[CommAdvocacy] Slurring Words - a great talk to attend

[Amnat Chittaphong]

Dear colleagues,

I wanted to share with you an exciting event taking place at Hampshire 
college in the evening of March 8. The School of Cognitive Science is 
sponsoring a public talk by Prof. Ernie Lepore (Philosopher of Language 
and Director of Cognitive Science at Rutgers University) entitled, 
"Slurring Words", a version of which recently appeared in the New York 
Times (see article here).

We feel fortunate to have such an influential scholar talk to us about 
issues concerning language and race and sincerely hope that you will be 
able to attend. The details of the event and the abstract for the talk 
are provided below.

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When: Tuesday, March 8 @ 5:30-7pm
Where: Franklin Patterson Hall (FPH), West Lecture Hall

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*Slurring Words*

Slurs target race, nationality, religion, gender, sexual orientation, 
politics, immigrant status, line of work and many other demographics. 
They offend their targets – some more than others. Children who blurt 
out slurs are scolded regardless of their ignorance; but not uncommonly, 
targets appropriate slurs for themselves. My main questions are by which 
mechanism do slurs derogate, why some more forcefully than others, and 
how do targeted members succeed in mollifying some slurs?

A lacuna in the literature on slurs is the rarity with which their 
offenses are specified. We are told little more than that they derogate, 
belittle, disparage, or diminish, but never how. Explanatory options 
here are, however, limited. We know a lot about how words achieve 
efficacy; with that in mind, in what follows we will canvass 
alternatives in the hope of illuminating the offensive nature of slurs.

The consensus view is that slurs, as a matter of convention, carry 
negative attitudes towards targeted groups. Philosophers and linguistics 
try to conventionalize the derogatory nature of slurs in natural 
language. Some go so far as to claim that the facts surrounding their 
linguistic distribution require an enrichment of our semantics and 
perhaps even of our logic. Accounts run from what slurs semantically 
express is offensive; to what they presuppose is offensive; to a tone 
account – the subjective images slurs summon are offensive; to what they 
linguistically display (but not what they describe) is offensive; and to 
what slurs conventionally implicature is offensive. These accounts agree 
that slurs carry offensive contents, but disagree over the mechanism of 
implementation. My aim, however disheartening, is to deflate all these 
efforts: no content, however conveyed, distinguishes slurs from their 
neutral counter-parts (or other co-extensive slurs).

The positive view, in brief, is that slurs are banished words, not 
because of any linguistic feature they exhibit or any content they 
carry, but rather because they are on a list of prohibited words. This 
leaves a slew of questions: what determines whether a word is on or off 
the list, its position on the list; and why is it sometimes appropriate 
to flout its prohibition?


-- 
Amnat Chittaphong
Assistant Dean of Students for Community Advocacy

HAMPSHIRE COLLEGE
893 West Street
Amherst, Massachusetts 01002
phone 413.559.5412 + fax 413.559.5663

I.C.A.R.E. Student Life Values @ Hampshire College
Integrity * Collaboration * A Just & Diverse Community
* Respect for All * Education

Community Advocacy is the name of the department in Student Life, which 
includes Multicultural and International Student Services (and the 
Lebron-Wiggins-Pran Cultural Center); Queer Student Services (and the 
Queer Community Alliance Center); Women Student Services (and the Center 
for Feminisms); Spiritual Life (and the Spiritual Life Center); and 
Community Health and Wellness (and the Community Health Collaborative).

Community Advocacy at Hampshire College promotes the wellbeing of the 
entire campus community, fosters connections across social identities 
and ideas, and engages in passionate and compassionate dialogue and 
programs.  We support and provide resources for the holistic development 
of students with the goals of nourishing student initiatives; increasing 
awareness and appreciation of different cultures, backgrounds, and 
perspectives; encouraging understanding and mutual respect as we 
actively work towards social change.