LCT on the rise in China

The newest thing in China right now is Legitimation Code Theory. The two FASS Directors of the LCT Centre for Knowledge, Director Professor Karl Maton of SSPS and Deputy Director Professor James R Martin of SLAM, have made LCT the must-know theory in China.

Professor Karl Maton, Director of the LCT Centre for Knowledge-Building and Department of Sociology, has just finished a 10-day tour of China. He gave two keynote speeches, an LCT workshop, a talk, a public lecture, and twelve individual supervisions. During his tour the Chinese LCT reading group, run through WeChat, has almost doubled in size to more than 100 members.

Legitimation Code Theory has its greatest uptake by linguistics scholars. Together with Professor James R Martin, from the University of Sydney’s Dept of Linguistics, Professor Maton spoke at the International Forum of Systemic Functional Linguistics at Peking University. He outlined LCT to a full hall, including how easily LCT can be used with systemic functional linguistics. Professor Martin gave a keynote and closing discussion. The conference was followed by supervisions and discussions with both professors and students.

This was followed by a 4-day workshop at Beijing Normal University, on Legitimation Code Theory exclusively. It also included a lecture at the University of International Business and Economics, on LCT and English teaching. Professor Martin also gave a lecture at the LCT workshop.

After a week in Beijing, Professor Maton moved to Guangzhou for a weekend of talks and supervisions. At the Guangzhou University of Foreign Studies he gave the keynote lecture at the 1st Chinese Conference on Disciplinary English, in a forum organised by the head of the LCT Forensics reading group, Professor Chuanyou Yuan. Maton also delivered a public lecture at Nanfang College, Guangzhou, on how LCT can help with success in modern learning, living and working.

This ‘legitimarathon’ works in partnership with the introduction of LCT in print in China. Maton will write a paper for a special issue of the Educational Linguistic Studies journal dedicated to LCT scholarship. Educational Linguistic Studies is a new journal dedicated to the research of educational linguistics, published by East China Normal University Press, which includes Professor James R Martin (among other 27 distinguished professors) on the board of editors. A special volume dedicated to the LCT theory and practice in education, especially language education, will be the first one in China dedicated to the research in LCT.

This is the LCT Centre’s first tour to China and a great achievement for the interdisciplinary work of FASS scholars. We look forward to more in the future.