About this item
Too often our use of language has become lazy, frivolous, and even counterproductive. We rely on clichs and bromides to communicate in such a way that our intentions are lost or misinterpreted. In a culture of "takeaways" and buzzwords, it requires study and cunning to keep language alive.In Mind over Memes: Passive Listening,Toxic Talk, and Other Modern Language Follies, Diana Senechal examines words, concepts, and phrases that demand reappraisal. Targeting a variety of terms, the author contends that a "good fit" may not always be desirable; delivers a takedown of the adjective "toxic"; and argues that "social justice" must take its place among other justices. This book also includes a critique of our modern emphasis on takeaways, quick answers, and immediate utility.
About the Author
Diana Senechal is the 2011 winner of the Hiett Prize in the Humanities and the author of Republic of Noise: The Loss of Solitude in Schools and Culture (2011) and Mind over Memes: Passive Listening, Toxic Talk, and Other Modern Language Follies (out in October 2018) . An outspoken, thoughtful, and sometimes satirical cultural critic, she has given talks around the U.S., appeared on radio programs including BBC's The Forum, and delivered a TEDx talk. As a teacher, she led her English-language-learner students in a production of The Wizard of Oz, taught Antigone and other classic works to middle-school students, led the philosophy program at Columbia Secondary School, taught in Istanbul for two weeks as a guest lecturer, serves on the faculty of the Dallas Institute of Humanities and Culture's Sue Rose Summer Institute for Teachers, and now teaches at Varga Katalin Gimnázium in Szolnok, Hungary. For more about her work, please see her website (www.dianasenechal.com) .
