At a time when "difference" is being actively diluted in the service of standardisation and conservative views of nationhood, stories about difference, and their semiotic and multimodal elements, provide rich grounds for critical engagement. This is especially the case with stories about highly visible cultural symbols, such as the…

This article argues for the significance of biographical theory in research on raciolinguistic ideologies in education. It accounts for biographies as a basis for the study of the ways in which students conceive the languages, social spaces and power relations which shape processes of inclusion and exclusion. Taking anti-Muslim discourses in…

In this historical inquiry, Belén Hernando-Lloréns uses the case of one young Spanish woman who was suspended for wearing a hijab to school to argue that norms of convivencia in culturally and racially diverse educational spaces work as a practice of abjection that excludes in the name of inclusion. She examines three strategies that made this…

This paper explores the experiences of eight Muslim women academics (MWA) within a range of sciences and humanities disciplines. The data draws from my doctoral study which examined the experiences of men and women Muslim academics at UK universities. Findings from in-depth interviews with participants highlight the intersectionality of…

The Hui (10.6 million) is one of the largest ethnic minority groups in China. Almost 100% of them, along with the Dongxiang, are Islamic, and are migrating from rural to urban areas in Northwest China. After moving to the urban environment conflicts between rural-urban differences, ethnic identity, and religion beliefs and practices frequently…

The construction of social identity is an interdisciplinary term, which is a favourite topic for many scholars worldwide. Religion and identity are intertwined regarding the concept of identity construction. In Iran, this relation can best be seen through English as a Foreign Language (EFL) textbooks. To achieve this, this study investigates the…

One aspect of the call for democracy in the recent Arab region uprisings is the issue of women's rights and gender equality. Three cultural and ideological forces have continued to shape the gender discourse in Arab Muslim-majority societies. They are: "Islamic" teaching and local traditions concerning women's roles in a given society;…

This paper is written as a return to the generation of young Muslim women who were participants in a piece of research carried just over a decade ago. Some of these original participants have been re-interviewed in 2007. The paper traces the shift in discourses around multiculturalism and identity, ethnicity and religion via two recent significant…

Previous research highlights the continuing relevance of family culture in explaining educational inequalities in Turkey, especially patriarchal beliefs and practices that discourage investment in the education of girls. We extend that research by introducing two much-debated, but empirically untested, aspects of family culture--parental…