#birkbeckvoices

As part of a conference on ‘Languages of Internationalism’, hosted by the Reluctant Internationalists research group, Dora Vargha (University of Exeter), Elidor Mëhilli (Hunter College) and Rachel Applebaum (Tufts University – recorded in discussion only) examine the languages of socialist internationalism. The panel, chaired by Johanna Conterio (Flinders University), addresses languages of health and disease in Hungary, the power of Russian in Albania, and Russian as a foreign language in Cold War Czechoslovakia. ‘Languages of Internationalism’ aimed to shed light on the centrality of language to people’s pursuit and experiences of internationalism. Language is at the heart of every international enterprise, but as the conference showed, it presents obstacles and dilemmas, as well as opportunities. Many of the papers emphasised frictions and tensions which emerged over the use of languages in international settings. Discussions showed how language could be a tool of communication, solidarity and unity, as