Fighting Words! A Critical Approach to Linguistic Transgression, looks at some of these linguistic dumpster fires–what Dr. Russell calls “acts of linguistic transgression,” or the ways people cross boundaries through language.

Much of Dr. Russell’s research seeks to better understand moments that bring up our emotions. Fighting Words! certainly fits that bill, and stems from his years teaching HUM 15 (Language and Identity), a class that teaches students to critically think about the ways in which we use language–especially taboo language–while developing their writing and research skills.

He explains the necessity of learning about linguistic transgression by likening it to disease. “We don’t like the fact that there are many physical, biological diseases in the world, but we expect people to be studying them,” he says.  “It’s the same thing with language. We don’t have to like things in order to study them. The things that we leave in the shadows often gain more power, so if we can shine some light in there…maybe we’ll disrupt some of it as well. We’ll certainly understand ourselves better.”

Dr. Russell makes this research accessible, both in his book and in the classroom, by focusing on real-life examples. From what he calls “the Karen phenomenon,” to the Donald Trump Access Hollywood tape, to Cardi B and Megan Thee Stallion’s “WAP” (which he calls an “act of linguistic rebellion,” something that seeks to reappropriate or reclaim language that is typically deemed offensive), his goal is to find great examples that can reach the widest possible audience.

Access the book at Taylor & Francis Group