In 1885, Henri Bergson addressed a class of French high school students on the subject of politeness. Bergson would go on to become one of the most influential philosophers of his time, yet although this essay set forth a striking theory of politeness and foreshadowed aspects of his later work, it remains remarkably little-known. Rethinking Politeness with Henri Bergson offers the first English translation of Discours sur la Politesse, and brings together leading linguistic anthropologists to critically engage with and expand on Bergson's ideas. At the core of Bergson's essay is a tripartite classification of politeness acts into politesse des manières (politeness of manners), politesse de l'esprit (politeness of mind/spirit), and politesse du coeur (politeness of the heart). Presented along a hierarchy of intersubjective attunement and ethical aspirations, Bergson's three types call for the progressive abandonment of habits when they get in the way of our ability to help others. They can also be read as an invitation to consider politeness as a dimension of human sociability that is relevant to social theory. Collectively, the essays in this volume untangle the ideological, socio-historical, and material conditions that shape notions of the ideal social agent, and propose a rethinking of politeness that serves as a bridge to larger issues of civility, citizenship, and democracy.

Rethinking Politeness with Henri Bergson offers the first English translation of a little-known essay by influential French philosopher Henri Bergson on the classifications of politeness acts. The translation is followed by a series of essays from scholars who critically engage with and build on Bergson's ideas, and recontextualize politeness as a key dimension of human sociability.

A free ebook version of this title is available through Luminos, University of California Press's Open Access publishing program. Visit www.luminosoa.org to learn more. Making Sense explores the experiential, ethical, and intellectual stakes of living in, and thinking with, worlds wherein language cannot be taken for granted. In Nepal, many deaf signers use Nepali Sign Language (NSL), a young, conventional signed language. The majority of deaf Nepalis, however, use what NSL signers call natural sign. Natural sign involves conventional and improvisatory signs, many of which recruit semiotic relations immanent in the social and material world. These features make conversation in natural sign both possible and precarious. Sense-making in natural sign depends on signers' skillful use of resources and on addressees' willingness to engage. Natural sign reveals the labor of sense-making that in more conventional language is carried by shared grammar. Ultimately, this highly original book shows that emergent language is an ethical endeavor, challenging readers to consider what it means, and what it takes, to understand and to be understood.

Provides an expansive view of the full field of linguistic anthropology, featuring an all-new team of contributing authors representing diverse new perspectives A New Companion to Linguistic Anthropology provides a timely and authoritative overview of the field of study that explores how language influences society and culture. Bringing together more than 30 original essays by an interdisciplinary panel of renowned scholars and younger researchers, this comprehensive volume covers a uniquely wide range of both classic and contemporary topics as well as cutting-edge research methods and emerging areas of investigation. Building upon the success of its predecessor, the acclaimed Blackwell Companion to Linguistic Anthropology, this new edition reflects current trends and developments in research and theory. Entirely new chapters discuss topics such as the relationship between language and experiential phenomena, the use of research data to address social justice, racist language and raciolinguistics, postcolonial discourse, and the challenges and opportunities presented by social media, migration, and global neoliberalism. Innovative new research analyzes racialized language in World of Warcraft, the ethics of public health discourse in South Africa, the construction of religious doubt among Orthodox Jewish bloggers, hybrid forms of sociality in videoconferencing, and more. Presents fresh discussions of topics such as American Indian speech communities, creolization, language mixing, language socialization, deaf communities, endangered languages, and language of the law Addresses recent trends in linguistic anthropological research, including visual documentation, ancient scribes, secrecy, language and racialization, global hip hop, justice and health, and language and experience Utilizes ethnographic illustration to explore topics in the field of linguistic anthropology Includes a new introduction written by the editors and an up-to-date bibliography with over 2,000 entries A New Companion to Linguistic Anthropology is a must-have for researchers, scholars, and undergraduate and graduate students in linguistic anthropology, as well as an excellent text for those in related fields such as sociolinguistics, discourse studies, semiotics, sociology of language, communication studies, and language education.

In educational leadership, aspiring leaders from traditionally marginalized backgrounds face a difficult range of challenges that hinder their ability to thrive. This problem is not confined to a single facet but extends its reach across the educational landscape, impacting diversity, equity, and inclusivity within academic institutions. As the demand for authentic and practical guidance in navigating the leadership pipeline becomes increasingly urgent, institutions struggle to prepare aspiring leaders effectively and develop a more inclusive curriculum. These issues are deeply interconnected, forming a complex and multifaceted problem that demands an all-encompassing solution. Within the pages of Pursuing Equity and Success for Marginalized Educational Leaders, the remedy for this intricate challenge unfolds. This groundbreaking book emerges as a product of collaboration between seasoned practitioners and esteemed researchers, presenting a comprehensive guide aimed at empowering aspiring leaders hailing from marginalized backgrounds. It is a valuable resource, offering practical guidance and research-backed strategies.

Living Together Across Borders: Care Through Communication in Separated Salvadoran Families tells the stories of extended families living stretched between a rural Salvadoran village and the urban locations in the United States where their migrant relatives live. Author Lynnette Arnold focuses on their cross-border conversations, demonstrating that this communication is a vital resource for enacting care-at-a-distance. She examines seemingly mundane interactions including greetings, remittance negotiations, and reminiscing together. Arnold demonstrates that while these practices are distributed in ways that reinforce boundaries between migrant and non-migrant relatives, families simultaneously use these same practices to build convivencia (living-together) despite ongoing separation.

"What follows when state institutions name historically oppressed languages as official? What happens when bilingual education activists gain the right to coordinate schooling from upper-level state offices? The intercultural bilingual school system in Ecuador has been one of the most prominent examples of Indigenous education in Central and South America. Since its establishment in 1988, members of Ecuador's pueblos and nationalities have worked from state institutions to coordinate a second national school system that includes the teaching of Indigenous languages. Based on more than two years of ethnographic research in Ecuador's Ministry of Education, at international and national conferences, in workshops, in schools, and with families, Recognizing Indigenous Languages considers how state agents carry out linguistic and educational politics in eras of greater inclusivity and multiculturalism. This book shows how institutional advances for bilingual education and Indigenous languages have been premised on affirming the equality - and the equivalency - of the linguistic and cultural practices of members of Indigenous pueblos and nationalities with other Ecuadorians. Major responsibilities like serving as national state agents, crafting a standardized variety of Kichwa, and teaching Indigenous languages in schools provide vast authority, representation, and visibility for those languages and their speakers. However, the everyday work of directing a school system and making Kichwa a language of the state includes double binds that work against the very goals of autonomous schooling and getting people to speak and write Kichwa"--

In 1928, members of a young subaltern Indonesian elite pirated the language of the Dutch empire, bringing the Indonesian language into being along with its nation. Today, Indonesian is the language of two hundred and forty million citizens but is the "native" language of no one. Through rich analysis focused on the interplay of language varieties in two remote Indonesian provinces, Other Indonesians describes the unique language dynamic which has enabled the development of modern, democratic Indonesia. Complicating binaries that pit "low" against "high" Indonesian, or "standard" against "mixed," J. Joseph Errington argues that it is precisely the un-ethnic, non-territorial quality of Indonesian that enables its speakers to express themselves as members of a national community. This detailed account locates Indonesian not only within the institutions which give it distinctive value in the nation, but also in the biographies of its young, educated speakers. With a nuanced understanding of national identity, this book shows how careful analysis of Indonesia can provide insight into broader dynamics of postcolonial nationalism in a globalizing world.

In Going Tactile, Terra Edwards explores life in DeafBlind communities in the U.S. through an ethnographic lens. Drawing on thirty months of anthropological fieldwork with DeafBlind artists, intellectuals, political leaders, and community members, the author shows how the "protactile movement" of the 1990s created new ways of communicating, interacting, and navigating through touch. Assessing the limits of language and representation, this book contextualizes linguistic and interactional work that has been conducted in the U.S. for scholars and students of Deaf studies, anthropology, and linguistic anthropology, and sociolinguistics.

How the philosophers and polemicists of eighteenth-century Britain used ridicule in the service of religious toleration, abolition, and political justice The relaxing of censorship in Britain at the turn of the eighteenth century led to an explosion of satires, caricatures, and comic hoaxes. This new vogue for ridicule unleashed moral panic and prompted warnings that it would corrupt public debate. But ridicule also had vocal defenders who saw it as a means to expose hypocrisy, unsettle the arrogant, and deflate the powerful. Uncivil Mirth examines how leading thinkers of the period searched for a humane form of ridicule, one that served the causes of religious toleration, the abolition of the slave trade, and the dismantling of patriarchal power. Ross Carroll brings to life a tumultuous age in which the place of ridicule in public life was subjected to unparalleled scrutiny. He shows how the Third Earl of Shaftesbury, far from accepting ridicule as an unfortunate byproduct of free public debate, refashioned it into a check on pretension and authority. Drawing on philosophical treatises, political pamphlets, and conduct manuals of the time, Carroll examines how David Hume, Mary Wollstonecraft, and others who came after Shaftesbury debated the value of ridicule in the fight against intolerance, fanaticism, and hubris. Casting Enlightenment Britain in an entirely new light, Uncivil Mirth demonstrates how the Age of Reason was also an Age of Ridicule, and speaks to our current anxieties about the lack of civility in public debate.