ABSTRACT
Drawing on the concept of ‘intellectual promiscuity’, this final chapter emphasises parallels between theories that dismantle fixed conceptions of gender identity and endeavours to destabilise the ‘native speaker’ construct, foregrounding its ideological character and exposing questions of power and resistance. The chapter includes a summary of the main findings of each chapter, recapping and addressing the driving questions from Chapters 1 to 5, and indicating key highlights from the extended discussions and activities provided in Chapters 6–10. The last part of the chapter calls for ongoing dialogue within a climate of scholarly civility that avoids reinforcing hierarchical power relations and appreciates complexities. The chapter also refers briefly to research examining the ‘native speaker’ construct in other languages, suggesting that these lines of inquiry can contribute to broader understandings of language ideologies and power dynamics. The chapter, and book, concludes on an ambivalent note, recognising the important work carried out to expose social inequalities, while simultaneously acknowledging the bleak sociopolitical climate of today’s world. In the face of this ambivalence, the author insists on the need to extend theory beyond the confines of academia, stimulating activism at a grassroots level to disrupt homogenous practices and destabilise fixed identity categories.
