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COHI 175: Consequential Communications: More than sticks and stones – how words can really hurt you Greg Thompson (email: [email protected]) Spring 2012 – Monday/Wednesday 5:00-6:20 – CSB 005 Most people raised in English speaking countries will have encountered some variant of the saying “Sticks and Stones may break your bones but words will never hurt you.” And yet the need for such a saying suggests that we often experience the opposite as being true and that words can, in fact, hurt us – and possibly do much more to us. This course considers: how do words hurt, soothe, heal, touch, move, or otherwise change us? In this course we will explore communication across a number of different practices including: educational, psychotherapeutic, interactional, political, ritualistic, and mass mediated practices. Starting with the General Semantics perspective on language and meaning, we then build out a theory of meaning that seeks to account for the power of communication in practice. The central questions for the course include: What are words (& language)? How do they mean? Do words matter? If so, how? Can words deceive? How do words hurt? How/why are we irritated, annoyed, or pissed off by words? How do words “stir our souls”? How do they transform us, “touch” us, or “move” us? The approach taken will be one that brings theory to practice. The readings will provide the theory and the in-class discussions and the case-study assignments will apply this to real world examples of meaning-making in action. The course is divided into five units. The first unit involves laying the groundwork for understanding communication and for understanding words. The three middle units to interdisciplinary intersections with Anthropology, Psychology, and Sociology. In the final unit, we take on two in-class case studies (hypnosis and offensive language) in order to apply our methods for understanding the power of words. Assignments 15% Class participation. Please turn off mobile devices (unless we decide otherwise) – we only have 3 hours together each week, so let’s make the most of it. 10% of this grade will consist of very simple in-class quizzes that cover the readings for that day. The other 5% will be based on participation in discussion. 15% Weekly posts. Each week you will be given an assignment for a post that connects the readings to your everyday experience. Posts should be made by midnight on Sunday night. 20% Class-wide Case Study and write-up. This project will involve an intensive study of an example of the powerful use of words/language. This project will focus on an “explosive” event in which words and language use played a central role, namely, the Compton Cookout. The project will involve data collection and analysis and will address the following questions: What 1 was the nature of the event itself as described by participants? (e.g., was it “fun”?) What gave the event this feeling? How was the event understood after the fact? In what ways did words matter in the up-take of the event after the fact? 15% One small individual case-study write-up (roughly 4 pages). The purpose of this paper is to analyze some event in which the power of words/language can be seen. I will work with you to make every effort to make this project one that will be of benefit to your undergraduate and/or professional career so start by thinking about what will be of most interest/relevance for you. For any interested students, I encourage and will help students to submit their final papers for publication. 35% Major case-study write-up based on your interests (maximum of 12 pages). You will develop your small case study into a longer and more substantial paper that uses the tools put forward in the course to describe what was happening in this event. OUTLINE OF THE COURSE (note: this syllabus will likely be revised as the course proceeds) Communication & Word Magic April 4 – Reiser, Oliver. Modern Science and Non-Aristotelian Logic. Korzybski, Alfred. The role of language in the Perceptual Process Youtube video of Korzybski and the structural differential. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eE1iOM9FqBg&feature=related Steve Stockdale’s website with the structural differential: April 9 – Lee, Irving. Ch. 2 & 8. (On the useful uses of words & The Spell of Words) April 11 – Chase, Stuart. Tyranny of Words. Chapter XI: The Semantic Discipline April 16 – Johnson, Wendell – Ch. 1&2 (Verbal Cocoons and Never the Same River Twice) Making Magic with Words: Communication/Anthropology redux April 18 – Levi-Strauss, Claude. The Efficacy of Symbols. April 23 – Durkheim, Emile. Selections from The Elementary Forms of Religious Life, (esp. on Collective Effervescence). April 25 – Collins, Randall. Emotional Energy. April 30 – Silverstein. From Abe to W. Magic in the Mind: Communication/Psychology redux 2 May 2 – Freud, Sigmund – on the parapraxes Fanon, Franz. Selection from Black Skins/ White Masks. DUE MAY 4 – ELECTRONICALLY SUBMIT GROUP CASE STUDY PAPER May 7 – Haidt, Jon – social psychology and politics “the sacred” Implicit Attitudes Test. May 9 – Freud, Sigmund. The Case of Elizabeth Von R. Magic in social contacts/contexts: Commnication/Sociology redux May 14 – Goffman, Erving. Alienation from Interaction. Goffman, Erving. On Face-work. May 16 – Goffman, Erving. Introduction to Frame Analysis DUE MAY 18 – ELECTRONICALLY SUBMIT FIRST CASE STUDY PAPER May 21 – Thompson, Greg & Hacohen, Dori. Framing Selves in Interactional Practice Powerful Words: Communication May 23 – Videos from Steve Stockdale’s website about the “n-word” and the “f-word” (or an alternative of your choice May 30 – Valsiner, Jan. Hypnosis June 4 - Hypnosis videos from Dr. Berman’s page Hypnosis training videos from Youtube DUE JUNE 13 – LONG CASE STUDY DUE 3