Donal Carbaugh, professor of communication at the University of Massachusetts, Amherst, will lecture on "The Pragmatics of Personhood:Languages for Speaking and Silence" on Wednesday, May 5, at 4:15 p.m. in the Kirner-Johnson Red Pit.
Every known communication system uses a distinctive vocabulary to conceive of and evaluate proper communication conduct generally, and speaking and silence in particular. This vocabulary and the communication conduct it makes relevant in each case provide insights into cultural models for being a person.
This presentation will briefly introduce a theory and methodology for examining these terms and conducts. Ethnographic field data will demonstrate, in some detail, the utility of this program of work, drawing implications for understanding cultural versions of identities, actions, and feelings.
Carbaugh is the author of Situating Selves, Talking American, editor of Cultural Communication and Intercultural Contact, and author of "Soul and Self: Soviet and American Cultures in Conversation." Current interests include developing a communication theory of culture and nature, which is particularly sensitive to cultural practices and their use in intercultural encounters.
The talk is sponsored by the Oral Communication Center and the anthropology department.
