The Rise of Sociological Linguistics in the Soviet Union, 1917–1938: Institutions, Ideas and Agendas

To develop an understanding of the dynamics of intellectual life and the formation of academic disciplines within the humanities in the Soviet Union, with particular reference to changing institutional contexts.
To clarify the relationship between Soviet language policy in the period 1917–1938 (alphabet reform, development of literary languages, study of and interventions in language conflicts, etc.) and the projects pursued within academic institutions, with special reference to their theorisation.
To assess the importance of pre-Revolutionary Russian and contemporary general European language sciences for Soviet thinkers, assessing the nature of Soviet linguists’ engagements with ideas from other traditions.