Language: Identity, Social Justice, and Politics

Hey everyone!

I was extremely interested in taking this class in order to learn more about language and its relationship to social justice, identity, and politics. I see language as an incredibly powerful tool for many aspects of human life, ranging from communication to identity construction.

As a passionate LGBT activist, I have led many workshops about the power of language and engaging in personal conversations with others about the harm caused by phrases that seem innocuous to many. For example, “That’s so gay” consists of three simple words, but has endless possible negative consequences and effects. Due to my investment in the importance of language and its role in culture (and my general interest in the interaction between science and society), the premise of this class itself was very interesting.

In addition to these phrases that are now semi-common but quite offensive in nature, I am also interested in the re-adaptation of language and words to create new meaning and connotations. For example, the term "queer" used to have a hugely negative connontation, but has recently become a term of empowerment that people within the LGBT community have chosen to self identify with. (The same idea goes for the phrase "people of color"). However, this change in the meaning of the word depends heavily on the given context, location, and population. This shows the malleability and subjectivity of language, its literal meaning, and its emotional significance. I am very interested in learning more about this "changeability" characteristic of language and its implications in society.

Finally, language also intrigues me because it is a strong means of forming community through a shared language. At the same time, the lack of a shared language can lead to an extreme boundary between individuals and communities. For all my life, I have been surrounded by countless Chinese relatives who only speak various dialects of Chinese. However, I do not speak any Chinese at all (besides the completely necessary "Happy New Year"). My experience with this language barrier with virtually all of my family has been very discouraging, as I am very interested in getting to know my family, but am often incapable of doing so. This has led me to become extremely interested in learning Madarin and Cantonese. It is intriguing and important to think about this idea of a language barrier on a larger scale, as I am curious about how much identity and community formation (and, on the flip side, conflict and boundaries) are tied directly to language.

Languages that I speak:

I speak fluent English, intermediate Spanish (for about seven years), and basic Japanese.

Countries that I've visited:

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