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
News
CARTER FOX/Daily
Models walking the runway at the EnspiRED Runway Allure fashion show in Biomedical Science Research Building Saturday evening.
TUESDAY:
By Design
THURSDAY:
Twitter Talk
FRIDAY:
Behind the Story
WEDNESDAY:
This Week in History
MONDAY:
Looking at the Numbers
MADELINE MCLAUGHLIN
Daily Staff Reporter
Sudoku Syndication
http://sudokusyndication.com/sudoku/generator/print/
1 of 1
6/17/09 10:57 AM
3
7
2
8
1
5
4
1
6
8
7
7
2
7
6
1
9
5
7
2
6
3
3
9
7
6
1
4
1
6
5
OPOSSUM SZN
puzzle by sudokusyndication.com
Design by Roseanne Chao
Educators emphasize how purposeful word choice in everyday speech can create progress
and positive change for the future as a part of Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. Symposium
Professors call for politically correct language
Stanford Lipsey Student Publications Building
420 Maynard St.
Ann Arbor, MI 48109-1327
www.michigandaily.com
ARTS SECTION
arts@michigandaily.com
SPORTS SECTION
sports@michigandaily.com
ADVERTISING
dailydisplay@gmail.com
NEWS TIPS
news@michigandaily.com
LETTERS TO THE EDITOR
tothedaily@michigandaily.com
EDITORIAL PAGE
opinion@michigandaily.com
TOMMY DYE
Business Manager
734-418-4115 ext. 1241
tomedye@michigandaily.com
MAYA GOLDMAN
Editor in Chief
734-418-4115 ext. 1251
mayagold@michigandaily.com
PHOTOGRAPHY SECTION
photo@michigandaily.com
NEWSROOM
734-418-4115 opt. 3
CORRECTIONS
corrections@michigandaily.com
The Michigan Daily (ISSN 0745-967) is published Monday through Friday during the
fall and winter terms by students at the University OF Michigan. One copy is available
free of charge to all readers. Additional copies may be picked up at the Daily’s office for
$2. Subscriptions for September-April are $250 and year long subscriptions are $275.
University affiliates are subject to a reduced subscription rate. On-campus subscriptions
for fall term are $35. Subscriptions must be prepaid.
FINNTAN STORER
Managing Editor
frstorer@michigandaily.com
GRACE KAY and ELIZABETH LAWRENCE
Managing News Editors news@michigandaily.com
Senior News Editors: Sayali Amin, Rachel Cunningham, Remy Farkas, Leah
Graham, Amara Shaikh
Assistant News Editors: Barbara Collins, Alex Harring, Danielle Pasekoff,
Atticus Raasch, Ben Rosenfeld, Samantha Small, Emma Stein, Zayna Syed, Callie
Teitelbaum, Liat Weinstein
JOEL DANILEWITZ and MAGDALENA MIHAYLOVA
Editorial Page Editors
tothedaily@michigandaily.com
Senior Opinion Editors: Emily Huhman, Alexander Satola, Elias Khoury,
Nicholas Tomaino, Erin White
MAX MARCOVITCH and ETHAN SEARS
Managing Sports Editors sportseditors@michigandaily.com
JACK BRANDON and ARYA NAIDU
Managing Arts Editors
arts@michigandaily.com
Senior Arts Editors: Clara Scott, Emma Chang, Rob Mansuetti, Sam Della Fera,
Trina Pal
Arts Beat Editors: Verity Sturm, Sayan Ghosh, Mike Watkins, Ally Owens,
Stephen Satarino, Izzy Hasslund, Margaret Sheridan
ALEXIS RANKIN and ALEC COHEN
Managing Photo Editors photo@michigandaily.com
ROSEANNE CHAO and JACK SILBERMAN
Managing Design Editors
design@michigandaily.com
Senior Design Editor: Willa Hua
ANDREA PÉREZ BALDERRAMA
Statement Editor statement@michigandaily.com
Deputy Editors: Matthew Harmon, Shannon Ors
MADELINE TURNER and MIRIAM FRANCISCO
Managing Copy Editors copydesk@michigandaily.com
Senior Copy Editors: Sadia Jiban, Olivia Sedlacek, Reece Meyhoefer
CASEY TIN and HASSAAN ALI WATTOO
Managing Online Editors
webteam@michigandaily.com
Senior Web Developers: Jonathon Liu, Abha Panda, Ryan Siu, David Talbot,
Samantha Cohen
NOAH TAPPEN
Managing Video Editor video@michigandaily.com
Senior Video Editors: Jillian Drzinski, Aarthi Janakiraman
CARLY RYAN and NA’KIA CHANNEY
Michigan in Color Editors michiganincolor@michigandaily.com
Senior Michigan in Color Editors: Lorna Brown, Samuel So, Ana Maria
Sanchez-Castillo, Efe Osagie, Danyel Tharakan
Assistant Michigan in Color Editors: Grace Cho, Harnoor Singh, Nada Eldawy,
Maya Mokh
CARRINGTON TUBMAN and MADALASA CHAUDHARI
Managing Social Media Editors
Editorial Staff
Business Staff
CAMERON COANE
Sales Manager
ROBERT WAGMAN
Marketing Consulting Manager
ZELJKO KOSPIC
Special Projects Manager
ANITA MICHAUD
Brand Manager
Senior Photo Editors: Alexandria Pompei, Natalie Stephens, Alice Liu, Annie Klusendorf
Assistant Photo Editors: Katelyn Mulcahy, Miles Macklin, Emma Richter, Hannah
Siegel, Allison Engkvist
Senior Sports Editors: Mark Calcagno, Jake Shames, Matthew Kennedy, Anna
Marcus, Paige Voeffray, Avi Sholkoff
Assistant Sports Editors: Aria Gerson, Tien Le, Rian Ratnavale, Bennett
Bramson, Theo Mackie, Akul Vijayvargiya
ADRIANNA KUSMIERCZYK
Creative Director
CATHERINE NOUHAN and JOHN FABIAN
Managing Podcast Editors