Achieving mutual understanding between individuals and groups is one of the main objectives of human communication. Language as an important medium and facilitator of communication, however, can also constitute a major obstacle to realising understanding and, in consequence, interaction and cooperation. This dual role of language becomes particularly pertinent in cross-cultural communication in the context of migration and integration where it deserves special scholarly attention: How can the language be both a medium of understanding and a source of misunderstanding and which measures can be undertaken to facilitate communication and realize genuine understanding? The workshop will discuss the use of language in multi- and cross-cultural contexts shaped by different linguistic and cultural backgrounds of the communicating parties analyze (mis-) understandings in the context of migration and integration with the intention to identify factors that can support genuine understanding. The workshop will direct special attention to the role of “thick concepts” and diverging yet implicit (normative) assumptions and to the often overly simplistic opposition between secular and religious backgrounds of “hosts” and “migrants” in the context of migration to Europe.

The workshop will be a full-day event and will take place at Ludwig-Maximilians-Universität München, May 13, 2020. Venue: LMU, Institute for Ethics, History and Theory of Medicine, Seminarraum; Lessingstr. 2, D-80336 Munich, Germany

Convenors: Housamedden Darwish and Jan-Christoph Heilinger

Confirmed speakers: Anna Bergqvist (Manchester), Housamedden Darwish (Leipzig), André Grahle (Munich), Jan-Christoph Heilinger (Munich), Karly Kehoe (Halifax), Mehran Rezaei (Sussex).

We can include up to three additional presentations and welcome submissions from different disciplines. If you want to present, please send an abstract of 200-300 words and a short biographical note to housamedden.darwish@uni-leipzig.de before March 31, 2020.Attendance is free but space is limited, so please register at housamedden.darwish@uni-leipzig.de (first come, first serve).

The official call can be found here.