I’ll have to admit that I was a bit perplexed when I heard linguistic anthropologist Elizabeth Keating say, “There is a very strong preference for agreement in conversation in the U.S.” I couldn’t believe my ears — even the Pew Research Center pegged political polarization as the defining feature of modern U.S. politics. And it’s […]
Karl Galinsky
A Monumental Decision: What to do About Jefferson Davis and the Challenges of Commemoration?
Let’s talk about statues, or one statue in particular, and all of the trouble a cold, hard, unfeeling thing can cause. Imagine you are the president of a very large, prestigious institution, representative of the spirit and aspirations of a region. Your greatest benefactor, a former regent and a veteran, stipulates in his will the […]