The first generation of immigrants were considered to be silent because they did not speak the language. The third generation spoke the language, had access to microphones, but was only allowed to speak on certain topics in certain rolls. To me, that was a continuation of silence and silence. And so i wanted to write about that. But then i thought it was quite cynical to write about silence when, in fact, i could use this as an opportunity to speak. So after years and years these very intense political debates, where i did not see any constructive, productive outcome, i then wanted to understand and find out what is it that leads us to having these very destructive debates. Then i decided to dig
Language is expressive, a way of opening doors or a tool for creating new dialogue. But a tool so powerful can also take us to unforeseen or unintended places. It can create narratives that become fixed, unhelpful, or exclusionary. Kübra Gümüsay is a writer and activist focusing on social justice and public discourse. Her new book is Speaking and Being, which looks at the power of words, asking whether language creates freeing new spaces or plays a part in walling them off. Our host for the discussion is Danielle Sands, Senior Lecturer in Comparative Literature and Culture at Royal Holloway University in London, where she works across disciplines bridging philosophy, literary studies and critical theory.
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