Just Words: Do We Control Language or Does Language Control Us?
Setup
Words come at us in print, online, and on the air; in podcasts, movies, editorials, and advertorials; through e-mail, texts, and tweets. Words may shock, like those of Samantha Bee and Roseanne. They may be code, like pro-life or climate change, for political ideas or beliefs. But how do words affect on our democracy — and us? Do we flatten the power of words through repetition or familiarity, as in, “Let me be honest”? Do we all receive the same message when we hear the same words? Join a talented panel of language experts to explore the implications of our roiling language scene, and see what’s inside the world of words we speak and hear every day.
Speakers
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Elisa NewCreator, Director, and Host, Poetry in America; Director, Verse Video... -
Ann B. FriedmanFounder and Chair, Planet Word -
Deborah FallowsLinguist; Contributing Writer, The Atlantic -
John McWhorterLinguistics Professor, Columbia University -
Deborah TannenLinguistics Professor, Georgetown University; Author, You're the Only...
- 2018 Festival
- Society
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