Sinfree Makoni

About

Sinfree Makoni is a Professor of African Studies and Applied Linguistics in the Department of Applied Linguistics at Pennsylvania State University, where he also serves as the Director of the African Studies Program. Born in Zimbabwe, he holds a BA in English with a specialty in Linguistics from the University of Ghana and a PhD in Applied Linguistics from the University of Edinburgh. His academic career includes teaching at several universities in southern Africa, notably the University of the Western Cape and the University of Cape Town, as well as a postdoctoral fellowship at the Centre for Afro-American Studies at the University of Michigan. His research focuses on discourses of terrorism outside the United States, language and health in Africa, language planning, language policy, and philosophies of language. Makoni has published extensively on topics such as language and aging, language and security, Southern epistemologies, and decoloniality. He is the architect of the African Studies Global Forum and co-editor of the Multilingual Matters book series Global Forum on Southern Epistemologies. Additionally, he serves as an associate editor of Applied Linguistics. His work emphasizes the importance of decolonizing language scholarship and engaging with Southern epistemologies, contributing significantly to the fields of applied linguistics and African studies.

Research topics

• Sociology
• Political Science
• Linguistics
• Social Science
• Economic geography
• Philosophy
• Geography
• History
• Gender studies
• Media studies

Selected publications

• Southernizing and decolonizing the Sociology of Language: African scholarship matters

  International Journal of the Sociology of Language · 2021 · 111 citations

  Senior authorCorresponding

  Abstract In this short article we call for decolonization strategies in the Sociology of Language through a focus shift towards the global South, in particular Africa and a heightened attention to “race” as a significant category. We highlight three primary points that require critical attention in a decolonized Sociology of Language: (i) the identification of northern sociolinguistic theories which have been masked as universal and a critical shift towards theoretical frameworks emerging from t…

  DOI

• A Partnership of Un-Equals: Global South–North Research Collaborations in Higher Education Institutions

  Modern Africa Politics History and Society · 2020 · 25 citations

  Senior authorCorresponding

  With the realisation that institutions of higher learning may play a powerful role in transforming the world, research partnerships between institutions in the Global South and North have gained popularity. These partnerships are meant to empower and strengthen the contribution of higher learning institutions and bridge the North/South knowledge divide. Considering the limited access to research resources in the Global South, it is anticipated that these partnerships will create research opportu…

  DOI

• The Routledge Handbook of Language and the Global South/s

  Routledge eBooks · 2022 · 21 citations

  1st authorCorresponding
  DOI

• Looking at Multilingualisms from the Global South

  2023-09-29 · 12 citations

  book-chapter1st authorCorresponding

  A focus on Southern multilingualisms requires not only the addition of contexts of Southern language use but also an extensive reworking of the frameworks through which languages are viewed. What languages are, and how they are used together, must be embedded in local social and cultural frameworks of reference. The relevance of sociolinguistic concepts such as multilingualism, or the idea that multilingualism could refer to the same thing in diverse contexts of communication, are revealed from…

  PublisherDOI

• Decolonizing applied linguistics in Africa and its diasporas: disrupting the center

  Critical Inquiry in Language Studies · 2023-09-06 · 10 citations

  article1st author
  PublisherDOI

Frequent coauthors

• Bassey E. Antia

  Pennsylvania State University

  55 shared

• Magda Madany-Saá

  Nelson Mandela University

  50 shared

• Der Merwe

  University of Oslo

  48 shared

• Rafael Gomes

  University of Oslo

  48 shared

• C Van

  University of Oslo

  48 shared

• Cristine Görski Severo

  Universidade Federal de Santa Catarina

  46 shared

• Ashraf Abdelhay

  34 shared

• Ofelia Garcı́a

  32 shared

Similar researchers at Pennsylvania State University

• Matthew E. Poehnerh-27
• Tommaso M. Milanih-25
• Celeste Kingingerh-24