Book description
In this carefully researched, thought-provoking book, Geoffrey Hughes
examines the trajectory of political correctness and its impact on
public life. Focusing on the historical, semantic, and cultural aspects
of political correctness, it will intrigue anyone interested in this
ongoing debate.
- A unique and intriguing journey through the trajectory of
political correctness and its impact on public life, focusing on the
historical, semantic, and cultural aspects of what PC means
- Explores the origins, progress, content and style of political
correctness, discussing and analyzing around one hundred terms and
lexical formations, from Chaucer and Shakespeare, Marlowe and Swift,
to nursery rhymes, rap and Spike Lee films, David Mamet, J. M.
Coetzee and Philip Larkin
- Offers a detailed semantic analysis of the way that key words have
been exploited both to advance the agendas of political correctness
and to refute them
Geoffrey Hughes
graduated from Oxford, was an Honorary Research Associate at Harvard,
and is Emeritus Professor of the History of the English Language at the
University of the Witwatersrand, Johannesburg. He is the author of
An
Encyclopedia of Swearing
(2006),
A History of English Words
(Wiley-Blackwell, 2000),
Swearing: A Social History
of Foul Language, Oaths and Profanity in English
(1998), and
Words in Time
(1988). He is currently Honorary Research Associate at the University
of Cape Town.
