A first sketch
The Language and life cluster represents an adjacent possibility into which people may choose to move. It arises from Stephen Cowley’s interests in the biology of language and, inseparably, how language serves in remaking the ecology. Human beings enact a double interface between, on the one hand, living beings and, on the other, the changing landscapes and ecosystems on which we depend.
The DLG perspective suggests that, as part of action and perception –and especially as a mode of caring –language is central to both human lives and the world that we influence. We ask: first, what we are doing to the world? This is, of course, central to those who care about the environment and, among others, ecological linguists. On the other hand, it raises questions about how the world change us – and especially the influence of factors like urbanization, loss of biodiversity, global warming and outsourcing knowledge-structures to IT. We need to know how, as living systems, we can adapt and, indeed, how we wish to live. For, if language is based in co-action this depends on biological and cultural factors. Humans engage with each other – not just by means of language – but also as part of a world that depends on biosemiosis. Accordingly, we aim to develop ways of reaching beyond descriptions of language and discourse to ask if all is well and, where this is not the case, how we can act to better our lot.
Initial aims
My first goal is to build a community who are interested in both the academic and practical implications of linking language with culture and the life sciences. I hope to link people from biosemiotics, ecological linguistics, enactivism, and other groups. This will fit with my extant work on Distributed Health Interaction. Accordingly, I the Language and life cluster will be a resource for linking up domains and that, in 2012 or 2013 I hope that we can consolidate our concerns in some kind of academic meeting. In addition, I aim to construct a bibliography of materials, a set of links, and a discussion forum. Above all, I am looking to connect people who think such a community can be of value. So, if you are interested, please begin by getting in touch at s.j.cowley@herts.ac.uk