Language Policies in Finland and Sweden ─ Interdisciplinary and Multi-sited Comparisons

In this volume, authors from four disciplines join forces to develop an analysis of political discourse on a comparative and multidisciplinary basis. Language policy is often based on the political use of history, where the remembrance of past experiences by communities, individuals and historical bodies play a fundamental role. These authors see politics and policies as multi-sited by nature, taking place, being constructed, contested and reproduced simultaneously and in different times and places. Theoretically the book draws on the concept of language policy, operationalising it through the rhizomatic nature of politics and policies. Although confined empirically to considerations of situations in Finland and Sweden, the volume extends far beyond these locations in its theoretical contributions. The polities of Finland and Sweden are the lens through which a new and much needed understanding of language policy research, and policy research in general, is posited.

Mia Halonen is a senior researcher at the Centre for Applied Language Studies, University of Jyvaskyla, Finland. Her research interests include language ideologies and policy, sociophonetics, performances, micro analytic and mixed methods, social media and popular culture.
Pasi Ihalainen is a professor of Comparative European History at the Department of History and Ethnology, University of Jyvaskyla, Finland. His research interests include comparative history, national identity, parliamentary discourse, and multi-sited constitutional debates.
Taina Saarinen is a senior researcher at the Centre for Applied Language Studies, University of Jyvaskyla, Finland. Her research interests include language policy, methodology, and higher education internationalisation.