It is fair to say that existing journals on discourse studies are largely oriented to the Western world. The philosophies, concepts, theories and methods that are discussed are mostly of Western origin; if and when data from non-Western discourses are analysed, it is usually the universalized Western perspectives that are employed, often without sufficient attention paid to the native contexts, including the values, concerns and intellectual traditions of those contexts. As a consequence, ideas, techniques and issues from non-Western communities are marginalised and opportunities for intercultural exchange and genuine scientific innovation missed.
To promote cultural-intellectual diversity and to draw attention to marginalised discourse communities, Journal of Multicultural Discourses, edited by Shi-xu (www.shixu.com), Qiushi Distinguished Professor and Director of the Institute of Discourse and Cultural Studies, Zhejiang University, China, publishes scholarship that (1) looks into intellectual traditions on language, discourse and communication especially grounded in Asian, African and Latin American cultures; (2) examines language and communication practices especially in developing societies or otherwise disadvantaged communities; and/or (3) explores cross-cultural, multiculturalist dialogue on language, communication and discourse research.
More specifically, the journal publishes articles featuring one or more of the following six types of subject matter:
1. On forms of discourse studies outside the mainstream: e.g. explorations in the histories, philosophy, theory, methods or principles of the language scholarship of Asia, Africa or Latin America;
2. On cross-cultural fertilisation between different intellectual traditions of language, discourse and communication: e.g. deliberations about how to conduct dialogue between culturally different intellectual traditions and/or how to generate innovative, local-and-global, multicultural approaches to human communication;
3. On problems, issues, concerns of marginalised discourse communities: e.g. study of discourses of domination, prejudice, exclusion, solidarity, co-operation, empowerment or transformation in Asia, Africa, Latin America or minority communities within Western societies;
4. On culturally different versions, accounts and narratives about issues, events or situations of global interest and concern: e.g. critical comparison of culturally varied discourses about terrorism, hegemony, the environment, peace, development or human rights;
5. On the criticism of discourses about one's one culture and about other cultures, groups or communities: e.g. critical study of imperialist or discriminatory discourses about minorities, non-Western cultures or otherwise disadvantaged 'others'; and
6. On the identification, creation or promotion of discourses in favour of cultural harmony and common progress: e.g. description of or proposal for ways of speaking about one's own culture or about other cultures, communities and groups that enhance cultural solidarity and prosperity.
The Journal of Multicultural Discourses features divergent disciplines, ranging from linguistics, discourse studies, cultural studies, communication studies, anthropology, sociology, psychology, literary criticism, philosophy to pedagogy.