Stream Your Event | Partners | Speakers CART ITEMS: - | CHECKOUT

or Log In

(recommended)

Share your favorite videos with friends
Comment on videos and join the conversation
Get personalized recommendations
Enjoy exclusive offers

Purchased a FORA.tv video on another website? Login here with the temporary account credentials included in your receipt.

Username or Email:
Password:
Forgot your password? Keep me logged in

Pay-Per-View
business
environment
politics
science
technology
culture

Free Preview

Nunberg: Ascent of the A-word, Incivility vs. A--hole

Watch Full Video | free previews

Commonwealth Club of California

Commonwealth Club

Likes

Dislikes

RATE

1,836 Views

Info
Bio
Chapters
Preview
Zoom In

Partner:: Commonwealth Club
Location:: SF Club Office
San Francisco, CA
Event Date:: 08.15.12
Speaker:: Geoffrey Nunberg
Tags:: linguistics; profanity; society

Summary: Geoffrey Nunberg is the author of Ascent of the A-Word: Assholism, the First Sixty Years. He argues that words like "incivility" are not used by people in everyday life to express their true attitudes. Nunberg says that words like "asshole" are more accurate, authentic expressions.

Bio

Geoffrey Nunberg

Geoffrey Nunberg is an adjunct full professor at U.C. Berkeley's School of Information. He is also a researcher at the Center for the Study of Language and Information at Stanford University, and a consulting professor in the Stanford Department of Linguistics. His linguistics research includes work in semantics and pragmatics, text classification, and written-language structure, and he also works and writes on the social and cultural implications of digital technologies.

Mr. Nunberg does a feature on language on the NPR show "Fresh Air" and has written numerous commentaries on language for the Sunday New York Times Week in Review, as well as for other periodicals. He’s also contributed occasional "letters from America" to the BBC4 series "State of the Union" and was the former chair of the usage panel of the American Heritage Dictionary.

The full title of his most recent book is Talking Right: How Conservatives Turned Liberalism into a Tax-Raising, Latte-Drinking, Sushi-Eating, Volvo-Driving, New York Times-reading, Body-Piercing, Hollywood-Loving, Left-Wing Freak Show.

Chapters

: Watch Full Program

01 hr 01 min 47 sec

Add to Profile
01.: Introduction

02 min 18 sec

Add to Profile
02.: Geoffrey Nunberg's Opening Remarks

00 min 38 sec

Add to Profile
03.: "Naughty Appeal" of Titling a Book with Profanity

01 min 51 sec

Add to Profile
04.: Social and Cultural Context of Profanity

02 min 00 sec

Add to Profile
05.: Why the A-Word is the Theme of the Book

04 min 24 sec

Add to Profile
06.: The Cultural Fascination of the A-Hole

04 min 13 sec

Add to Profile
07.: Why the A-Word is Different than Other Pejoratives

04 min 22 sec

Add to Profile
08.: Adoption and Authenticity of the A-Word

03 min 41 sec

Add to Profile
09.: The Moral Implication of the A-Word

04 min 20 sec

Add to Profile
10.: Audience Questions

00 min 29 sec

Add to Profile
11.: Q1: Are There Various Levels of A-Holism?

02 min 06 sec

Add to Profile
12.: Q2: Are a Lot More Men A-holes than Women?

02 min 38 sec

Add to Profile
13.: Q3: What's the Difference Between Narcissist and A-Hole?

01 min 48 sec

Add to Profile
14.: Q4: How Should One React to Being Labeled an A-Hole?

01 min 08 sec

Add to Profile
15.: Q5: Is Driving the Worst Manifestation of A-Holism?

01 min 41 sec

Add to Profile
16.: Q6: Prevalence of A-Word Symbolic of American Degradation?

01 min 35 sec

Add to Profile
17.: Q7: How Does a New Word Go Viral and Enter the Lexicon?

01 min 23 sec

Add to Profile
18.: Q8: The Political Relevance of the Word "Entitlement"?

03 min 05 sec

Add to Profile
19.: Q9: What Professions Have the Most A-Holes?

03 min 30 sec

Add to Profile
20.: Q10: Describing Donald Trump's A-Holism?

01 min 34 sec

Add to Profile
21.: Q11: What's the Difference Between Effective and Ineffective A-Holes?

03 min 16 sec

Add to Profile
22.: Q12: Possible for Subjectivity in A-Holism?

01 min 40 sec

Add to Profile
23.: Q13: Contenders for New Profanity?

03 min 05 sec

Add to Profile
24.: Q14: Why Do We Talk with Vulgarity?

01 min 25 sec

Add to Profile
25.: Q15: Who are Some Likeable A-Holes?

03 min 38 sec

Add to Profile
: Watch Full Program

01 hr 01 min 47 sec

Add to Profile

Nunberg: A-Word Embodies the True Attitudes of Society

03 min 09 sec

Add to Profile

Goeffrey Nunberg, author of Ascent of the A-Word: Assholism, the First Sixty Years, discusses why words like "incivility" simply do not capture the true nature of people's attitudes. Nunberg argues that words like "asshole" are more accurate, authentic methods of expression.
Watch Full Program

01 hr 01 min 47 sec

Add to Profile