Miscellaneous

 Articles

• "Allies and Microaggressions" | Inside Higher Ed

How to respond to microaggressions with microresistance.

• "Bad Language and Scholarly Publishing: Use It or Lose It?" | Wiley Online Library
• "Blaming 'Evil' for Mass Violence Isn’t as Simple as It Seems—a Philosopher Unpacks the Paradox in Using the Word" | The Conversation
• "Campaign Urges AP Stylebook to Replace Use of 'Prostitute' with 'Sex Worker'" | N.Y. Daily News
• "'Childless' or 'Childfree': The Difference Matters | RH Reality Check
• "The Comforting Fictions of Dementia Care" | The New Yorker

Is it ever OK to lie about reality to someone with dementia?

• "The Correct Language to Adopt" | Columbia Journalism Review

An examination of the debate between "positive adoption language," "honest adoption language," and "traditional adoption language," including the terms natural mother, birth mother, biological mother, genetic mother, first mother, and real mother.

• "Dads Caring for Their Kids: It's Parenting, Not Babysitting" | The Atlantic
• "Everyone Knows Headlines Are Broken. Here's How News Organizations Can Start Fixing Them." | Media Matters for America

"One rule must hold true: Reporters should write tweets and headlines as though they’re the only part of a story that people will see. Often, they are."

• "False Reports of Sexual Assault Are Rare. But Why Is There So Little Reliable Data About Them?" | Pacific Standard

"Misconceptions about false reporting contribute to underreporting, a very real and widespread phenomenon."

• "Guidance on Coverage of Sept. 11, 20 Years Later" | Asian American Journalists Association

Clarification of terms used in relation to 9/11, including terrorist, war on terror, anti-Muslim sentiment, Islamophobia, Islamist, and jihad.

• "How Language Is Deployed as a Weapon of War" | Mother Jones

Examining the role of euphemisms, such as defense, casualty, readiness, collateral damage, and enhanced interrogation techniques.

• "Is a Cow a 'Who' or a 'Which'?" | The New York Times

She/he/who vs. it/that/which.

• "It’s Not Always Clear What Constitutes Sexual Harassment. Use This Tool to Navigate the Gray Areas." | Harvard Business Review
• "It’s time to change the way the media reports on protests. Here are some ideas." | Nieman Lab
• "Let's Stop Using Metaphors That Legitimatize Extraction, Colonialism, and Violence" | Common Dreams

Discussed: food desert, wasteland, pipeline, uncharted territory, drill down, groundbreaking, pioneer.

• "Nobody Knows What ‘Troll’ Means Anymore—Least of All Mueller" | Wired

"'Trolls will be trolls' is to internet culture what 'boys will be boys' is to rape culture."

• "Not Naming Mass Shooters (Much) Is Now the Norm" | Poynter

"Journalists can employ a number of other descriptors, including 'the assailant,' 'the gunman' or 'the employee,' in addition to calling him the shooter or suspect."

• "On the Value of Empathy, Not Othering" | Scientific American
• "Our Son's Father Is a Donor, Not a Dad" | Scary Mommy
• "Our Updated, Not-So-Secret List of 'Banned' Words" | Serious Eats
• "Please Stop Telling My Children They’re ‘Lucky’" | Scary Mommy
• "Rejecting the 'Free Speech' Frame" | Nieman Lab
• "Stop Calling It a Sex Scandal" | Salon
• "Swearing: Attempts to Ban It Are a Waste of Time—Wherever There Is Language, People Cuss" | The Conversation

"When you use a word that the people you are talking to aren’t expecting, it causes them to sit up and listen."

• "There Are Words Scholars Should No Longer Use to Describe Slavery and the Civil War" | History News Network

Terms discussed: labor camps vs. plantations, enslavers vs. slave-owners, and United States troops vs. Union troops.

• "Tips for Reporting on Traumatic News" | The Buttry Diary
• "Trying to Decide If You Should Publish That Dirty Word? Here's a Step-by-Step Guide" | Poynter
• "What Can You Learn From Studying The Washington Post’s Death Notices? A Lot, as One Avid Reader Found Out." | The Washington Post

"The first thing that struck Betty [Walters] were all the different ways people avoided using the D-word: died."

• "What Words We Use—and Avoid—When Covering People and Incarceration" | The Language Project
• "What’s in a Name? The Battle Over Alternative Meat, Milk and Rice Labeling Rages On." | The Washington Post
• "When Limiting Online Speech to Curb Violence, We Should Be Careful" | Wired

"The power to stop someone you hate from speaking can be used to stop speech by someone you love, or your own speech."

• "Why It's Important to Name the Shooter" | Poynter
• "Why It’s Wrong to Label Students ‘At-Risk’" | The Conversation
• "Why We Say 'Car Accident,' and Why We Need to Stop" | CityLab
• "Words You’ll Never See Me Use in Restaurant Reviews" | San Francisco Chronicle

Terms covered: crack, addictive, guilt, ethnic, authentic, Kaffir lime, slutty, cheap eats, and up-and-coming neighborhood.