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'Use the right words': Verbal hygiene and feminist politics
16 March 2022, 2:00 pm–3:00 pm
UCL Women's Liberation SIG are delighted to welcome Deborah Cameron to talk about the ways in which progressive movements, including feminism, have sought to regulate language-use in pursuit of political goals.
This event is free.
Event Information
Open to
- All
Availability
- Yes
Cost
- Free
Organiser
-
Judith Suissa
Both conservative and progressive movements have a long history of engagement in verbal hygiene, attempting to influence the use of language so that it aligns with their beliefs and values.
In this talk Deborah will focus on the ways in which progressive movements, including feminism, have sought to regulate language-use in pursuit of political goals, looking at the forms their interventions have taken and the questions or problems these may raise. ‘Use the right words’ may be a familiar exhortation, but determining what ‘the right words’ are is a more complicated matter than it might look.
This event will be particularly useful for those interested in feminism and linguistics.
Related links
Image
#womansmarch2018 by Rob Kall, Flickr
About the Speaker
Professor Deborah Cameron
at Linguistics Faculty, University of Oxford
Her research focuses on the relationship between linguistic and social phenomena, and she has published numerous books and articles about language and sex/gender, including one aimed at non-linguists, The Myth of Mars and Venus. She has also written a short introduction to feminism for Profile Books, and is the owner of the blog Language: A Feminist Guide.
More about Professor Deborah Cameron