Just Words: On Speech and Hidden HarmWe all know that speech can be harmful. But what are the harms and how exactly does the speech in question brings those harms about? Mary Kate McGowan identifies a previously overlooked mechanism by which speech constitutes, rather than merely causes, harm. She argues that speech constitutes harm when it enacts a norm that prescribes that harm. McGowan illustrates this theory by considering many categories of speech including sexist remarks, racist hate speech, pornography, verbal triggers for stereotype threat, micro-aggressions, political dog whistles, slam poetry, and even the hanging of posters. Just Words explores a variety of harms - such as oppression, subordination, discrimination, domination, harassment, and marginalization - and ways in which these harms can be remedied. |
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Contents
Introduction | 1 |
Preliminaries | 8 |
Conversational Exercitives | 27 |
On Differences Between Standard and Conversational Exercitives | 50 |
The General Phenomenon Covert Exercitives | 82 |
Speech and Oppression | 100 |
On Pornography Subordination and Silencing | 124 |
Race Speech and Free Speech Law | 156 |
Conclusion | 184 |
| 191 | |
| 205 | |
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Bibliographic information
| Title | Just Words: On Speech and Hidden Harm |
| Author | Mary Kate McGowan |
| Publisher | Oxford University Press, 2019 |
| ISBN | 0198829701, 9780198829706 |
| Length | 209 pages |
| Subjects | › › Language Arts & Disciplines / Linguistics / Sociolinguistics Philosophy / Language Philosophy / Political |
| Export Citation | BiBTeX EndNote RefMan |