Presupposition and Metaphor
February 9, 2007

Discourses of gender provide a set of background of assumptions against which people produce and interpret talk. These assumptions, however, are not static, but are themselves constructed through talk. This class will focus on the workings of gendered presupposition and implicature, and go on to discuss metaphor, which can be a powerful resource in the reproduction of ideology. From sports metaphors in politics to sexual metaphors in business, gender is often at the center of our culture's metaphorical resources.

Class Slides PDF

Readings

Eckert and McConnell-Ginet Chapter 6

Read Lera Boroditsky's article on linguistic relativity for section this week.