Introducing Lakoff's class
George Lakoff (author of Moral Politics) is teaching a graduate seminar in linguistics on the Language of Politics. So many folks have expressed interest to know what is happening with this class that i thought i would blog as much as possible. Of course, the interest resonates through the Berkeley campus as well. During the first class, 16 people were signed up to take the class and over 60 sat in to audit. It was a bit of mayhem in a small cramped classroom.
Here's a great article by Lakoff that stems from his arguments:
"Framing the Dems: How conservatives control political debate and how progressives can take it back"
Here's a great article by Lakoff that stems from his arguments:
"Framing the Dems: How conservatives control political debate and how progressives can take it back"
posted by danah boyd at 6:09 PM
3 Comments:
Way cool. Thanks for doing this.
I am a Lakoff disciple...from afar. He is genius. I'm interested in learning all that I can fron/about/regarding him, especially from him and/or his students. Thanx.
What did I learn from reading this other than that thinking is taught to those who are willing to think. All tools of thought can be used for ill as well as good intent and I am not new to the idea of reframing, but practice is a hard thing to do, and to have the space to think about ones own thoughts (without someone or another reframing them on the way) is as difficult a proposition as executing on this paradigm.
I understand these political systems because I can observe them but there is a point where the arguments that support them become a fog of rhetoric, argument and conviction. Why would I waste my time being sucked into that soup. Reframing is best done on the outside of this group madness.
Independent, Intelligent and Integrated are not three words I see jump off the page of this article but all three require of me certain actions that I am willing to perform. I guess reframing helps with what it is we really do which is Projection,Punishment and Partisanship. It is easier to do the latter than reframe ones own existence to the former.
So I realize reframing is a tool that can lead to independence of spirit, formation of intelligence and integration with humanity, but in itself (without my choice which is simply free will) it isn't any of these things.
The most intelligent reframing was the song McCartney wrote for the Beatles called "Fool on the Hill" - and in a visual culture, it is the fool on the hill who probably possesses the best frame.
M.
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