Irina Turner

My interest zooms in on the intersection of language sociology and technology. While my starting point were mediated government speeches in South Africa (Turner 2015), I have moved on to realizations of multilingualism in mediatized settings and converged media spaces like radio and social media platforms. Another important area of my work is the playing out of language dynamics in decolonising university settings. Here, I focus on the materialities of language representation in relation to performed linguistic identities. Within AOEN, I expand from the diversity of language practices to diversity of cultural practices and epistemologies. I pursue to investigate the possibility of decolonial natural sciences− in particular astrophysics− by looking at how, what is termed indigenous knowledges are implemented, communicated by sciences and related to circles outside academia. While this is often still at the stage of declaration of intent or ‘garlanding’, I am convinced that a manifestation in discourse leads to a manifestation in social structures, artefacts and technology. Currently, I am employed as academic councillor in the department of African Linguistics I at the University of Bayreuth. Among other networks, I am a member of the Cluster of Excellence Africa Multiple and of the Research Group on Africa, Philosophy and Digital Technologies (APDiT).