Seminars & Activities

1. The CCD international seminars of relevance for communication, culture and diversity (always in English)
2. The CCD working papers seminars (in English or Swedish)
3. Humanities Forum seminars (Humanistiskt forum - in Swedish)
4. The DoIT seminars (DoIT - Delaktighet och Inkludering Tankesmedja [the Participation and Inclusion Think Tank], most often in Swedish)

What do we still call a ‘masterpiece’? A statistical conclusion on the role of the canon

Voica Pușcașiu PhD, is a lecturer in Modern and Contemporary Art History at Babeș-Bolyai University. In her research she focuses on a sociological approach to art as well as on collective memory and methods of Digital Art History. The theme of this seminar started from a survey over what people call a ‘masterpiece’. The over 200 respondents were fine art and art history students and scholars from two Cluj-Napoca universities and they were all asked to name 3 to 5 works of art which they would consider masterpieces. The artworks could belong to any style or medium of the visual arts. Expanding and challenging the cannon is – at least in theory – a common practice (Hessel, 2022; Danto, 1995Broude & Gerrard, 1996; etc. ) and it is, more often than not the declaration of most lecturers interviewed during this survey. And yet the canon provides structure and safety (Langfeld, 2018) and is both a form of cultural memory (Assmann, 2010) and a generator of further collective memories. The results of this survey further prove, that at least in using the term ‘masterpiece’ the classical art historical cannon was being upheld as the range of artworks mentioned is particularly limited.

The Development of Schoolscapes as a Focus within Linguistic Landscape Research

Roswita Dressler is an educational linguistic who examines pre-service and in-service teachers’ understandings of second language teaching and learning. Since many second language teachers in Canada entered teacher education not initially intending to be second language teachers, how they come to understand their role and the pedagogy involved draws on their linguistic identity, the ways in which second language teachers are educated and how second languages are seen in the Canadian context. This has international implications as Canada is often turned to as a leader in second language education based on the history of the world-renowned French Immersion program. Dr. Dressler is an Associate Professor in the Werklund School of Education, University of Calgary.

This talk examines the development of schoolscapes as a focus within linguistic landscape research. Drawing upon her own work (e.g., Dressler, 2015; Dressler & Hult, 2024; Liu & Dressler, forthcoming) as well as the work of others (e.g., Biró, 2017; Brown, 2012; Szabó, 2015), Dr. Dressler provides an overview of schoolscapes research and two turns: one pedagogical; one exterior. The focus on pedagogical interventions has received considerable attention (Gorter & Cenoz, 2024), whereas the exteriors of schoolscapes are underrepresented (see Cormier, 2020; Symes, 2020). However, the latter holds promise for highlighting how schoolscapes live within and are sometimes in contrast to, the linguistic landscapes around them. Drawing upon nexus analysis (Scollon & Scollon, 2014), Dr. Dressler highlights how schoolscapes are environments populated by specific individuals, functioning according to specific routines, and home to unique discourses. Their unique positioning within neighbourhoods sheds light on their contributions to the ecology of languages in neighbourhoods.

Disability - a category for historical learning and thinking?

Prof. Sebastian Barsch, a History Education professor at the University of Cologne in Germany, will address the challenge of promoting historical thinking beyond conventional master narratives in the wake of global inequalities and increasingly global crises. It is increasingly important to critically question majority views and to make the diversity that actually exists in society fruitful for historical learning. Using disability history as an example, history teaching is faced with the challenge of arguing with categories of social order in order to question the validity of these social orders. In other words, a history lesson that deals with the exclusion and integration of individual groups engages in othering even as it seeks to overcome it. The talk will explore these tensions and also consider the extent to which disability can be the subject of historical learning, and the extent to which the presence of disabled students has an impact on the design of history teaching.

Using a whole-school approach to teacher professional development and support for highly able students

Laura-Elena Runceanu has a PhD in Psychology and is affiliated with CCD. In this seminar, she will engage the participants in a discussion about how to implement a whole-school approach to teacher professional development and address the academic/educational and social-emotional needs of highly able students, including those who are twice- or multi-exceptional. Examples from educational practices will be also included. Currently, there is a growing interest in Sweden in the education of highly able students, although there are no agreed upon terminology, definitions, or models for identification and support recommended in the Swedish educational policies. The International Baccalaureate (IB) is mentioned in the specialist literature (e.g. VanTassel-Baska, 2023; Brody, 2023; Poelzer & Feldhusen, 1997) as an example of a program that meets the academic or educational needs of highly able students. However, there is a need to systematically support all highly able students, including those who are twice- or multi-exceptional, by offering in-service, evidence-informed professional learning development to teachers and support staff on how to address these unique needs, while consulting with the students and their families along the way.

Supporting students to use generative AI tools ethically and effectively in academic writing

Ursula Wingate, a Professor of Language Education at King's College London, will discuss supporting students in using generative AI tools ethically and effectively in academic writing. Drawing on the concept of translanguaging, she will first explore the role of a non-generative tool, machine translation, in assisting multilingual students with text composition.

She will then present the design, delivery and outcomes of a pedagogical intervention funded by the King’s College Teaching Fund. The intervention aimed to equalise opportunities for writers from diverse linguistic backgrounds and to enable digitally less experienced students to use the most effective tools for the enhancement of their texts.

Four student collaborators were recruited to assist in the implementation and evaluation of workshops on the use of AI tools. The workshops were informed by focus group discussions with students from both undergraduate and postgraduate programmes. The findings show a mismatch between evolving university policies and students’ perceptions and use of AI tools. Frequent changes in regulations also posed challenges to our development of the AI workshops. The talk will conclude with a discussion of AI policies and regulations and their impact on levelling the linguistic playing field for non-native speakers of English.

CCD-medlemmar seminariebehandlar sina forskningsansökningar.

Alla deltagare förväntas läsa ansökningarna i förväg. Vänligen kontakta Radu Dinu för att få texterna.

All participants are requested to read the draft before the seminar. To receive a copy, please email asia.dellarosa@ju.se.