Chronotopic Identity Work

The concept of chronotopicity is increasingly used in sociolinguistic theorizing as a new way of looking at context and scale in studies of language, culture and identity. This volume brings together empirical work that puts flesh on the bones of this rather abstract chronotopical theorizing, especially focusing on the discursive construction of chronotopic identities. The case studies in this volume address chronotopic identity work in several sites (in Denmark, Indonesia, Mongolia, China, Belgium and The Netherlands). The book will be of interest to students and researchers in applied linguistics and sociolinguistics, as well as related fields such as anthropology, sociology and cultural studies.

With a rich and stimulating array of case studies across peripheral sociolinguistic contexts and domains, Chronotopic Identity Work skillfully demonstrates the utility of the Bakhtinian concept of chronotope to understand and appreciate the complexity of contemporary society. It is an essential reading for researchers working on language, identity and globalization., Drawing on a wealth of data from various contexts and societies, Sjaak Kroon and Jos Swanenberg offer a timely analysis of the concept of chronotopicity in language and society. This collection of papers presents thought-provoking case studies on the timespace configuration in, for instance, Mongolian youth language, Chinese “attention economy” discourses, and identity work in European immigration contexts., Exploring a wide array of languages and contexts, this book poses fresh, thought-provoking questions about former models of identity research. The chapters offer a kaleidoscopic view of how we construct our fluid ‘selves’ and act them out on a global stage. Overall, an engaging read that provides an innovative way to look at identity and identity research.

Sjaak Kroon is Professor of Multilingualism in the Multicultural Society at the Department of Culture Studies at Tilburg University, the Netherlands. He is the editor (with Jos Swanenberg) of Language and Culture on the Margins: Local/Global Interactions (2019, Routledge).Jos Swanenberg is Professor of Diversity in Language and Culture at the Department of Culture Studies at Tilburg University and adviser on heritage, language and culture at Erfgoed Brabant (Cultural Heritage Foundation) in ‘s-Hertogenbosch, the Netherlands.