The Language of Hate

Wednesday, May 2, at 6:30 p.m. in the Scandinavian Cultural Center

Clear language – lucid, rational language – to a man at war with both truth and reason, is an existential threat,…
a direct assault on his obfuscations, contradictions and lies…
(John Le Carré, 2017)

Please join us in welcoming Lid King, Ph.D. as he describes how hate speech has spread across the internet and what can be done to develop a counter narrative.

Chuck Tanner from the Institute for Research and Education on Human Rights will serve as respondent for this inaugural Natalie Mayer Holocaust and Genocide Studies Lecture.

Pacific Lutheran University hosts the lecture Wednesday, May 2 at 6:30 p.m. in the Scandinavian Cultural Center.

Language makes us human, enabling us to communicate and understand one another. Sadly, however, language can also be a weapon used by those who aim to confuse, to undermine and ultimately to destroy. Such language of hate has, if anything, become “normalized” by the massive expansion of online communications as they are exploited both by those in power and by the anonymous purveyors of verbal intimidation.

Thanks to a generous gift by Natalie Mayer, this lecture is free and open to the public.

King has extensive experience of languages teaching, pedagogy and materials development. As Director of the National Centre for Languages (CILT) in the United Kingdom (1992-2003), he played a major part in expanding the work of the organization, spearheading a range of national and European projects.

Between September 2003 and April 2011, King was National Director for Languages for England with responsibility for the implementation of the English Languages Strategy. He also has extensive experience of languages in Europe and beyond. He has advised the European Commission, Council of Europe and national governments on language policy, as well as working on many European projects – reacting to urban multilingualism and most recently “Positive Messengers” a former cross-Europe consortium that worked to develop resources to combat online hate speech.
** note: sadly, the website was sunsetted at the end of 2022.