Research Overall Objectives:

1. to map the general politics of ethnicity, language and culture in the context of some Latin American Higher Education institutions as compared to those in Europe;

2. to find out about language representation and policies in the Brazilian Academy;

3. to analyse how the three European languages most widely spoken in the world (English, Portuguese and Spanish) relate to each other in the Brazilian academy (Social Sciences and Life Sciences);

4. to critically examine the power relations between the above mentioned languages and, if any, the native/indigenous languages with institutional representation, both in the curriculum and in research;

5. to critically analyse the postcolonial tensions between different multinational and multicultural research team members;

6. to focus on (south-south, south-north, north-south) epistemological exchanges as well as on the corresponding institutional and personal relations.

Specific objectives:

1. to analyse the offer and curricula of language/culture/intercultural courses in Modern Language Departments, with regard to English, Spanish and Portuguese, in five targeted universities;

2. to identify the role and representation of native languages/cultures in the targeted departments and research teams;

3. to examine the plurilingual and intercultural dynamics of multicultural group work in scientific ‘communities of practice’, with a focus on the use of English, Spanish and Portuguese, both in the social sciences and life sciences;

4. to critically analyse cross-cultural misunderstandings preventing successful task fulfilment in the selected research teams;

5. to analyse potential strengths which can improve their intercultural communication and interaction;

6. to examine how the above team members negotiate the meaning of working concepts both in oral discussions and in written production (both for reports and publications);

7. to find out how they negotiate the use of one common language and about the role of other languages;

8. to find out how they set their values and principles, as related to their professional and personal relationships, that guide their communication and interaction in the fulfilment of their tasks;

9. to develop theory on the concept of ‘Glocal Languages’, previously introduced and already initiated by the candidate, from an interdisciplinary perspective;  

10. to develop theory on the concept ‘Intercultural responsibility’, previously introduced and already initiated by the candidate, identify and describe its implications in multi-lingual/-cultural group/team work, from an interdisciplinary perspective;

11. to provide a tentative working definition of ‘Glocademics’, that is, ‘Glocal Academics’.