Subaltern Educators Engaged in Minoritized Language Work

<jats:title>Abstract</jats:title> <jats:p>This chapter investigates how subaltern educators resist linguistic and cultural marginalization within authoritarian contexts and negotiate identity, language, and culture against hegemonic power structures. Grounded in a subaltern theoretical framework, it examines these dynamics through a case study of the Azerbaijani Civic Nation—a digital platform in exile founded in 2020 in Toronto by Iranian Azerbaijani Turkish educators Lale Javanshir and Samad Pourmusavi. Situated in Iranian Azerbaijan, where monolingual Farsi-only policies deny mother-tongue education, these educators and their network initially developed underground pedagogical practices in Tabriz during the 1990s and 2000s, creating curricula, teaching materials, and community-based learning spaces despite persecution. Forced into exile, they have sustained activism transnationally through diasporic cultural initiatives and the digital platform.</jats:p> <jats:p>This chapter addresses a critical gap in research on grassroots resistance in minoritized language education, particularly in Iran. Drawing on semi-structured interviews, archival materials documenting underground teaching, and digital content from Azerbaijani Civic Nation—including publications, social media, lectures, conferences, and syllabi—it explores strategies, resources, and sociopolitical contexts shaping their activism. While focused on resisting linguistic and cultural marginalization in Iran, these insights underscore the pivotal role of subaltern educators in advancing educational, cultural, and linguistic resistance. The case offers broader relevance for understanding activism in politically sensitive contexts and inspires grassroots pedagogies rooted in local socio-political realities.</jats:p>