
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
-
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 at Columbia University
-
Deborah TannenLinguistics Professor, Georgetown University; Author, You're the Only...
- 2018 Festival
- Society
Explore More
Society

Jump in by watching our ten most popular talks of all time. From black holes to jazz and civil rights to psychology hacks, we've collected the talks that remain audience favor...



You may have heard of "Dry January" and mocktails, but what is being "sober curious" really about? Ahead of Aspen Ideas: Health, Sans Bar's Chris Marshall explains the growin...

Are you truly tuned in to the sights, sounds, tastes, smells, and textures that surround you every day? Ahead of her book talk at Aspen Ideas: Health, best-selling author Gret...



The pandemic put into stark relief deeply-ingrained gender roles in society, as the burden of unpaid care fell to millions of women who left the workforce. Yet the past years...

Friends, partners, children, families, coworkers — these connections profoundly shape our lives and happiness. For many of us, the upheaval of the past few years became an une...























From the Supreme Court's ruling on abortion rights to public health's role in addressing gun violence to the devastating human toll of the war in Ukraine, this year's Aspen Id...

