STAL organizes a monthly seminar on issues related to the study of slurs, pejoratives, and evaluative and expressive terms in general, from less studied languages.
The titles and abstracts of the 2024-2025 academic year can be seen here.
The titles and abstracts of the 2023-2024 academic year can be seen here.
The next seminar is
OCTOBER 27
Luvell Anderson (University of Illinois, Urbana-Champaign)
"Theories of Reclamation"
Abstract:
Slurs are a complex linguistic phenomenon that requires attention to both linguistic and non-linguistic features for their understanding. One aspect of slurring language that highlights this attention is reclamation. Linguistic reclamation—at least, the version philosophers tend to speak about—refers to the practice of reappropriating slurs for non-derogatory purposes. It is pretty common for members of an oppressed group to reclaim slurs as an act of resistance. Some have attempted to provide theories that account for this phenomenon in general terms. In this talk, I argue that socio-historically specific accounts, rather than general ones, provide more accurate analyses of reclamation.
The schedule for the 2025-2026 academic year is the following:
OCTOBER 27, 2025
Luvell Anderson (University of Illinois, Urbana-Champaign)
"Theories of Reclamation"
NOVEMBER 17, 2025
Claire Horisk (University of Missouri)
TBA
DECEMBER 15, 2025
Xavier Villalba (Autonomous University of Barcelona)
TBA
JANUARY 19, 2026
Daisy Dixon (Cardiff University)
TBA
FEBRUARY 9, 2026
Elisabeth Camp (Rutgers University)
TBA
MARCH 9, 2026
Leopold Hess (Jagiellonian University)
TBA
APRIL 20, 2026
Robin Jeshion (University of Southern California)
TBA
MAY, 2026
Yim Binh Felix Sze (The Chinese University of Hong Kong)
TBA
JUNE, 2026
Mingya Liu (Humboldt University of Berlin)
TBA