This book explores communication on Facebook, developing the new theoretical concept of context design as a way of understanding the dynamics of online interaction. Against a backdrop of fake news and other controversies surrounding online political debate, the authors focus on inadvertent acts of offence on Facebook; that is, when users of the site unwittingly offend or are offended by the airing of political or religious views, or of opinions deemed racist or sexist. Drawing on a survey of Facebook users, they explain why instances of offence occur and what users report doing in response. They argue that Facebook users contribute to the construction of a particular social space, one that is characterised by online conviviality and a belief that Facebook is not the place for serious debate. These views in turn shape the kind of political debate that can take place on the site. This thought-provoking book will appeal to scholars and students of applied linguistics, and anyone interested in the role of social media in contemporary political and social life.
Winner of the 2003 Nobel Prize in Literature. J. M. Coetzee presents a coherent, unorthodox analysis of censorship from the perspective of one who has lived and worked under its shadow. The essays collected here attempt to understand the passion that plays itself out in acts of silencing and censoring. He argues that a destructive dynamic of belligerence and escalation tends to overtake the rivals in any field ruled by censorship. From Osip Mandelstam commanded to compose an ode in praise of Stalin, to Breyten Breytenbach writing poems under and for the eyes of his prison guards, to Aleksander Solzhenitsyn engaging in a trial of wits with the organs of the Soviet state, Giving Offense focuses on the ways authors have historically responded to censorship. It also analyzes the arguments of Catharine MacKinnon for the suppression of pornography and traces the operations of the old South African censorship system. "The most impressive feature of Coetzee's essays, besides his ear for language, is his coolheadedness. He can dissect repugnant notions and analyze volatile emotions with enviable poise."—Kenneth Baker, San Francisco Chronicle Book Review "Those looking for simple, ringing denunciations of censorship's evils will be disappointed. Coetzee explicitly rejects such noble tritenesses. Instead . . . he pursues censorship's deeper, more fickle meanings and unmeanings."—Kirkus Reviews "These erudite essays form a powerful, bracing criticism of censorship in its many guises."—Publishers Weekly "Giving Offense gets its incisive message across clearly, even when Coetzee is dealing with such murky theorists as Bakhtin, Lacan, Foucault, and René; Girard. Coetzee has a light, wry sense of humor."—Bill Marx, Hungry Mind Review "An extraordinary collection of essays."—Martha Bayles, New York Times Book Review "A disturbing and illuminating moral expedition."—Richard Eder, Los Angeles Times Book Review
Wooden's first-ever instructional basketball book and DVD package provides anunprecedented inside look at the offensive system of this basketball coachinglegend.
Overcoming the Spirit of Offense exposes how the spirit of offense has not only infiltrated the body of Christ but how it has damaged the bride and has kept her from fulfilling her destiny and purpose. Because of the invisible wounds that she has suffered, she walks without much power. The book helps the reader to be able to see and recognize how the spirit operates, and it teaches how to come in the opposite spirit called love in order to get free. It is fully equipped with scripture for validation and real-life situations and testimonies that help the reader with their own similar situations. There are testimonies that not only inspire the reader but also challenge them. A testimony of a young woman named Julia will leave the reader in awe of the Fathers heart and what He can do when we choose to love instead of being offended. This teaching has been used to minister to hurting pastors and prophets, drug addicts and broken women, and when they choose to forgive the offender, they are almost always completely healed, both physically and emotionally. It has been used to teach the unbeliever about the love of God, the price that Jesus paid, and how the enemy pottered them through offense. This is a teaching that bears fruit.
A coherent, unorthodox analysis of censorship from the perspective of one who has lived and worked under its shadow. The essays attempt to understand the passion that plays itself out in acts of silencing and censoring and argue that a destructive dynamicof belligerence and escalation tends to overtake the rivals in any field ruled by censorship.
A Study Guide and a Teacher’s Manual Gospel Principles was written both as a personal study guide and as a teacher’s manual. As you study it, seeking the Spirit of the Lord, you can grow in your understanding and testimony of God the Father, Jesus Christand His Atonement, and the Restoration of the gospel. You can find answers to life’s questions, gain an assurance of your purpose and self-worth, and face personal and family challenges with faith.
Free speech has been a historically volatile issue in higher education. In recent years, however, there has been a surge of progressive censorship on campus. This wave of censorship has been characterized by the explosive growth of such policies as "trigger warnings" for course materials; "safe spaces" where students are protected from speech they consider harmful or distressing; "micro-aggression" policies that often strongly discourage the use of words that might offend sensitive individuals; new "bias-reporting" programs that consist of different degrees of campus surveillance; the "dis-invitation" of a growing list of speakers, including many in the mainstream of American politics and values; and the prominent "shouting down" or disruption of speakers deemed inconsistent with progressive ideology. Not to be outdone, external forces on the right are now engaging in social media bullying of speakers and teachers whose views upset them. The essays in this collection, written by prominent philosophers, political scientists, sociologists, and legal scholars, examine the issues at the forefront of the crisis of free speech in higher education. The contributors address the broader historical, cultural, legal, and normative contexts of the current crisis, and take care to analyze the role of "due process" in protecting academic freedom and individuals accused of misconduct. Additionally, the volume is unique in that it advances practical remedies to campus censorship, as the editors and many of the contributors have participated in movements to remedy limitations on free speech and open inquiry. The Value and Limits of Academic Speech will educate academic professionals and informed citizens about the phenomenon of progressive censorship and its implications for higher education and the republic.
Health is something everyone wants. Billions of dollars are spent each year trying to retain or restore health. It is a basic desire of all mankind. Anyone who likes sickness must be mentally sick! Yet, religion has told us that God is the one who wants us sick. It even tries to make us believe that sickness is a blessing. That's just not...
How right-wing political entrepreneurs around the world use religious offense—both given and taken—to mobilize supporters and marginalize opponents. In the United States, elements of the religious right fuel fears of an existential Islamic threat, spreading anti-Muslim rhetoric into mainstream politics. In Indonesia, Muslim absolutists urge suppression of churches and minority sects, fostering a climate of rising intolerance. In India, Narendra Modi's radical supporters instigate communal riots and academic censorship in pursuit of their Hindu nationalist vision. Outbreaks of religious intolerance are usually assumed to be visceral and spontaneous. But in Hate Spin, Cherian George shows that they often involve sophisticated campaigns manufactured by political opportunists to mobilize supporters and marginalize opponents. Right-wing networks orchestrate the giving of offense and the taking of offense as instruments of identity politics, exploiting democratic space to promote agendas that undermine democratic values. George calls this strategy “hate spin”—a double-sided technique that combines hate speech (incitement through vilification) with manufactured offense-taking (the performing of righteous indignation). It is deployed in societies as diverse as Buddhist Myanmar and Orthodox Christian Russia. George looks at the world's three largest democracies, where intolerant groups within India's Hindu right, America's Christian right, and Indonesia's Muslim right are all accomplished users of hate spin. He also shows how the Internet and Google have opened up new opportunities for cross-border hate spin. George argues that governments must protect vulnerable communities by prohibiting calls to action that lead directly to discrimination and violence. But laws that try to protect believers' feelings against all provocative expression invariably backfire. They arm hate spin agents' offense-taking campaigns with legal ammunition. Anti-discrimination laws and a commitment to religious equality will protect communities more meaningfully than misguided attempts to insulate them from insult.