Overview
Write a thoughtful journal entry that addresses the prompt provided for this module.Your journal should:
Demonstrate your understanding of the week's concepts. Make meaningful connections between the material and your own experiences, observations, or future communication situations.
Include examples to support your ideas.Reflect on how this information may influence your communication moving forward.
There are no "right" or "wrong" answers. I am looking for thoughtful reflection, critical thinking, and evidence that you engaged with the course material.
What we say matters. The words we say have intended and unintended consequences – some positive and some negative. Often we think of the big things – the overt and obvious things that people say. But what about the little things - the not-so-obvious but impactful things that people say? The little word or phrase that someone said, buried in their conversation. What about the words that don’t sit well with us and we keep turning over in our minds? The things that people say that we try to dismiss but can’t. After all,words help create reality.
Are these words as important as the big things? Why or why not?
For example, what about dog whistles? (Merriam-Webster Dictionary defines a dog whistle as “an expression or statement that has a secondary meaning intended to be understood only by a particular group of people.”)
What implications do these aspects of language have on our society and our culture?