~SWhen once acquires a language, one acquires the mental disposition implicit in it.~T | | Susanne Langer

~SThere is nothing more potent than thought.| Action follows word and word follows thought.| The word is the result of a mighty thought, and where the thought is mighty and pure the result is mighty and pure.~T| | | | | | Mahatma Gandhi

Course Description for the Language of Violence from the PSU Bulletin:| | Examination of violent language as a reflection of culture. Students will identify violent attitudes, themes, contradictions, metaphors, etc. implicit and explicit in our language. Verbal abuse and verbal aggression, violent words and metaphors in everyday speech, and the use of descriptive language to evaluative language when classifying acts of violence will provide insight into the notion of a "public violent mind." Students will also examine messages in violent entertainment, news reports, Internet and other media.

Violence is confusing and complex in one moment, then very clear and simple in the next.| | |

§     We can be entertained and abhorred by violence, alternately and simultaneously.|

§     We can take a moral high ground about one aspect of violence and completely shrug off another.|

§     We can regard ourselves as non-violent and use violent language in our messages about peace.| |

§     We can explain the violence across the world and be unable talk about the violence in our homes or neighborhood.

§     We can denounce the violence of one person and support the very same act committed by someone else.

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How do we explain such contradictions about violence? Perhaps, in part, they reveal the ~Semotional life~T within the language of a people.| Thus, in this course, we are not going to attempt to solve these contradictions, rather| we are going to study them in order to understand and talk about them.| We are going to study the factors which contribute to our ideas, understanding, message construction, ability to listen, etc. about violence.| We are going to study violence through the framework of communication:| studying language created and used by people within a culture. How is language created and sustained? By whom?| For what purposes?| | With what frequency of use?| With what outcomes?| This means we study a people through their language and, the language through the people.| This also means language is political, social, intra- and inter-social, moral, cultural, ethnic, ethical, commercial, religious, psychological and indeed again, emotional.

These ideas have been structured into three distinct Course Learning Objectives:

1.    To Study the Existence of Violent Language as a Cultural Experience:|

§     Study language theories:| functions of language in a society| |

§     Implicit and explicit language: choices and meaning

§   shared meaning;|

§   frequency as a measure of meaning/importance to a culture

§   ~Sword groupings~T as a way to understand cultural attitudes, i.e., language of money, of death, of weapons , etc.

§   use of evaluative/interpretive language rather than descriptive (link to vagueness, obfuscation, etc.)

§     Explore the question, What is and is not violent language?

§     Examine how language influences our perceptions of violence

§     The language of anger, aggression rage within violence

§     Explore the relationship between violent thinking ~V violent language ~V violent action/behavior

2.    To Examine the Complexities & Outcomes Involved In Communicating About Violence:

As Study Participants:

§     Observe, assess and evaluate how communicating about violence is experienced by the communicator;

§     How does lack of experienced practice of communicating about violence contribute to perceptions of violence, quality of discussion, complexity of messages, etc.?

§     Understand the influence of underdeveloped speaking and listening skills: competitive and biased speakers and listeners.

§     Explore increased fear of violence;| evolution to personal and social apathy when studying violence

As members of a Culture:

§     Understand the concept of ~Sexternalized attribution or responsibility~T when language is used to separate the ~Sactor~T from the ~Saction~T (e.g. use of second person ~Syou~T when first person is appropriate)

§     Examine how messages about violence influence (and are influenced by) perception

o          being marked for violence;

o          marking others as victims or victimizers

o          degrees of violence (minor to major) & prioritized violence (insignificant to significant)

o          acceptable violence; violence that does not concern us individually and/or as a society

o          relational violence; victim/victimizer relationships

§     Understand how rationalization confuses and/or separates the intention from the result of violence

3.    To Study the Uses and Outcomes of Communicating Violently:

§     use of violent language by non-violent people

§     language used during emotional intensity

§     the effects of violent language and violent metaphors as forms of verbal abuse|

§     the practice, norms, habits, rules ,etc. of verbal violence, verbal assault and verbal abuse;

§     our own and other~Rs use of verbal abuse, violent language and violent metaphors in every day speech.