Arts Lab

Multilingualism across the Disciplines

Multilingualism across the Disciplines lab brings together researchers engaging with multilingualism in different fields (literary studies, linguistics, education, psychology and neuroscience) and community organisations that work with multilingual audiences. Our aim is to foster creativity in research and interdisciplinary collaboration. Through workshops, presentations and other activities, we offer researchers the opportunity to learn about each other’s methodologies, to promote better research practice within the context of multilingualism, and to share connections with potential stakeholders. Our Multilingualism Reading Group offers a platform for members from the University of Glasgow colleges and schools to regularly share, explore and discuss research into multilingualism with colleagues across university and invited multilingualism experts from across the world.

Team

 

Co-Directors

Elisa Segnini (School of Modern Languages and Cultures)

 

Dr. Elisa Segnini holds an MA in Comparative Literature from the University of Bologna and a PhD from Toronto’s Centre for Comparative Literature. Before joining the University of Glasgow in 2017, she has held appoints in Italian and Comparative Literature at Dalhousie, Western and the University of British Columbia. Her research projects have been funded by SSHRC, AHRC and HORIZON-MSCA. She sits on the executive board of the British Comparative Literature Association and is a co-editor of Comparative Critical Studies, a journal dedicated to the theory and practice of the study of comparative literature.

 

Dobrochna Futro (School of Education)

Dr Dobrochna Futro's research focuses on multilingualism, translanguaging, art-based inquiry, language learning, teaching, and language use in multilingual, often migratory contexts. She also explores the edges where multilingualism and language education meet environmental education / learning for sustainability. She engages with creative methods of enquiry, participatory, collaborative art-based research and pedagogies.

Dr.Futro has led and supported several research and KE projects exploring the relationship between art practice and language learning. She worked with teachers in Scotland, Poland and Vietnam, (co-)developed CPD courses and teaching resources, and researched with artists, teachers and children as her co-researchers.

Dobrochna lead the ELINET (Education, Languages and Internationalisation Network) Language Education and Multilingualism strand, co-direct the University of Glasgow ArtsLab on Multilingualism across Disciplines, ENROPE (European Network for Junior Researchers in the Field of Plurilingualism and Education) Language Teachers Development SIG, and convene a cross-university Multilingualism Reading Group at Glasgow.

 

Wilhelmiina Toivo (School of Psychology and Neuroscience)

 

 

Angela Gayton (School of Critical Studies - English Language and Linguistics)

 

Dr. Angela M. Gayton is a lecturer in applied linguistics and education at the University of Glasgow, UK, where she works with linguistically and culturally diverse postgraduate student cohorts. Her research interests include language issues within the internationalisation of higher education; multilingual identity in classroom settings; and perceptions of English as a global language. Her work has been published in journals such as TESOL Quarterly; Journal of Multilingual and Multicultural Development; Higher Education Research and Development; and Education Sciences.

 

Intern

Samira Hasanzade 

 

Samira Hasanzade is a PhD Candidate in Education at the University of Glasgow with 20+ years of experience in higher education leadership, curriculum design, and educational assessment. Her work bridges research, teaching, and policy, from leading national exam reforms and cultural exchange programs to developing inclusive curricula that improve student success.
Her research focuses on Peace Education and innovative methods of teaching peace, including artistic, intercultural, and experiential approaches that promote dialogue, resilience, and inclusive learning. Samira is passionate about building fair, innovative, and globally connected education systems that not only improve academic outcomes but also empower learners to contribute to more peaceful and inclusive societies.

The Multilingualism Reading Group

The Multilingualism Reading Group was established in 2020 and is hosted by the Culture, Literacies, Inclusion and Pedagogy (CLIP) RTG, School of Education & the Language Teaching Scholarship (LTS) Cluster, School of Modern Languages and Cultures, University of Glasgow. 

In 2025 it has been included in a newly developed ArtsLab for Multilingualism across the Disciplines at the University of Glasgow. 

The group is convened by Dr Dobrochna Futro supported by Samira Hasanzade.

 

 

Speakers

Past speakers:

  • Dr Lavinia Hirsu, Senior Lecturer in Applied Linguistics, Composition and English as a Foreign Language (Culture, Literacies, Inclusion & Pedagogy), University of Glasgow
  • Dr Piotr Węgorowski, Lecturer in Applied Linguistics (English Language & Linguistics), University of Glasgow
  • Dr Susan Balinger, Associate Professor, Department of Integrated Studies in Education (DISE), McGill University
  • Dr Sadie Ryan, Lecturer in Languages and Intercultural Studies, School of Education, University of Glasgow
  • Dr Paul J. Meighan-Chiblow, a Critical Sociolinguist with PhD from McGill University, Canada.
  • Dr Victoria Odeniyi, Research Fellow at University of Arts London.
  • Dr Elisa Segnini, Senior Lecturer (Italian) in the School of Modern Languages and Cultures, University of Glasgow.
  • Dr Angela Gayton, Lecturer (English Language & Linguistics) in the School of Critical Studies, University of Glasgow.
  • Dr Max Antony-Newman, Lecturer in Education, School of Education, University of Glasgow.
  • Dr Giovanna Fassetta, Senior Lecturer in Social Inclusion, School of Education, University of Glasgow.
  • Prof. Eva Moreda Rodriguez, Professor of Musicology, School of Culture and Creative, Arts, University of Glasgow.
  • Prof. Tomasz Wicherkiewicz, Head of the Department of Language Policy and Minority Studies, Adam Mickiewicz University, Poznań, Poland.

PhD Supervision

The co-directors are open to receiving PhD research proposals from prospective applicants which align with any of their respective areas of expertise in the field of multilingualism. We are particularly interested to hear from students whose proposed research is interdisciplinary in nature, and intersects with expertise shared among multiple co-directors. Please read each of our research profiles carefully at the link above before contacting us with a proposal.  

 

Upcoming Events

  • Multilingualism and minority rights from the perspective of language policy and political theory. A dialogue with Professor Stephen May
     
     
     
    You are warmly invited to the event "Multilingualism and minority rights from the perspective of language policy and political theory. A dialogue with Professor Stephen May".
     
     
    The event is organised by the MultiLX team in Glasgow (Prof. Bernadette O'Rourke, Dr. Paula Teixeira Moláns and Dr. Aitor Bonsoms) in collaboration with the SMLC Multilingualism Thematic Group, the Multilingualism Across the Disciplines and Discourses of Sustainability ArtsLabs.
     
    THE GUEST:
     
     
    Professor Stephen May is an internationally recognized sociolinguist and scholar in Te Puna Wānanga (School of Māori and Indigenous Education) at the University of Auckland, New Zealand. He is an interdisciplinary and international authority on language rights, language policy, Indigenous education, bilingual education, and critical multicultural approaches to education. Additional research interests are in ethnicity and nationalism, social theory (particularly the work of Bourdieu), sociolinguistics, and critical ethnography. 
     
    May has published 27 books and over 130 articles and chapters in these fields, including the award-winning Language and minority rights (Routledge, 2nd ed., 2012), and The multilingual turn (Routledge, 2014). His most recent books are Mobilizing multilingual identities: Language policy, teaching and learning (2026, with Gary Barkhuizen and Mi Yung Park) Critical ethnography, language, race/ism and education (Multilingual Matters, 2023, with Blanca Caldas) and Critical ethnography and education: Theory, methodology and ethics (2022, with Katie Fitzpatrick). May is Editor-in-Chief of the 10-volume Encyclopedia of Language and Education (Springer, 3rd ed., 2017) and founding co-editor of the interdisciplinary journal Ethnicities (Sage). He is the coordinating editor for the Multilingual Matters book series, Language, education and diversity, and co-editor of the Palgrave Macmillan book series, Palgrave studies in minority languages and communities. He is also a Fellow of the American Educational Research Association (AERA), and of the Royal Society of New Zealand (FRSNZ). 

 

Past events

  • Multilingualism Reading Group, with Dr Taner Hosseini

 

  • Networking Event for Multilingualism Researchers

    Launch of the Multilingualism and Social Change theme group at the School of Modern Languages and Cultures (SMLC), co-hosted by the Multilingualism Across Disciplines Lab.

     

     

  • Multilingualism Reading Group, with Professor Tomasz Wicherkiewicz

     

  • Social Issues in Constructed Languages

     

  • Roundtable on Constructed Languages

     

  • Multilingualism and Emotions