More 
than 
200 
people 
filled Angell Hall Auditorium 
B on Monday for “Fights 
about Language and Political 
Correctness: 
What’s 
at 
Stake?” The discussion, led 
by Anne Curzan, professor of 
English and associate dean for 
humanities, and linguistics 
professor 
Robin 
Queen, 
addressed the term “political 
correctness” 
and 
what 
it 
means in society today.
The event was a part of 
the University of Michigan’s 
Reverend Dr. Martin Luther 
King 
Jr. 
Day 
Symposium. 
In celebration of King, the 
professors reflected on how 
subtle details in everyday 
language 
can 
have 
broad 
social 
impacts. 
Curzan 
began with a reminder that 

individual 
word 
choice 
matters in a society focused 
on maintaining progression 
and positive change.
“Our 
language 
choices 
matter,” Curzan said. “There 
is no language choice that 
is too small to matter. Every 
single one of us has a role in 
the choices that we make, and 
the conscious choices that we 
can make to thereby make a 
more inclusive environment.”
The discussion was based 
on 
three 
central 
themes: 
language 
choices 
matter, 
intention behind words does 
not outweigh interpretation 
and arguments about political 
correctness 
go 
beyond 
language.
Curzan 
defined 
political 
correctness and explained why 
the discussion surrounding it 
is often rife with tension.
“A big part of what we’re 

debating is power,” Curzan 
said. “The power to say what 
words mean, and to say who 
can and can’t use them … One 
of the things happening in PC 
language is that a different 
set 
of 
people 
— 
people 
who have been historically 
marginalized — are getting 
to call more of the linguistic 
shots. That’s what is feeling so 
contested about it.”
Queen commented on how 
the discussion on language 
choice 
can 
be 
used 
in 
conversations pertaining to 
larger social issues.
“A lot of people argue that 
changing language is a trivial 
point of intervention,” Queen 
said. “Maybe, but it’s a place to 
start. That doesn’t mean that 
thinking about language is 
the only thing to do. You can 
think about language and the 
climate at the same time. You 
can think about racism and 
the words of racism at the 
same time.”
Queen reflected on how 
politically correct language 
forces individuals to think 
about their place within a 
larger society and how this 
consciousness 
generates 
more mindfulness.
“How 
can 
we 
be 
respectful 
and 
generous 
to one another — not only 
as speakers, but also as 
listeners?” 
Queen 
said. 
“How can we approach one 
another from a spirit of 
love, of thinking of us all in 
the same boat, all trying to 
figure out the best ways to 
treat each other well? The 
treating each other well 
comes from goodwill on all 
of our parts.”
Curzan 
concluded 
the 
presentation 
with 
a 
reflection 
on 
how 
politically correct language 
is the responsibility of the 
speaker and the listener 
to uphold, adding it can be 
a catalyst for productive 
conversation and greater 

learning.
“We 
have 
to 
take 
responsibility for our words, 
and listen and know that 
these choices matter,” Curzan 
said. “As listeners, we would 
encourage a kind of generosity 
that if someone says something 
that is insulting or offensive, 
is to not assume that you know 
intention. One of the things 
we can do as listeners is to 
say, ‘here’s what I just heard,’ 
because that is true … that is a 
stance that creates more space 
about that. And dialogue is 
how we learn.”
Engineering 
freshman 
Ruben 
Coronel 
echoed 
Curzan’s 
sentiments 
and 
explained 
how 
 
language 
impacts 
individuals 
both 
in 
public 
and 
private 
conversation.
“These kinds of discussion 
are 
important 
to 
raise 
awareness, because a lot of 
people 
do 
not 
necessarily 
take the time to look at the 
way people are represented 
in 
non-public 
settings,” 
Coronel said. “Even if there’s 
a comment that is not as 
out in the open as someone 
making an insensitive remark 
to a newspaper, for example, 
(accurate representation) is 
still just as important.”
After 
the 
speech, 
Simon 
Rivers, 
curriculum 
coordinator for the English 
Language 
and 
Literature 
Department, said discussions 
like this is vital to celebrating 
the memory of King.
“All through our school’s 
years, we always had the day 
off, or there was some sort of 
break there,” Rivers said. “I 
think it is really important 
that we take this day where 
we honor this huge figure 
in American society and are 
either learning, doing some 
sort of service, participating 
in some sort of activism or 
raising awareness so it is not a 
wasteful day.”

E NSPIRE D FA SHION SHOW

2A — Tuesday, January 22, 2019
The Michigan Daily — michigandaily.com
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