Sinfree B. Makoni

Sinfree B. Makoni is a Liberal Arts Professor of African Studies and Applied Linguistics at Pennsylvania State University, where he also serves as Director of the African Studies Program. He is affiliated with the Department of Applied Linguistics and contributes to interdisciplinary research through his roles as Extraordinary Professor at the University of the North West in South Africa.

• PhD in Applied Linguistics from the University of Edinburgh
• BA from the University of Ghana, Legon

His research focuses on language policy and planning, security studies, language and health, and Southern epistemologies and ontologies. He has co-authored foundational works such as Innovations and Challenges in Applied Linguistics from the Global South (Routledge, 2023) and Disinvention and Reconstituting Language (Multilingual Matters, 2007), significantly influencing how language rights and policy are framed in Applied Linguistics.

Makoni has held visiting research professorships at institutions like the University of Cape Town and has previously worked at universities in southern Africa. His work bridges interdisciplinary gaps between linguistics, security, and health, while emphasizing decolonial approaches to knowledge production.

• Andrew Carnegie Diaspora Fellow