About the Journal

It is fair to say that existing international scholarly publications on language, discourse and communication have tended to favour the Western world. The philosophies, the concepts, the theories and the methods that are discussed are mostly of Western origin; if and when data from non-Western cultures are analysed, it is usually the Western paradigms that are employed, often without enough attention paid to local, particular contexts, including the concepts, concerns and intellectual traditions of those contexts. As a consequence, ideas, techniques, issues from non-Western communities are marginalised and opportunities for intercultural exchange and genuine scientific innovation missed. In these conditions, the international scholarly discourse remains largely univocal and acultural, though often under the guise of integration, generality and interdisciplinarity.

To promote intellectual diversity and to draw attention to marginalised discourse communities, Multilingual Matters, UK, a market-leading publisher in the fields of discourse and cultural studies, has launched a new journal, entitled Journal of Multicultural Discourses (ISSN 1744-7143). Edited by Shi-xu, Professor and Director of the Institute of Discourse and Cultural Studies, Zhejiang University, China, and the first Chinese to edit an international journal in the human and social sciences, the journal will appear in early 2006.

The journal is devoted to scholarship that (1) explores intellectual traditions on language, discourse and communication especially outside dominant paradigms; (2) researches into practices in, as well as concepts about, language and communication in especially marginalized communities; and/or (3) develops multiculturalist approaches to language, discourse and communication.

More specifically, it publishes articles featuring one or more of the following six types of subject matter:

(1) On the form of language studies outside the mainstream: e.g. explorations in the history, philosophy, theory, concepts, methods or principles of the language scholarship of Asia, Africa or Latin America;

(2) On cross-fertilisation between culturally different intellectual traditions of language, discourse and communication: e.g. deliberations about how to conduct dialogue between culturally different intellectual traditions and/or how to generate innovative, local-and-global, multicultural approaches to human communication;

(3) On problems, issues, concerns of a marginalised discourse community: e.g. study of discourses of domination, prejudice, exclusion, solidarity, co-operation, empowerment or transformation in Asia, Africa, Latin America or minority communities within Western societies;

(4) On culturally different versions, accounts and narratives about issues, events or situations of global interest and concern: e.g. critical comparison of culturally varied discourses about terrorism, hegemony, the environment, peace, development or human rights;

(5) On the criticism of discourses about one's own culture and about other cultures, groups or communities: e.g. critical study of imperialist or discriminatory discourses about minorities, non-Western cultures or otherwise disadvantaged "others"; and

(6) On the identification, creation or promotion of discourses in favour of cultural harmony and common progress: e.g. description of or proposal for ways of speaking about one's own culture or about other cultures, communities and groups that enhance cultural solidarity and prosperity.

The journal features divergent disciplines, ranging from linguistics, discourse studies, communication studies, cultural studies, anthropology, literary criticism, philosophy, religion to pedagogy.

The Editor encourages the submission of high quality papers on topics relevant to the interest of the Journal of Multicultural Discourses. Reviews of important, up-to-date, relevant publications and proposals for special issues on relevant topics are also welcome. Manuscripts should be presented according to the guidelines for authors of papers that can be found at www.multilingual-matters.com and they should be sent to Professor Shi-xu at the address below.

Comments

"I find this to be one of the most innovative and very timely additions to the network of publications in the social sciences ­Journal's focus on restoring the balance of cultural-philosophical background perspectives in the social sciences is an admirable goal, which is likely to lead to revolutionary breakthroughs" - Jaan Valsiner, editor, Culture & Psychology and From Past to Future, Clark University, USA

International Editorial Board:

Ien Ang, University of Western Sydney, Australia
Molefi Kete Asante, Temple University, USA
Felix Banda, University of the Western Cape, South Africa
Jan Blommaert, University of Ghent, Belgium
Narcisa Paredes Canilao, University of the Philippines, the Philippines
Dariusz Galasinski, University of Wolverhampton, UK
Gu Yueguo, Chinese Academy of the Social Sciences, China
Isolda Carranza, National University of Cordoba, Argentina
Howard Giles, University of California at Santa Barbara, USA
Henry Giroux, McMaster University, Hamilton, Canada
Aydan Gulerce, Bogazici University, Turkey
Monica Heller, University of Toronto, Canada
Todd J.M. Holden, Tohoku University, Japan
Victoria V. Krasnykh, Lomonosov Moscow State University, Russia
Robert Maier, State University of Utrecht, the Netherlands
Gabriella Modan, Ohio Sate University, USA
Michaela Mudure, Babes-Bolyai University, Romania
Rukmini Bhaya Nair, Indian Institute of Technology, India
Abdullah Shunnaq, Yarmouk University, Jordan
L¨Ēvia Mathias Simăo, Universidade de Săo Paulo, Brasil
Kwesi Yankah, University of Ghana, Legon, Ghana
Robert Young, Oxford University, UK

Review Editor
Doreen Wu, the Hong Kong Polytechnic University, China

International Honourary Board
Michael Billig, University of Loughborough, UK
Jaan Valsiner, Clark University, USA
Shen Jiaxuan, Chinese Academy of the Social Sciences, China
Wimal Dissanayake, University of Hawaii, USA
Teun A. van Dijk, Universitat Pompeu Fabra, Spain

Editorial Assistants
Wendy Zhao, Zhejiang University, China
Heather Walker, University of Ulster, UK

For further details, please contact Multilingual Matters at:
Frankfurt Lodge
Clevedon Hall
Victoria Road
Clevedon
England BS21 7HH
UK
Tel: +44 (0) 1275 876519
Fax: +44 (0) 1275 871673
info@multilingual-matters.com

Details are available on our website:
www.multilingual-matters.com/multi/journals/journals_jmd.asp