The organizers invite chapter proposals for the forthcoming De Gruyter-Brill Handbook of Language Policies in the Caucasus and Central Asia. This volume will offer a comprehensive, comparative overview of how language policies shape identity, education, and multilingualism across this pivotal region.
The handbook will be structured in four sections:
- Sections I & II: Country-focused chapters on contemporary Armenia, Azerbaijan, Georgia, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Tajikistan, Turkmenistan, and Uzbekistan. Each chapter will follow a rough template examining (a) the formation and promotion of state languages; (b) multilingualism and regional/global lingua francas (e.g. Russian, English); (c) the impact of language policies on ethnolinguistic diversity; (d) educational systems; and (e) the role of language in shaping national and cultural identity.
- Section III: Thematic and macroregional analyses, including premodern language ideologies, imperial and Soviet policy legacies, script choices, educational systems and literacy, and the role of language in statecraft and diplomacy.
- Section IV: Case studies on topics such as the rise and fall of Caucasian Albanian, Jadidist movements, linguistic landscapes across centuries, and signed languages of the region, or others at the discretion of the Editor(s).
The organizers welcome contributions from scholars of linguistics, anthropology, history, education, and related fields. Proposals (250–300 words) should specify the chapter topic and how it fits within the handbook’s framework.
Please send expressions of interest or chapter proposals to Thomas Wier <trwier AT gmail.com> for further inquiries.
Deadline: 31 December 2025 for the initial 200 word abstract.