About

Welcome to the FORGE (Forensic Linguistics Research Group). Based in the Linguistics and English Language (LAEL) department, the FORGE is open to all Lancaster University academics, students, and visiting scholars who are interested in forensic linguistics research. Find below a series of occasionally asked questions:

What’s the back-story?

FORGE was created in 2013 by Dr Claire Hardaker, a forensic corpus linguist. In its early days, the group was known by the less glamorous name of FLiRG until someone came up with something better.

Who runs FORGE?

Academic staff

Past FORGE team

  • William Dance (2018-2021)
  • Rebecca Jagodziński (2020-2021)
  • Mathew Gillings (2019-2020)
  • Dr Jennifer Hughes (2015 RA)

What talks are coming up?

You can keep up to date with the FORGE’s upcoming talks and events via:

Can I attend/give a talk at The FORGE?

All Lancaster University academic staff, postgraduate students, and visiting scholars are welcome as both guests and potential presenters, whilst undergraduate students are welcome as guests. We also regularly invite speakers from other academic institutions. (If you’re not sure if you’re allowed to attend, or you’d like to propose a talk by yourself or someone else, send Claire Hardaker an email.)

How can I get in touch?

If you’d like to get in touch, e.g. to propose a talk or share an interesting forensic linguistic tidbit, feel free to email Claire directly. Otherwise, you can tweet the FORGE.

Will you make talks available online/remotely?

We’ve always been keen to make FORGE content as widely available as possible, however, the talks can sometimes involve sensitive, disturbing, or confidential details so this is not always possible. Where speakers give permission, the necessary equipment is available, and we get good footage, or where speakers have links to their own videos, we are always happy to provide those.

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