Linguistics

“The author’s call to action- that it is incumbent on linguists to work towards societal change- is one we should heed. Hercula encourages linguists to refocus the introductory linguistics course to not only educate about how language works and how linguists study it, but to work more deeply to change attitudes towards stigmatized language varieties by in-depth investigation of those varieties, ensuring that everyone goes away with enduring understanding and a desire to change the world.” –Kristin Denham, Western Washington University, USA

The founder of modern linguistics, Ferdinand de Saussure inaugurated semiology, structuralism, and deconstruction and made possible the work of Jacques Derrida, Roland Barthes, Michel Foucault, and Jacques Lacan, thus enabling the development of French feminism, gender studies, New Historicism, and postcolonialism.