ABSTRACT

From bilingual education and racial epithets to gendered pronouns and immigration discourses, language is a central concern in contemporary conversations and controversies surrounding social inequality. Developed as a collaborative effort by members of the American Anthropological Association’s Language and Social Justice Task Force, this innovative volume synthesizes scholarly insights on the relationship between patterns of communication and the creation of more just societies. Using case studies by leading and emergent scholars and practitioners written especially for undergraduate audiences, the book is ideal for introductory courses on social justice in linguistics and anthropology.

chapter |16 pages

Introduction

Reimagining Language and Social Justice

part I|44 pages

Language and Race

chapter 1|8 pages

“Never Tell Me How to Say It”

Race, Language Ideologies, and Harm Reduction in Secondary English Classrooms

chapter 2|8 pages

Identifying “Racists” While Ignoring Racism

The Case of the Alleged Slur on George Zimmerman’s 911 Tape

chapter 5|9 pages

Languages of Liberation

Digital Discourses of Emphatic Blackness

part II|45 pages

Language and Education

part III|37 pages

Language and Health

chapter 11|10 pages

Language, Justice, and Rabies

Notes from a Fatal Crossroads

chapter 12|9 pages

Ethics, Expertise, and Inequities in Global Health Discourses

The Case of Non-Profit HIV/AIDS Research in South Africa

chapter 13|8 pages

Interpreting Deaf HIV/AIDS

A Dialogue

chapter 14|9 pages

Language as Health

Healing in Indigenous Communities in Guatemala through the Revitalization of Mayan Languages

part IV|48 pages

Language and Social Activism

chapter 15|10 pages

Mascots, Name Calling, and Racial Slurs

Seeking Social Justice through Audience Coalescence

chapter 16|9 pages

The Language of Activism

Representations of Social Justice in a University Space in Argentina

chapter 18|8 pages

Pronouns and Possibilities

Transgender Language Activism and Reform

part V|50 pages

Language, Law, and Policy

chapter 20|13 pages

A’uwẽ-Xavante Represent

Rights and Resistance in Native Language Signage on Brazil’s Federal Highways

chapter 22|9 pages

“Linguistically Isolated”

Challenging the U.S. Census Bureau’s Harmful Classification

chapter 24|8 pages

Communicating Humanity

How Defense Attorneys Use Mitigation Narratives to Advocate for Clients