We welcome a new group that joins the Agricola School: Responsibility, language and communication. It introduces itselve below:

The Responsibility, Language, and Communication group

The Responsibility, Language, and Communication group (Responsus) is committed to fostering sustainable futures through the study of language and communication.

We recognize the power of language and communication to shape our understanding of the world and our relationships with each other and the environment.

As a group, we take our 'responsus' - our responsibility and our commitment to response - seriously: we are committed to responding to practical needs in research and curriculum development by working with colleagues to understand and incorporate the role of language and communication in their work.

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The role of language

We seek to understand the role of language and communication in the creation of more equitable and environmentally responsible societies, and we are dedicated to helping other disciplines, such as economics, entrepreneurship, marketing, environmental sciences, and engineering (to name a few), to develop a deeper understanding of the role and power of language and communication.

Drawing on approaches from (applied) linguistics, business and professional communication, organization and multimodal discourse studies, as well as rhetoric and argumentation, we aim to promote the use of language and communication as tools for fostering communication skills, critical thinking, social responsibility.

We work in three overlapping strands, see the image.

Groupmembers of Responsibility, language and communication:

Erika Darics

Erika is passionate about raising awareness of the importance and power of language especially its role in pressing societal issues. She is the co-host of the Words and Actions podcast and currently the vice president of the Association for Business Communication.

Matt Drury

As an ecologist turned applied linguist, Matt is keen on raising awareness of the role that language can play in exacerbating environmental problems. He uses this knowledge to investigate forms of communication which challenge the status quo and inspire meaningful behavioural change.

Femke Kramer

Femke's involvement stems from her firm belief that it is through language that we shape and perceive the world. In her teaching, she encourages students to recognise and expose patterns of language use that contribute to ecological destruction, and to seek, preserve and restore forms of expression that inspire people to protect nature.

Lotte van Poppel

Believes it is crucial for a just and sustainable society that people are aware of the influential force of language, especially in decision-making processes, and possess the tools to recognize and critically assess explicit and implicit argumentative strategies.

Gisela Redeker

Information follows

Janina Wildfeuer

Strongly believes in the multimodal nature of language and communication and therefore feels responsible for raising awareness of the importance of all expressive forms in our texts and speeches: static and moving