Now in its second edition, this accessible guide provides a clear overview of the problems, debates, and competing views in language education, literacy, discourse analysis, language in the workplace, translation, and other language-related domains. Covering both critical theory and domains of practice, the book is organized around five themes: the politics of knowledge, the politics of language, the politics of difference, the politics of texts, and the politics of pedagogy.

Recognizing that a changing world requires new ways of thinking, and that many approaches have watered down over time, the new edition applies a sharp, fresh look at established and new intellectual frameworks. The second edition is comprehensively updated with additional research throughout and features new discussions of colonialism, queer theory, race and gender, translanguaging, and posthumanism. With a critical focus on the role of applied linguists, Pennycook emphasizes the importance of a situated, collaborative perspective that takes the discussion away from questions of implementation, and insists instead that critical applied linguistics has to be an emergent program from the contexts in which it works.

This landmark text is essential reading for students and researchers of applied linguistics, multilingualism, language and education, TESOL, and language and identity.