Thinking with Marilda Cavalcanti: Reinvention of applied linguistics, minoritized groups and sociolinguistic complexity

This text presents the special issue of DELTA entitled “Thinking with Marilda Cavalcanti: Reinvention of applied linguistics, minoritized groups and sociolinguistic complexity”. In particular, it revisits the academic and political production of Marilda Cavalcanti, a professor and researcher who over the course of her career in the Department of Applied Linguistics at the State University of Campinas collaboratively participated in producing concepts (e.g., extended language education, Cavalcanti, 2013), metaphors (e.g., “languages as kaleidoscopes of resources”, César & Cavalcanti, 2007; Cavalcanti & Maher, 2018), fields of research (e.g., indigenous education, language practices in sociolinguistically complex settings), and institutions (e.g., the Brazilian Association of Applied Linguistics (ALAB), the Department of Applied Linguistics at the Institute of Language Studies (IEL) at Unicamp) that have historically been central to consolidating applied linguistics as a vibrant and promising area of knowledge production about language in society in Brazil. In addition to this historical overview, the text details the contributions to the special issue: sixteen research articles that do not just pay homage to Marilda Cavalcanti’s work, but also help expand on her legacy.

Keywords:
Marilda Cavalcanti; applied linguistics; ALAB; minoritized groups; sociolinguistic complexity.