Excitable Speech

Taylor & Francis

Excitable SpeechA Politics of the Performative\nAuthor(s): Judith Butler\nFormat: Hardback\nPublisher: Taylor & Francis Ltd, United Kingdom\nImprint: Routledge\nISBN-13: 9780367705251, 978-0367705251\nSynopsis\nWhen we claim to have been injured by language, what kind of claim do we make? - Judith Butler, Excitable Speech\n\nExcitable Speech is widely hailed as a tour de force and one of Judith Butlers most important books. Examining in turn debates about hate speech, pornography and gayness within the US military, Butler argues that words can wound and linguistic violence is its own kind of violence. Yet she also argues that speech is excitable and fluid, because its effects often are beyond the control of the speaker, shaped by fantasy, context and power structures.\n\nIn a novel and courageous move, she urges caution concerning the use of legislation to restrict and censor speech, especially in cases where injurious language is taken up by aesthetic practices to diminish and o.