Changes in technology are radically transforming how companies and governments operate and how individuals live, work, and interact. Such changes ultimately lead to societal transformations similar to previous industrial revolutions. The transformation may be achieved through any of the following tools: artificial intelligence, augmented reality, blockchain, drones, internet of things, robotics, virtual reality, and 3-D printing, among others. Technology in general has made the world smaller, hence the moniker of a global village. With the world thus contracted, technological tools become an imperative to make hitherto cumbersome, mundane and repetitive tasks less irksome to people. In short, we live in an age where complexities of the world force humanity to strive for simplicity and convenience. However, convenience comes at a cost, such as uncertainty regarding job security, the danger of change in human behaviour and risks of cyber security. The worst security threat posed by the 4IR is an unfortunate belief that 4IR has exacerbated the perceived dichotomy between STEM subjects and the Arts and Humanities. Through the 4IR, health, agriculture, communication, and disaster management, to mention only these, will be improved. The challenge however remains about how such technologies are mediated. The role of language will continue to be at the centre of all technological advancements. A brave new world requires the humanizing influence of the Arts and Humanities for it to be complete. The Arts and Humanities come in as the arbiter and moderator of human aspirations.
It is against this background that the theme of the 12th Conference of the Department of English at the University of Botswana is ‘The role of language and literature in the 4th industrial revolution’. This conference, which will be held from 14-16 June 2023, will provide a platform for researchers, academics, educators, language planners, literary scholars, theatre practitioners and other professionals in Africa and elsewhere to interrogate the role and importance of language and literature in the 4th industrial revolution. The conference will provide a forum for the description and analysis of various indigenous languages and the role they play in a fast-changing world. Contributors are encouraged to submit papers that look at the interface between literature, language, and technology, orthography and challenges to orthography, vocabulary, the centrality of computational linguistics, speech to text and text to speech solutions, spellcheckers, translation and such language and literary technologies necessitated by a shrinking world.
Sub-themes
Linguistics stream:
- Semantics
- Syntax
- Phonology
- Phonetics
- Corpus linguistics
- Language documentation
Applied linguistics stream:
- Language and gender
- Discourse analysis
- Pragmatics
10. Stylistics
11. Language acquisition
12. Sociolinguistics
13. Multilingual awareness and multilingual practices
14. Language revitalisation
15. Language and translation
16. Language and writing systems
17. Mother-tongue education
18. Diversity, equity, pluralism, and inclusion in education
19. Onomastics
Learning and academic practice:
20. Student-centred learning, student engagement, student-experiences, student/teacher collaboration, multidisciplinary learning and teaching
21. Online platforms, international collaborations/experiences etc
Literature sub-themes
- Medical politics and bio-politics
- Medical life writing: autobiography or biography
- Medical inequality/inequity: races, gender and classes in literature
- Issues of ageing/ ageism in literary works and cultural studies
- Discourse of disease
- The body, medicine and literature
- Literature and mental health
- Literary therapeutics