This paper describes an experiment in perception designed to show how language is implicated in bringing forth the reality one sees, and four defining conditions for undoable phenomena are proposed and applied to power to examine the foundations of its inevitability. Ways in which power may be contested, rearticulated and undone are suggested. The paper explores some of the entailments of talking and conceiving our world in these terms. There evolves an understanding of power that is tied to being in dialogue with others and involves the bodily experiences of languaging. The essay explores the "undoability" of power and of phenomena.Griffin, G. (1998). Understanding heterosexism - the subtle continuum of homophobia. Urbana, 21, pp. 33-39. Posner, R.A. (1992). Sex and Reason. Cambridge, MA: Harvard University Press. Posner examines the findings on sex research from a cross-section of various scientific disciplines. Of particular interest for this study are his chapters on the social construction of sex roles, especially through the use of language and power distributions. Mosley-Howard, G. S. and Evans, C. B. (2000). Relationships and contemporary experiences of the African American family. J. Black Studies, 30, pp. 428-452. The title of this book belies its title: legal discourse is not "just words" but speech that has consequences for professionals and laypeople who produce it. The authors analyze selected scholarship on law and language that has addressed this point over the past two decades. This body of work includes courtroom ethnography, participant-observation of mediations, experimental studies, and detailed linguistic analysis of material from legal contexts in several regions of the country. Much of the research profiled in this book analyzes discourse synchronically in contemporary contexts. The authors present historical perspectives in several chapters. The brevity and clarity of the book makes it attractive and it makes |
