Call for papers (v. 43, 2027): Linguistics and Linguistic Studies Before and After Saussure

Few works and authors have had such a profound impact on the constitution of the language sciences as Saussure and his Course in General Linguistics (1916), published posthumously from his students' notes. In the memory of the 110th anniversary of its publication, the Course remains an unavoidable landmark for understanding the history of Linguistics, both for the role it played in consolidating a new scientific paradigm for language studies, and for the debates, reinterpretations, revisions, and criticisms it has provoked throughout the 20th and 21st centuries.

This thematic dossier proposes to bring together research dedicated to the analysis of what we define here as the "Saussurean paradigm" contemplating both the historical-intellectual antecedents that made its emergence possible and its unfolding and repercussions in different theoretical traditions. We are particularly interested in understanding how linguistic studies prior to Saussure – including the grammatical tradition, philology, comparative grammar, historical-comparative studies, Greco-Latin and medieval traditions, and other currents of language research – contributed to the formation of the field that would be reconfigured by Saussurean thought.

At the same time, we seek to welcome works that critically examine the reception, circulation, appropriation, critique, and debates of Saussure's ideas in different intellectual and geographical contexts. Contributions that discuss Saussure's influence on the constitution of European and American structuralism, the emergence of semiology and semiotics, discourse studies, the historiography of linguistics, the history of linguistics, the philosophy of language, literary studies, and other areas of the humanities will be especially welcome. Also of interest are investigations based on Saussurean manuscripts, historical documents, and contemporary historical-historiographical approaches that critically revisit the figure of Saussure and the construction of his linguistic, intellectual, and scientific legacy.

Other topics of interest include, but are not limited to: the reception of Saussure in different (inter)national traditions; dialogues and reflections on concepts such as language, speech, sign, value, system, and arbitrariness; the relationships between synchrony and diachrony; the editorial history of the Course in General Linguistics (including experiences from outside Brazil); Saussure's manuscripts and autograph writings; the place of Saussureanism in the formation of modern Linguistics; critiques and revisions of the structuralist paradigm; the continuities, transformations, and reinterpretations of Saussurean thought in contemporary linguistic production; the historical circulation of linguistic ideas traversed by the Saussurean paradigm.

By fostering a dialogue between Linguistics, History, Historiography, and Epistemology, this dossier aims to contribute to a broader understanding of the conditions for the emergence of Linguistics as a scientific discipline and the multiple ways in which Saussure's legacy continues to influence, guide, critique, challenge, and renew language studies in contemporary times.