netherlands
Michael Cronin (Translation), Dublin City University, Ireland
Ian Almond (Literature), Georgetown University, Qatar
Rani Rubdy (Language), Independent Scholar
Featured Speakers
Juliane House (Translation), University of Hamburg, Germany
David Wilmsen (Language and Linguistics), American University of Beirut, Lebanon
Samina Yasmeen (Literature), Australia
Attendance Details
The conference hosted academics from across the globe (109 presenters and over 300 attendees): The Netherlands, Ireland, Greece, the United Kingdom, Spain, Germany, Slovakia, Ukraine, Poland, The United States, Canada, New Zealand, Australia, Japan, Thailand, Taiwan, Philippines, India, Morocco, Lebanon, Algeria, Turkey, Jordan as well as the various countries in the Gulf including Qatar, Saudi Arabia, Kuwait and the United Arab Emirates. Participants also included academics from various institutes of higher education in Oman such as the Higher College of Technology, Sohar University, Nizwa University, Dhofar University, Al-Buraimi University, Modern College of Business and Science as well as the Language Centre, Sultan Qaboos University, and The Research Council.
Conference Publications
1. Dr. Najma Al Zidjaly (Conference Chair) edited a selection of linguistics papers from the 2016 conference and submitted for publication as a Special Issue on Light Identities and Glocalization in the high impact international journal Multilingua. The Special Issue will be published in 2019.
2. Dr. Sandhya Mehta edited a second selection of papers on language, literature and translation from the conference; the edited book will be published in 2019 by the international publisher Springer.
Conference Committee Members
The Chair of the conference was Dr. Najma Al Zidjaly. Members of the committee included: Dr. Abdul Gabbar Al-Sharafi, Dr. Sandhya Rao Mehta, Ms. Lina Al-Jamali, Dr. Fathiya Al-Rashdi, Dr. Mohammed Al-Alawi, Dr. Chandrika Balasubramanian, Ancy Furtado and (previously) Dr. Andrew Littejohn.