Critical Inquiry in Language Studies: An International Journal (CILS) is the peer-reviewed, quarterly official journal of the International Society for Language Studies. Language studies overlaps fields of applied linguistics, language policy, language planning,  modern languages and literatures, education, anthropology, sociology, history, political science, psychology, and cultural studies (including related fields such as law, media, and information technology).

CILS  focuses on critical discourse and research in language matters, broadly conceived, that is generated from qualitative, critical pedagogical, and emergent paradigms. In these paradigms, language is considered to be a socially constituted cultural construct that gives shape to, and at the same time is shaped by, the larger social, political, and historical contexts of its use. Research on issues of language from such perspectives has historically been marginalized as well as compartmentalized within academic disciplines. The primary purpose of the journal is to provide a forum for discussion of the research from such emerging paradigms and at the same time to bridge arbitrary disciplinary territories in which it is being done.

CILS seeks manuscripts that present original research on issues of language, power, and community within educational, political, and sociocultural contexts with broader reference to international and/or historical perspective. Equally welcome are manuscripts that address the development of emergent research paradigms and methodology related to language studies. Though CILS seeks to present a balance of research from contributing disciplines, interdisciplinary foci are encouraged, with the goal of fostering a dialogue among those who teach languages and literatures and those who teach about language(s) in  related fields. A second focus of CILS is to provide, through its book and media review section, a vehicle for communication among disciplines regarding existing publications and research in the field of language studies.

DEPARTMENT

Feature Articles. Refereed and/or invited articles reporting on research.

The Forum. A moderated discussion involving multiple scholars discussing perspectives on selected relevant topics. The moderator coordinates and prepares the section for transmission to the editors. The format is flexible.

Praxis. Reports of theory–oriented research in action.  The format is flexible.

Media Reviews. Reviews of books and other media of interest to readers. Of specific interest are reviews of non-English language media.

Scholar’s Profile. A review of a prominent scholar’s work completed in consultation with numerous experts in the field and, if appropriate, the profiled scholar. Special attention is given here to introducing readers across disciplines to the featured scholar’s work.

ISLS News and Notes. Announcements, reports, and events of interest to International Society for Language Studies members, presented in a supplementary fashion.