Critical Thinking 2025 Workshop 2 - Why is language so powerful?

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What are critical thinking skills? Jenna Ilet

Workshop 2: How can language influence our behaviour? Katie Inwood

How did language shape the outcome of the 2024 US presidential election? (PPE) – Andrew Colmer

Charlie Chaplin and the language of silent film (Drama) Megan Bruton

How do speech and language disorders affect speech? (Psychology) Jack Gamblin 17 How do good public speakers influence their audience? (History) Petros Spanou

Effective communication (Critical Thinking) Alfie Dry and Ima Lyer

Language in academia: sharing scientific discoveries through publications – Anna Huhn

How can language affect pain perception? (Medicine) Jonathan Hampshire 29 How does language affect the outcome of legal cases in the court of law? (Law) – Petros Spanou

How can enforced multilingualism be harmful? (English) Patrick Hayes

The language of influencers and the power to persuade (Psychology) Jenna Ilett

Expressionism and the Politics of Saying Nothing (Art) Lily Middleton-Mansell

Philip Pullman’s Fantasy City (Oxford Spotlight) Lily Middleton-Mansell

Welcome

TO INSPIRE CRITICAL THINKING 2025

Pause for a moment, read these words out loud, and think about what is happening! Your eyes are focused on a row of little squiggles.

These register as images on the retina at the back of your eye which converts them into electrical impulses sent by your optic nerves to a part of your brain. Here your mind interprets them as words whose meanings you learned in childhood that have been strung together by a set of rules into a sentence. The sentence informs you of something that I wanted you to know. Should you wish to, you can now convert into sound your own words chosen from those stored in your brain, emit them from your vocal chords through your mouth, and in this way inform me of what you think about the sentence. You are using language: you are performing what is by the far the single most important characteristic of humans.

Welcome to St John’s College’s 2025 Inspire Critical Thinking programme, which is all about language: what it is, where it came from, and the varied roles it plays in our diverse and complicated social lives.

Our information comes via language from many sources, newspapers and broadcasting, the internet, social media, and advertising. Some are truthful and balanced, some biased towards one point of view, and some deliberately aimed to mislead and misinform. To understand the world and make it a better place for you to live in, you must learn to critically assess rather than unthinkingly accept what you hear and read. Nothing is more important to you as you face the problems and hazards the world will throw at you than how to understand and make the best use of language.

You will be offered four successive workshops, each presenting you with a variety of different aspects of language, ranging from the humanities, the arts, medicine, maths and science. They have been written by my St John’s College colleagues, some of them established world-renowned experts in their field, others up and coming young students.

Enjoy it!

Tom Kemp: Associate Editor

How to submit a superchallenge

There are some activities that offer a chance for you to win an Amazon voucher! Your entry should be emailed to inspire@sjc.ox.ac.uk, saved as a PDF document where possible. In your email, please let us know:

■ Your name

■ Your School

■ Your year group

■ Whether you are happy for us to share your work on social media.

Submit your super challenge piece by the end of the month for a chance to win. You may only enter one super challenge per workshop.

What are critical thinking Skills?

Think about the last time you read a new piece of information. Perhaps it was a news article, a page in a textbook, or a social media post. Regardless of the content, you may have approached the information in similar ways. You may have questioned the author’s intent, whether the information is reliable, or if you agree with the argument being expressed. Critical thinking skills can often be automatic and are important across all contexts. Using critical thinking skills can help you make sense of the world around you. But what do we actually mean when we talk about critical thinking skills?

Critical thinking is an umbrella term that includes many different types of skills. We have identified the most important of these skills, and developed a framework of five key Inspire Learning Skills. These have been broken down into simple criteria, so you know exactly what to do to work on any particular skill. Opportunities to develop these Inspire Learning Skills have been embedded across the four Critical Thinking workshops in a variety of ways, including polls, quizzes and super challenges. Any opportunity to develop one of the 5 skills will be indicated by a coloured icon, with a specific skill highlighted in the

corner of the article page. By engaging with these activities, you will have the opportunity to develop skills that will help you solve problems, understand information from a range of sources, make informed judgements based on evidence, and share your opinions confidently. There are also resources to help you independently explore the topic in more detail. These skills will be useful throughout your time at school, but also beyond, as you make decisions about your life, education and careers.

How can language influence our behaviour?

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Ever heard the expression ‘the pen is mightier than the sword’? Language, whether it’s written or spoken, can have a hugely significant impact in our lives, from influencing our behaviour to shaping our thoughts, emotions, social interactions and decision making. The materials in this workshop will give you the opportunity to consider the impact of your language. How does the way you speak, what you say, and how you say it, affect the world and those around you?

It’s important to consider the connotations of language when we express ourselves. Positive or negative connotations in language can evoke corresponding emotional responses - think of ‘freedom’ vs ‘threat’. Public speakers will try to construct their speeches so that they will feed into their audience’s emotions, quite evident in election campaigns, though whether their choice of words is appropriate is a different matter! For influencers too, their viral phrases and sponsored campaigns may weigh heavily on our decision making.

Language also demonstrates its power in our legal systems. In the courts, the words used by prosecutors and the defence need to be free of any bias, but what happens when their choice of words resonates with the jurors? But it’s not just about the choice of words. We also need to consider the impact of when there is no choice: when colonisers forced their language upon indigenous people across the world.

Our renowned critical thinker, Ima Lyer, returns in this workshop to explore how to communicate effectively to help you to learn how to avoid ambiguity in your ideas and arguments.

Katie Inwood Editor

How did language shape the outcome of the 2024 US presidential election?

Author: Andrew Colmer, Head of History and Politics at Furze Platt Senior School

Language has always been an important part of politics. Historically, politicians have spent hours crafting their speeches and practicing their delivery in order to maximise the impact of what they have to say. Some of the most successful politicians are remembered exactly because of what they have said. From Tony Blair’s performance in Prime Ministers Questions in April 1995 (“There is one very big difference – I lead my party, he follows his”) to Obama’s Keynote Speech in the 2004 Democratic Nominating Convention (“there is not a liberal America and a conservative America; there is the United States of America”) words have been used to attack, persuade and win over those listening. This makes sense of course as politicians are constantly fighting to retain the will of the electorate who they represent.

In the 2024 US presidential election, it felt like more words than ever before were being said in an attempt to win over the electorate. Donald Trump (Republican) was challenging Kamala Harris (Democrat) for the White House and both offered entirely juxtaposing visions of what the outcome would mean for Americans. Trump returned to the line that has become a part of the Republican Party’s DNA; he promised that an election victory would enable

him to “Make America Great Again”. In contrast, Harris went on the attack, challenging his prior record from 2016 to 2020 to echoed chants of “We’re Not Going Back!”.

Prior to Election Day on November 5th, it felt as if the words being used by each candidate were doing nothing to convince the electorate. Generally speaking, the US electorate is entrenched into two camps. Approximately 45% support the Republican Party and 45% support the Democrats. Fundamentally, the Harris Camp’s accusations of Trump being “weird” or a “fascist”, or Trump calling Harris “Lyin’ Kamala” didn’t look to be shifting public opinion.

Voters appeared to be dug in… Gaffs about “crazy cat ladies”, Puerto Rico being a floating island of garbage or Taylor Swift’s endorsement of Harris didn’t seem to be shifting entrenched opinions.

Trump returned to the line that has become a part of the Republican Party’s DNA; he promised that an election victory would enable him to “Make America Great Again”. In contrast, Harris went on the attack, challenging his prior record from 2016 to 2020 to echoed chants of “We’re Not Going Back!”.

And yet, when you look at the outcome there were some significant shifts from the electorate. Traditionally, ethnic minorities have supported the Democrats with Biden winning 87% of black Americans and 65% of Hispanic Americans in 2020. However, in 2024 Trump’s support from ethnic minorities rose from 21% (2016) to 33%. This was particularly significant when considering the change around Hispanic men (from 34% to 54%) and Black men (from 13% to 21%). What was also surprising was that Trump’s share of 18-29 year olds rose from 36% to 43% and his share of the young female vote increased from 33% to 40%.

How do we explain these trends? Let’s return to language and the words of the great orator Cicero who might hold the answer: “If you wish to persuade me, you must think my thoughts, feel my feelings, and speak my words.” On election day, data was collected on the issues that mattered to the electorate were the state of democracy and the economy. When focusing on Trump voters, the most

important issue was the economy. And it is here where his words seem to have had the impact. Throughout the election campaign, Trump promised a “manufacturing renaissance”, bringing jobs back to America, protecting American industry through tariffs and calling Harris the “Tax Queen”. Whilst many economists suggest his plans will harm the economy, in the words of Cicero, Trump thought the electorates thoughts, felt their feelings and spoke their words. This directly contradicted Harris, who in an interview with The View said that “there is not a thing that comes to mind” that she would have done differently to Biden in the past four years. This was particularly damaging to voters who were concerned about the cost of living. Trump spoke about “Making America Great Again” and “Making America Affordable Again”; Harris avoided the issue.

This was an election that was too close to call. In the end, what was said (and indeed what was not) will have ultimately shifted the electorate. It was not fascism, jokes about migration or popular endorsement. As Bill Clinton’s adviser pointed out said, “It’s the economy, stupid.” And whilst economists will debate if Trump is speaking sense on the economy, what mattered is that he spoke about it at all.

Throughout the election campaign, Trump promised a “manufacturing renaissance”, bringing jobs back to America, protecting American industry through tariffs and calling Harris the “Tax Queen”. Like this article? A course in

If you want to find out more: ● For more on Cicero and public speaking

● Video: the speech that made Obama

● A review of some of the most effective speakers

Should politicians be bound to their promises? Vote now! X

Politicians often promise lots in speeches in order to win over the electorate, yet fail to deliver on these promises. Should politicians be bound by their promises, and if so what should the consequence be for failing to meet them? Have your say in our forum.

“I’ve never had any message”: Charlie Chaplin and the language of silent film

Author: Megan Bruton, English graduate and Access officer at St John’s College, Oxford

The Oxford English Dictionary defines ‘language’ as a “system of spoken or written communication”, and “(also) a formal system of communication by gesture [e.g.,] sign language”. The Dictionary implies language is something fixed in place: it is a ‘system’, it is understood by ‘spoken’ or ‘written’ words, or gestures, and its purpose is ‘communication’.

But what happens if we try to communicate without a formal language? No words, no writing, no system of signs… How do we understand information without these things? Can we call such communication a ‘language’? And does communication even have to be the main purpose of such a language?

During the era of silent film (approx. 1894-1931), many actors performed without the use of spoken language, written language, or sign language. Films were usually underscored by music instead. Even if actors spoke to each other onscreen, the audience could not hear them – so more emphasis was placed on physical acting. Whilst silent films are often viewed as lacking in entertainment today, at the height of their popularity, there was no feeling that their lack of sound or formal language deprived the audience of anything. So, maybe a ‘language’ without words, writing, or signs does

exist, and maybe the communication of information is not the main task it tries to achieve.

How might we define a language of silent film?

Charles ‘Charlie’ Chaplin, one of the most famous silent film performers, used body language, facial expressions, physical movement, costume, and props to tell stories and create comedy. He said his films were “to amuse. I never wanted to instruct. I’ve never had any message”. If the purpose of Chaplin’s silent film ‘language’ was not to convey a

Chaplin believed that sound and voice actually limit how we express ourselves, not expand it.

‘message’, then what was it for? His comic performances brought out multiple meanings and associations, at the same time as being ‘just for fun’. Chaplin believed that sound and voice actually limit how we express ourselves, not expand it. He argued that “the spoken word reduces everybody to a certain glibness”, suggesting that formal language is limiting because its meaning is specific, rather than silent acting, which allows meaning to be ambiguous, open to the audience’s interpretation. Chaplin felt that silent acting was easier for everyone to understand than spoken language, calling it “universal”. Put simply, the language of silent film – body language, facial expression, and physicality – is richer in possibility and meaning, because it exists for the audience to interpret in many different ways.

Let’s take an example. In a sequence from his film, The Circus (1928), Chaplin performs a story which is easy to follow. Chaplin escapes from a runaway horse by jumping through a door which turns out to lead to a lion’s cage. Chaplin

Charles ‘Charlie’ Chaplin

takes the audience through a series of slapstick moments, where he accidentally locks himself in the cage, attracts the attention of a nearby dog, and discovers a tiger next-door. He eventually escapes, ending the sequence by hiding at the top of a telephone wire. The fast-moving action all takes place within the cage, apart from when Chaplin escapes at the very end. It is concentrated in one space, focusing on a very minimal cast of characters, and, of course, has no spoken language.

Yet, in four minutes, Chaplin portrays a whole range of emotions – fear, pride, anger, excitement – all whilst keeping comedy at the centre. Fear, anxiety, and terror are finely balanced with comedy, and Chaplin’s lack of spoken language means these aspects of the film can be experienced all at once, and differently by each audience member. Is the sequence more scary, or more funny? Is Chaplin’s character really scared of the lion, or is he only performing? Does the character have any threedimensional quality to him? Where in the world even is this circus? Chaplin lets us decide.

In an age of information-overload via social media, the language of silent film is something we should seek to re-adopt? Could it give our brains some rest, and space to think? Could it help us to make our own decisions about what we watch? Have your say in our forum.

Instead of giving us a surfeit of specific information through spoken language (like fast-talking TikTokers do today), Chaplain’s multifaceted acting creates stories with ambiguity. The language of silent film might require more brainwork from its audience, but it is less of an information-overload on our brains, too. In the absence of formal language, we must ask questions and think critically about our responses to what we see, rather than passively consuming it.

SUPER CHALLENGE

● Write down 3 things Chaplin does which create his silent film ‘language’.

● Write down 3 different meanings you could take away from this clip.

● Consider: What are Chaplin’s character’s motivations? Is the sequence more sinister or more comic? Does it have to be more one than the other?

Watch this clip from Charlie Chaplin’s The Kid (1921)

Speech and language disorders

How do speech and language disorders affect speech?

Author: Jack Gamblin, Medicine student at St John’s College, Oxford

Ever wondered why some people struggle with talking or understanding others? Let’s dive into the world of speech and language disorders - it’s more interesting than you might think!

Speech and language disorders are conditions that affect how a person communicates. They can make it hard for someone to speak clearly, understand what others are saying, or use language in social situations. These disorders can affect anyone, and they’re more common than you might realise, with approximately 7% of children in the UK having a Specific Language Impairment. There are several types of speech and language disorders.

Articulation Disorders

This is when someone has trouble making certain speech sounds correctly. For example, they might say “wabbit” instead of “rabbit” or “thoup” instead of “soup”. Why this occurs can vary from structural abnormalities of the mouth to neurological conditions affecting control over the speech muscles. These can occur in several forms:

• Lisping involves difficulty pronouncing ‘s’ and ‘z’ sounds, often producing a ‘th’ sound instead. For example, “sun” might be pronounced

as “thun”.

• Rhotacism is characterised by trouble pronouncing the ‘r’ sound correctly. A person might say “wed” instead of “red”.

• Fronting is when individuals replace sounds made at the back of the mouth with sounds made at the front. For example, saying “tar” instead of “car”.

Fluency Disorders

Ever heard of stuttering? That’s a type of fluency disorder. It involves disruptions in the flow of speech, like repetitions, prolongations, or blocks.

Cluttering is another fluency disorder characterized by a rapid and/or irregular speaking rate, along with excessive disfluencies and poor speech clarity.

Voice Disorders

Ever lost your voice from screaming at a concert? You have temporarily experienced a voice disorder. These affect the quality, pitch, or volume of a person’s voice. It might sound hoarse, breathy, or strained. This can occur for many different reasons:

• Neurological conditions: Disorders affecting the nerves that control the vocal cords, such as Parkinson’s disease or multiple sclerosis.

• Aging: Natural changes in the larynx and vocal cords as we age can affect voice production. As people age, the vocal cords can become less elastic and more rigid, which can affect voice quality, pitch, and volume.

• Trauma: Physical injury to the vocal cords or larynx can cause voice disorders.

• Other: Many other conditions can cause vocal cord changers such as smoking, cancer, and thyroid overgrowth. So, if someone comes to see a Doctor with a sudden change from their normal voice, it is certainly something to consider!

Language Disorders

Expressive Language Disorder is where individuals have difficulty expressing thoughts and ideas through speech. A great example of this is seen in Broca’s aphasia. This is a condition where Broca’s area (a region of the brain on the left half of the brain) is damaged. This region is part of an important connected network in the brain allowing speech to be understood and produced. This area is specifically the speech production area. So, when damaged, people can understand what you say to them, but struggle to talk back to you. For example:

“Are you hungry?” “Y-......y...ye.......y...y...yes.”

Receptive Language Disorder is where people have trouble understanding what others are saying. This is again part of the brain network involved in language. This time, it is Wernicke’s area (again in the left hemisphere) that is damaged in Wernicke’s aphasia. This region is responsible for understanding what someone is saying. Without the proper functioning of this area

someone will be able to talk fluently but not at all relevant to what someone else has said. For instance:

“Have you watched the Euros?” “Apples grow on trees in Spain, and I like to eat at one o’clock.”

Social (Pragmatic) Language Disorder makes it hard for someone to use language appropriately in social situations. They might struggle with things like taking turns in conversation or understanding non-literal language (sarcasm, exaggeration, etc.). This is seen in individuals with autism spectrum disorder.

Treatment

How are these disorders diagnosed and treated? Speech and Language Pathologists (SLP) specialise in communication disorders. The SLP will do an assessment, which might include interviews with the person and their family, observing the person’s speech and language skills, and formal tests to evaluate specific aspects of communication.

Treatment usually involves speech therapy. The SLP will work one-on-

one with the person to improve their communication skills. This might include exercises to practice specific sounds, activities to build vocabulary, or strategies to improve social communication.

Take Home Message

Remember, everyone communicates differently. By understanding speech and language disorders, we can create a more inclusive and supportive environment for everyone. So, the next time you meet someone who communicates differently, remember what you’ve learned. A little understanding can go a long way in making everyone feel heard and valued!

SUPER CHALLENGE

A surgeon is conducting brain surgery and accidentally cuts the arcuate bundle that connects the Broca’s and Wernicke’s areas in the brain. The Broca and Wernicke area are both still intact, however.

What do you think will happen to this person’s speech? Write your answer in 100-200 words.

Use the Conduction aphasia video and article in the ‘find out more’ resources to help you come to your answer!

If you’d like to find out more:

● Video: Expressive Aphasia - Sarah Scott - Teenage Stroke Survivor

● Video: Counting to 10 with Aphasia

● Academic paper: Aninda B. Acharya; Forshing Lui; Christopher V. Maani, ‘Conduction Aphasia, National Library of Medicine (2024)

“I WILL RETURN AND I WILL BE A MILLION”

Eva Perón

“NOW

THIS IS NOT THE END. IT IS NOT EVEN THE BEGINNING OF THE END. BUT IT IS, PERHAPS, THE END OF THE BEGINNING”

Winston Churchill

Four great speakers

“POPULAR APPLAUSE VEERS WITH THE WIND”

John

Bright

“TRY TO BE A RAINBOW IN SOMEONE’S CLOUD”

Maya Angelou

How do good public speakers influence their audience?

Author: Dr Petros Spanou, Historian of Modern Britain, Oxford University

Whatmakes a great speaker? Is it their effective storytelling and powers of narration? Is it their confidence and clarity? Is it the ability to persuade and to inform? Is it their body language, eye contact, tone of voice, and communication skills? Or is it a combination of all the above? There is no right or wrong answer to this question, of course. Whatever the case, throughout history great speakers have been able to connect with their audience in a profound and meaningful way, and to have an impact on their hearts and minds. Much of our modern understanding of great public speaking originates in the ancient Greek conceptualisation of rhetoric as an effective and artful form

Language is power, and this is exemplified in how great speakers have wielded this power by skilfully using language to construct an argument, to critique, to challenge, and to motivate. The words of great speakers can be the source of inspiration and moral direction in hard and difficult times. They can also encapsulate a moment in history, a key turning-point, or the spirit of the age.

of speech used to persuade.

Great speakers of the past were able to change the course of history, and their words still resonate to this day. They also have something valuable to teach us. Language is power, and this is exemplified in how great speakers have wielded this power by skilfully using language to construct an argument, to critique, to challenge, and to motivate. The words of great speakers can be the source of inspiration and moral direction in hard and difficult times. They can also encapsulate a moment in history, a key turning-point, or the spirit of the age. Reading their words offers a window into the past, allowing us to understand how language has shaped the world we live in. It is important to note, however, that if we interpret ‘greatness’ in public speaking in the sense of ‘effectiveness’, then the words of some speakers which might be considered ‘great’, such as Adolf Hitler, were certainly not a force for good. ‘Greatness’ is therefore subjective and context-specific, and can prove to be quite a tricky and slippery term.

In this article, we will focus on four great speakers whose speeches we still read and admire today for their powers of exposition and persuasion.

These figures are John Bright, Winston Churchill, Eva Perón, and Maya Angelou.

John Bright (1811-89)

John Bright was one of the most important political figures in Victorian Britain. A leading voice of political dissent and liberalism, he was a long-term MP, representing Durham, Manchester, and Birmingham, as well as a cabinet minister in William E. Gladstone’s governments.

Bright is remembered today for being the most skilled orator of his age. One contemporary writer described him as ‘the prince of English speakers’. Karl Marx wrote that Bright was ‘one of the most gifted orators that England has ever produced.’

Bright’s public and parliamentary speeches – his ‘political sermons’, as he called them – were recorded and published in many newspapers and magazines in Britain and abroad. These speeches therefore attracted lots of public interest, and people were always interested in what he had to say about a range of domestic issues and foreign affairs.

Such was the impact of his words, that when president Abraham Lincoln was assassinated and his blood-stained clothes were searched, a cutting from a newspaper article containing Bright’s words recommending Lincoln’s re-election was found in one of his pockets.

Bright was also a passionate critic of war. He forged his reputation as the most eloquent anti-war speaker during the Crimean War, delivering many speeches in and out of parliament. One speech in particular, the intensely affective ‘Angel of Death’ speech of February 1855, moved people in the galleries of the House of Commons to tears. Other politicians, such as the Conservative Benjamin Disraeli, told Bright immediately after that he would have given everything to have made that speech.

Winston Churchill (1874-1965)

Britain’s greatest statesman who led his country to victory in World War II, was also a very skilful and witty orator. He is known to have written pieces which addressed the question of the art of rhetoric, and even won the Nobel Prize for Literature in 1953 ‘for his mastery of historical and biographical description as well as for brilliant oratory in defending exalted human values’.

In 1897, he penned an essay, ‘The Scaffolding of Rhetoric’ (unpublished) which outlined key principles of rhetoric and effective public speaking. These principles were based on his classical studies and other orators and writers whom he admired.

Analogy; and A tendency to wild extravagance. By the latter, Churchill meant that ‘the emotions of the speaker and the listeners are alike aroused and some expression must be found that will represent all they are feeling’.

Some of his most famous and often-quoted speeches were delivered during and after the war. Perhaps the most well-known speech is his ‘We shall fight on the beaches’, delivered on 4 June 1940 in the House of Commons.

Click on this link to listen to Bright’s ‘Angel of Death’ speech. How would you describe its language?

‘Of all the talents bestowed upon men’, Churchill wrote in the opening of the essay, ‘none is so precious as the gift of oratory. He who enjoys it wields a power more durable than that of a great king. He is an independent force in the world.’

The principles Churchill identified include: Correctness of diction; Rhythm; Accumulation of argument;

You can listen to the speech here, or alternatively you can read a transcription here

Of all the talents bestowed upon men’, Churchill wrote in the opening of the essay, ‘none is so precious as the gift of oratory. He who enjoys it wields a power more durable than that of a great king. He is an independent force in the world.’

Eva Perón (1919-52)

Born in Los Toldos, Argentina, in 1919, Eva Perón became the second wife of Argentinian president Juan Perón. Her family was poor, and when she was fifteen years old she decided to pursue an acting career in Buenos Aires. Her marriage to Juan took place in 1945, in the midst of political turmoil following the Argentine Revolution. He had led the 1943 coup. Juan was arrested as a result, but following his release he decided to throw his hat into the presidential race, eventually taking office in 1946. Eva was active in the campaign, and she won the admiration of ordinary Argentinians.

Because of her actions and her work-behind-the-scenes in politics, several reforms were passed, including welfare provision, health-care reforms, higher wages for workers and women’s enfranchisement. She remained extremely popular even after her death, and her life inspired the musical Evita as well as a movie starring Madonna.

Eva Perón was a powerful orator. Her speeches incorporated populist rhetoric, and were able directly to speak to the hearts and minds of the

masses – hence their adoration of her, who in their eyes became a sort of spiritual national leader.

LINK >

You can listen to Eva Peron’s final speech (1951) here.

Maya Angelou (1928-2014)

Maya Angelou was one of the most important, highly acclaimed, awardwinning, and beloved American poets, as well as a civil rights activist,

working alongside Martin Luther King and Malcolm X. Her most famous work is the largely autobiographical book I Know Why the Caged Bird Sings (1969). Her poetry was collected in various volumes published between 1971 to 1990. Her poems often dealt with the themes of race and sex, and drew on her personal experiences. She once described her work with the following words:

‘Once I got into it I realized I was following a tradition established by Frederick Douglass—the slave narrative—speaking in the firstperson singular talking about the first-person plural, always saying ‘I’ meaning ‘we.’ And what a responsibility. Trying to work with that form, the autobiographical mode, to change it, to make it bigger, richer, finer, and more inclusive in the twentieth century has been a great challenge for me.’

Her speeches were powerful, emotional, and affective. Their words had a profound influence on audiences, and their messages resonate until today. Her speeches touched upon the tenacity of the human spirit, and provided a source of enlightenment and courage to those who listened to them or read them.

LINK >

Here’s an example. How does this speech make you feel?

Who would you say is a great orator? Have your say in our forum.

Who would you say is a great orator?

Have your say in our forum.

Critical thinking –effective communication

Author: Alfie Dry, Human Sciences Graduate, St John’s College, Oxford

Effective communication involves the ability to clearly and accurately articulate thoughts, ideas, and information in a way that is understandable and meaningful to others. It is an essential component of critical thinking because it ensures that ideas, arguments, and analyses are conveyed in a way that fosters understanding and promotes further debate.

Ima Lyer is running for local parish councillor and wants to make sure she communicates her ideas effectively to encourage more voters. Watch her advice below.

1 2 3

Clarity and Precision:

• Clearly define ideas and avoid ambiguity.

• Use specific and accurate language to reduce misinterpretation.

• For example, instead of saying, “The results are okay,” one might say, “The results indicate a 10% improvement in efficiency.”

Active Listening:

• Engage in two-way communication by listening carefully to others’ perspectives and responding thoughtfully. This builds mutual understanding and allows for addressing any questions or concerns effectively.

Adaptability:

• Tailor communication to the audience’s knowledge level, interests, and cultural background. For example, explaining a scientific concept differently to experts versus laypeople.

Critical Awareness:

4 5 6 7

• Evaluate the strength and validity of your own and others’ arguments before communicating.

• Acknowledge potential biases or counterarguments and address them proactively.

Empathy and Respect:

• Show understanding and respect for diverse viewpoints.

• Avoid dismissive language and seek common ground in discussions.

Use of Evidence:

• Support statements with credible data, examples, or logical reasoning.

Feedback and Reflection:

• Seek and consider feedback to improve communication effectiveness.

Language in academia: sharing scientific discoveries through publications

Author: Dr Anna Huhn, postdoctoral researcher in Molecular Biology at Oxford University

From the beginning, the sharing of observations and discoveries has always been essential for scientific progress. Initially, scientists used personal letters and private meetings to exchange ideas. However, as the research community grew at the end of the 17th century during the Scientific Revolution in Europe, letters began to be publicly shared, read aloud at society meetings, or circulated as monthly journals to reach a wider audience. This development led to the creation of one of the first journals, “Philosophical Transactions,” by the newly founded Royal Society 350 years ago. The journal featured a selection of articles—referred to as “papers”—that described recent scientific discoveries. What began as a non-commercial practice has evolved into a lucrative industry today. Currently, around 100,000 journals publish approximately 3 million papers each year. Each paper details the research findings and describes the methods used to achieve those results, enabling others to replicate the findings. Effective use of language in academic papers is crucial for communicating and disseminating scientific knowledge. Papers need to contain all the information needed for other researchers to replicate the

Effective use of language in academic papers is crucial for communicating and disseminating scientific knowledge.

experiments and build upon the research findings. We are going to look at the language and structure of a scientific paper, as well as the publishing process, and discuss which factors determine whether a paper is successfully understood and shared in the scientific community.

For readers to easily identify and understand the main results of the study, most papers follow a standardised structure consisting of 5 sections. It begins with a title and an abstract (a short text that provides a concise summary of the key findings). This is followed by an Introduction, which presents background information, including relevant previous research, and explains the aim or hypothesis that guided the study. The Methods section details the experimental setup, providing sufficient information for other researchers to replicate the experiments. In the Results section, experimental evidence is presented to support or refute the hypothesis, often illustrated through graphs and images. Statistical analyses are used to determine whether the observations reflect a genuine effect. Finally, the Discussion draws conclusions from the results. It also highlights any limitations of the

study and puts the research findings into a wider context. Throughout the paper, references to other studies are included to connect the current findings with prior research. They will be listed at the end of the paper.

By prioritising simplicity, researchers reduce the risk of their work being misunderstood

The language of a paper is rather monotonous and highly technical. The objective is to create informationdense texts so explanations are kept brief; the opposite of writing a thrilling novel. The tone should be neutral, language should be kept consistent and sentences should be kept short. Simplicity is valued more than beautiful prose. By prioritising simplicity, researchers reduce the risk of their work being misunderstood. Furthermore, tentative phrases like “This may cause…,” “This could be due to…,” or “The results suggest…” are used in research papers to reflect the uncertainty and limitations inherent in scientific experiments. It leaves space for future findings to alter the current interpretation of the results. The language is also highly specialised, with researchers frequently using abbreviations and concepts that may only be understood by those familiar with the field. It is particularly important to note that some words used in everyday language can have very different meanings in academic contexts. For example, a “significant” result is understood as something impactful in everyday language. However,

in scientific language, the word “significant” can only be used if a statistical test calculates that the result has a 95% or greater chance of being correct. Another example is “theory”; In everyday language, a theory refers to a simple idea or guess about how something works. However, in scientific contexts, a theory is a wellsupported explanation of some aspect of the natural world, that has been rigorously tested and validated.

Let’s walk through how researchers publish a paper. Scientists start by identifying current gaps in knowledge by looking through previous work. They then formulate a hypothesis to test, such as “Do black and white stripes protect Zebras from flies?” The researcher then spends months or even years conducting experiments to prove or disprove this hypothesis, often collaborating with other scientists. Once they are ready to conclude, they begin writing their paper. After completing the article, they submit it to a journal to be published. There are numerous journals to choose from, so they select one, that aligns with their field. Some journals are more prestigious than others and are read more widely. After submission, the article is sent to an editor and reviewers, who evaluate the relevance and quality of the work and provide feedback and improvements. Editors and reviewers are usually

However, in scientific language, the word “significant” can only be used if a statistical test calculates that the result has a 95% or greater chance of being correct.

scientists themselves, often working on similar topics, which is why the process is called “peer review.” If editors and reviewers agree that the work is substantial, well-performed, and relevant to the field, the paper is accepted and published. More prestigious papers are very selective about which papers they publish. Therefore, submissions are often rejected, and the researchers submit their paper to many different journals before it gets accepted.

The peer review system enhances the quality and credibility of scientific publications by ensuring that research methods, results, and conclusions are critically evaluated and refined before being presented to the scientific community. It should identify weak data, mistakes in experiments, and false conclusions and either reject them or provide feedback to help authors improve their work. The

rationale is that through peer review, better-quality papers with more impactful findings are published in the most prestigious journals. However, this process is not perfect. Reviewers are themselves full-time scientists, who work on the reviews in addition to their own research and teaching duties and they are not compensated for their efforts. They sometimes have very little capacity to review a paper thoroughly, leading to rushed or incomplete reviews. Therefore, they can easily miss a mistake, or they might lack the time to verify whether the data has been properly analysed. In order for reviewers to understand whether the right conclusions are drawn in a paper, they need to have a deep understanding of the field. However nowadays, when so many papers are published each year, it is increasingly difficult for scientists to keep pace with new findings and developments. This is very different to when the peer-review process was established 350 years ago when it was manageable to read all the papers published within a field.

Papers also have an important function besides sharing researchthey act as a measure of success for a researcher: A scientist’s reputation is often judged by the number of papers they have published in prestigious journals. While this reliance on publication provides an independent means of evaluating researchers, it also positions journals as gatekeepers in the process. Journals play a significant role in deciding which research is deemed relevant. Unfortunately, there is often a bias towards publishing works from established researchers and well-recognised fields. This in turn detracts from the communication of novel ideas from new or

underrepresented scientists.

Using the number of publications as a measure of success places a lot of pressure on researchers to publish consistently. Researchers are pushed to publish faster while the quality of the work declines, potentially compromising the integrity of the research. As a consequence, many findings become non-reproducible. This leads to wasted time, money, and effort when other scientists try to build on non-reproducible findings, ultimately slowing scientific progress.

It can be very difficult to rectify these misleading results once a paper is published. There is no formal process to debate and critique someone else’s work. Even if the work cannot be repeated, these negative results are unlikely to be published by journals because they are considered less interesting.

In extreme but luckily rare cases, some researchers may even fabricate data to enhance their publications. These misconducts can be very hard to detect in the peer-review process. Reviewers do not repeat any of the experiments to validate the results. Therefore the integrity of the research is solely judged by the written text and relies on honest communication.

Publishing papers is an important part of the work of a researcher and has been for the last 350 years. While the structures in place have facilitated the dissemination of knowledge, we should question whether a 350-yearold system is still the most effective medium to share scientific findings today.

SUPER CHALLENGE

Read the academic paper on Zebra stripes here. Can you find the hypothesis? Which phrases do the researchers use to explain their methods and results? Do you find their conclusions trustworthy? Why?

In a world of computers, the internet, instant communication, databases, artificial intelligence and globalisation, discuss how the publication system could be improved or changed. You can submit this either as a poster or 500-word response.

LINK >

How can language affect pain perception

Author: Jonathan Hampshire, Medicine student at St John’s College, Oxford

Pain is a relatively universal experience, and it’s not a pleasant one at that. By definition, it’s ‘an unpleasant sensory and emotional experience associated with, or resembling that associated with, actual or potential tissue damage’ according to the International Association for the Study of Pain. Most of us are fortunate enough to experience it only transiently, but for many it can be chronic and disabling. Understanding pain and how to relieve it is part and parcel of being a doctor, after all, pain is reported to be the most common presenting symptom to emergency departments worldwide, and surgeons would be quickly out of a job if anaesthetists hadn’t figured out how to circumvent the matter. For the linguists out there, consider the etymology of the terms ‘anaesthesia’ and ‘analgesia’.

In order to explore whether language can affect pain perception, we should probably first explore how pain works to begin with and, for the philosophicallyminded, why we experience pain. The latter is relatively straightforward – being able to detect and respond to the environment, especially avoiding harmful stimuli, was probably quite evolutionarily advantageous. Returning to how pain works, first the painful stimulus must be detected, known as ‘nociception’. Fortunately, there are several different types of receptors for

We have Sir Charles Sherrington, a Nobel Prize winning neurophysiologist to thank for the terms ‘nociception’ and ‘synapse’. Many of the lectures in the preclinical part of the medicine course are in a building named after him.

different stimuli, for example, pressure/ mechanical deformation, temperature and chemicals. Once detected, a signal must then be sent along the wires of the nervous system (neurons) to the spinal cord, jump a gap (synapse) to the next neuron to then be carried up to the brain for interpretation. We have Sir Charles Sherrington, a Nobel Prize winning neurophysiologist to thank for the terms ‘nociception’ and ‘synapse’. Many of the lectures in the preclinical part of the medicine course are in a building named after him.

So, if sensing pain is as simple as signals along wires to the brain, where does the language come in? As you may have guessed, the brief description of nociceptive pain transduction and transmission above is rather simplified. Different nerve fibres can carry signals about different stimuli at different speeds via different routes up to the brain and the brain can send its own

signals back down affecting the signal coming towards it. This is all before we’ve touched on how signals can change over time and the other types of pain. So far, the focus has been on nociceptive pain but there is also neuropathic pain (due to problems with the wires), and the IASP have recently added nociplastic pain as a third category. Moreover, we’ve discussed how the signal gets to the brain, but not what happens once it arrives.

If we take a step back and look at the experience of pain holistically, the nociceptive input (as an example), and its modulation on the way to the brain is only part of the story. Once there, the subjective experience of pain depends on several further factors, subdivided by Irene Tracey into 4 broad groups – see image. Professor Irene Tracey is currently the Vice Chancellor of Oxford University and her academic background is in the neuroscience of pain and its perception.

In practice, this makes a big difference. Aside from cute videos of babies getting their vaccines,

Have you experienced the placebo or nocebo effect?

Have your say in our forum.

completely unphased by the injection due to excellent use of distraction by clinicians, it also explains how people with anxiety or depression may experience pain differently. Sometimes pain signals may not get through at all - for example, as a result of longterm damage to nerves and poor wound healing in people with diabetes, significant injuries can occur, often with relatively little associated pain. (You can look up pictures of diabetic foot ulcers at your own risk!)

The good news is that these systems can be hijacked for people’s benefit too, for example with judicious use of language. Language is key to setting people’s beliefs and expectations with regard to pain, for example, with the widely known ‘placebo effect’. The placebo effect is not just limited to drugs either. A trial looking into the efficacy of a surgical procedure for shoulder pain found that those that had a procedure had better outcomes

Babies are completely unphased by injections due to the excellent use of distraction by clinicians

than those did not… so far, so good. However, it also found that there was no difference between those that had an arthroscopy (just looking in the joint) and those that had surgical decompression (what they thought was helping to alleviate the pain), suggesting that the benefit came primarily from the placebo effect of the procedure itself, rather than the specific intervention.

On the flip side, there is also the ‘nocebo effect’ – where negative expectations for a treatment cause the treatment to have a worse effect than it otherwise could have. An example of this can be seen in some pain relief medications. Negative expectations (eg. expecting pain to get worse) were sufficient to cancel out the analgesic effects of even potent drugs such as remifentanil*.

Combining these in practice, suggesting that local anaesthetic acts quickly might be preferable to telling a patient it stings just before their injection. Similarly, the classic phrase of ‘sharp scratch’ just before taking blood might be best avoided given many patients might not notice the needle has even gone in if you’re happily chatting away.

SUPER CHALLENGE

For those more biomedicallyoriented, there is plenty more detail to explore in the neuroscience of pain perception – have a think about how we can localise where something hurts when the signal gets to the brain. Why do you instinctively rub an area when it hurts and what mechanism might underly this? Include a diagram as part of your explanation.

For the linguists, consider the following additional words and what they might mean from their etymological components; hyperalgesia, neuralgia, allodynia.

If you’d like to find out more:

● IASP: International Association for the Study of Pain

● Article: Pain Pathways

● Article: Irene Tracey, ‘The Cerebral Signature for Pain Perception and Its Modulation’

● Interview: The Royal Society of Biology with Irene Tracey

● Article: Shoulder Pain Trial

● Article: Placebo and Nocebo Effects

Language in influencing juries

How does language affect the outcome of legal cases in the court of law?

Author: Dr Petros Spanou, Historian of Modern Britain, Oxford University

It is necessary to ask this question, after all, the profession of the lawyer is fundamentally based on the principles of persuasion and the effective use of language. In the UK, barristers represent their clients in court by making a strong case and drawing on their public speaking, communication, and advocacy skills. Clarity, a convincing presentation of an argument, and the power to influence juries and judges are crucial in the legal field. A wellstructured speech using persuasive verbal language and good non-verbal communication (body language) are fundamental things for barristers –these are their most important tools in the court of law. In legal history, there are numerous instances which clearly demonstrated the significance of language in influencing juries and winning cases.

In this article we will explore one such case: The People of the State of California v. Orenthal James Simpson. This is more commonly known as the ‘O.J. Simpson’ murder trial – a monumental case dubbed as ‘the trial of the century’, which attracted significant public interest, not just in the United States but also across the world.

During the final stages of the trial, Cochran uttered a notorious phrase which today remains well-known, not only in the legal field but more widely in the public sphere: ‘If it doesn’t fit, you must acquit.’

This case was based on the criminal trial of former NFL player O.J. Simpson in Los Angeles, California, in 1995, for the murders of two people: his ex-wife Nicole Brown Simpson and a man (Nicole’s friend), Ronald Goldman. Both victims were stabbed to death in the summer of 1994. Despite the significant amount of evidence which seemed to point to O.J. Simpson as the person who had committed the murders, following his trial he was eventually acquitted in October 1995 by the jury. After the conclusion of the trial, Goldman’s father filed a civil suit against O.J. Simpson, with the jury in 1997 finding him responsible for the deaths of both Nicole Brown and Ronald Goldman.

In the 1995 criminal trial, Simpson’s defence team comprised of some well-known lawyers and attorneys, including Robert Shapiro, Johnnie Cochran, and Robert Kardashian.

Cochran was instrumental in Simpson’s defence and eventual acquittal. During the final stages of the trial, Cochran uttered a notorious phrase which today remains wellknown, not only in the legal field but more widely in the public sphere: ‘If it doesn’t fit, you must acquit.’ The clever rhyming of the phrase echoed in the ears and minds of the jury, and seemed to have been key in Simpson’s acquittal. Cochran’s phrase referred to the blood-stained black leather glove found in the murder scene, which O.J. Simpson was called to wear in front of the jury during the trial. Whilst doing that, Simpson seemed to have some trouble fitting the glove on his hand. Cochran’s phrase tried to persuade the jury that since the glove is not fitting Simpson’s hand, Simpson could not have committed the murders of Nichole Brown and Ronald Goldman.

The trial was televised, and the public interest was enormous. People watched with almost breathless excitement the moment O.J. Simpson tried on the glove.

Undoubtedly, words held a lot of power over the jurors in this trial. The simple and emotionally charged

language used by the defense, in contrast to the complexity of the scientific evidence and legal jargon used by the prosecution raises several questions about the justice system. If a juror does not understand the language of the court room, how much does that sway their decision?

You can also watch Cochran uttering his famous phrase by clicking on this clip from the dramatized miniseries, The People vs O.J. Simpson: American Crime Story, created by Ryan Murphy in 2016.

If you’d like to find out more:

● Article: The influence of language on Capital Jurors’ decisions

● Video: Understanding the language of a trial

LINK

Nichole Brown

Ronald Goldman

How can enforced multilingualism be harmful?

Author: Professor Patrick Hayes, English Tutor at St John’s College, Oxford

Your mother tongue can seem like a purely transparent window onto the world, especially if it is the only language you know. But to learn a foreign language is not just to translate your thoughts; it can feel more like being translated into another way of seeing the world. The theory which makes sense of this feeling is known as ‘linguistic relativity’, and sometimes as the ‘Sapir Whorf hypothesis’, after the anthropologist Edward Sapir and his student Benjamin Lee Whorf. Linguistic relativists, or ‘Whorfians’ as they are sometimes known, claim that language shapes or even determines the way we think, and that it is therefore imperfectly translatable. While the merits of this hypothesis continue to be debated, it certainly helps explain the way in which learning a new language can feel so culturally enriching. But it also explains why the condition of enforced multilingualism, which

Linguistic relativists, or ‘Whorfians’ as they are sometimes known, claim that language shapes or even determines the way we think, and that it is therefore imperfectly translatable

remains one of the chief legacies of imperialism, might also be experienced as harmful.

In Decolonising the Mind (1986), the novelist Ngũgĩ wa Thiong’o describes the imposition of the English language on his community as nothing less than a ‘cultural bomb’. He grew up speaking Gīkūyū in the Kiambu district of central Kenya, and fondly remembers evenings of ‘storytelling around the fireside’, where he learned ‘the use of words and images and the inflexion of voices to effect different tones’. This was important, Ngũgĩ claims, because he thereby ‘learnt to value words for their meaning and nuances’ and for the wider sense of the world they conveyed. But when a state of emergency was declared by the British colonial administration in 1952, his school was placed under the control of an Englishman, and English became the formal language of education. From this point onwards, anyone caught speaking Gīkūyū in the vicinity of the school was beaten with a cane, ‘or was made to carry a metal plate around the neck with inscriptions such as I AM STUPID or I AM A DONKEY’. By contrast, any achievement in English was rewarded with prizes and with progress, such that ‘English became the main

He grew up speaking Gī kūyū in the Kiambu district of central Kenya, and fondly remembers evenings of ‘storytelling around the fireside’, where he learned ‘the use of words and images and the inflexion of voices to effect different tones’.

determinant of a child’s progress up the ladder of formal education’, and the pathway to a successful career. This resulted in what Ngũgĩ calls ‘the dissociation of the sensibility of that child from his natural and social environment, what we might call colonial alienation.’

Ngũgĩ’s understanding of the psychological harm inflicted by ‘colonial alienation’ led him to stop writing his own fiction in English, and instead to use Gīkūyū as his own primary means of literary expression. He also campaigned for a parallel transformation of the University of Nairobi’s English department, though he had no interest in substituting ‘national chauvinism for the British chauvinism of the existing syllabuses’, as he put it. Instead, he wished to re-envisage education as grounded in local languages but always looking outwards to other traditions.

Ngũgĩ’s call to use native rather

than colonial languages as the language of literature, and to deprivilege English in the university, has not been widely heeded. Partly this is due to the sheer dominance of English as a language of general global mobility. But it is also because many formerly colonized nation states gather within their borders an array of native languages, which imposes a need for some kind of nondivisive ‘universal’ tongue. Chinua Achebe, the Nigerian novelist, offers a thoughtful critique of Ngũgĩ which considers these various problems in The Education of a British-Protected Child (2009).

However, others have challenged not only Ngũgĩ’s solution but the way he describes the problem. In Aké: the Years of Childhood (1981) the playwright, Wole Soyinka, describes the experience of growing up bilingual in a Yoruba-speaking family in Abeokuta, southwest Nigeria, and his account diverges very significantly from Ngũgĩ’s. While English was the main language of school and Church, and is the main language of his narrative, Soyinka often uses Yoruba idioms to convey the limitations of seeing this African word exclusively through a European tongue; yet he also draws attention to his own ignorance of the adjacent Ijebu dialect, and he tends to celebrate the cultural gains to be had from a cosmopolitan multilingual experience over its losses and traumas. In a comparable way the Indian poet, Arvind Krishna Mehrotra, has beautifully described India’s manifold languages, native and colonial, as constituting a ‘prismatic interlingual space’; his translations of the 15th century poet-saint Kabir (Songs of

Kabir [2011]) creates a fascinating refraction of English, both as a language and as a literary tradition.

SUPER CHALLENGE

What is your experience of multilingualism, either personally or as you have encountered it through friends and family? Write a short (500 words) account of it, considering whether the idea of ‘linguistic relativity’ is helpful or not in understanding your experience.

Do you think enforced multilingualism is harmful? Vote now!

Like this article? A course in Psychology, Philosophy and Linguistics might be for you!

KENYA

Kimba

The power to persuade

The language of influencers and the power to persuade

Author: Jenna Ilett, Inspire Digital Development Manager at St John’s College, Oxford

From bus shelters to billboards, and magazines to mobile phones, advertising is all around us. As a child, you might have enjoyed watching adverts on television, but perhaps now that you are older, you skip, mute, or refute any claims made in adverts. As we become more aware of adverts and how to recognise attempts to persuade us, our attitudes and behaviours change, and adverts tend to become less effective at persuading us to buy a product. Psychologists call awareness of advertisers’ strategies ‘persuasion knowledge,’ and advertisers are constantly finding new techniques to get around it.

Think about adverts during a film on television, or part way through a YouTube advert. What makes you notice that you are engaging with an advert? Typically, there is a disruption to the content that you are watching, and the sound may increase. If an advert is obvious, it can activate persuasion knowledge, which can lead to resistance of the advert’s message. Advertisers have shifted towards native advertising, where adverts are seamlessly integrated into different media. This could take the form of product placement, or sponsored posts that appear sporadically throughout your feed.

It is more and more common for brands to use influencers to promote products as a form of native advertising. Influencers typically use social media to create and share content within a certain niche (such as gaming, fitness, fashion or cooking) in order to build a following. It is quite natural to expect an influencer to share their thoughts and opinions about certain products, which is ideal for brands, who can pay influencers to endorse their particular product, regardless of their actual opinion. Successful influencers will be able to seamlessly integrate promoted content into their typical content, which is less likely to be recognised as an advert by their audiences, and less likely to activate persuasion knowledge. Influencers make very calculated

Influencers make very calculated decisions about the language that they use to avoid drawing attention to any sponsored content, and to persuade you to purchase any products they are advertising.

decisions about the language that they use to avoid drawing attention to any sponsored content, and to persuade you to purchase any products they are advertising.

Influencers are required by law to disclose any advertisement included within their content. How might they do this without activating persuasion knowledge?

Should laws around influencers promoting products be stricter? Vote now! X

Take a look at the two Instagram posts - can you tell which one is the advert?

Studies have shown that audiences are less able to recognise adverts when disclosure language is ambiguous. A study in 2017 found that Instagram posts containing #PaidAd were more likely to be recognised as adverts

compared to those that contained #SP, a common abbreviation for ‘sponsored post.’ Although the Advertising Standards Agency in the UK requires that adverts must be ‘obviously identifiable’ and recommend including #AD in all sponsored posts, rules in other countries differ, and it is easy for influencers to flout the rules. A report by the European Commission in 2024 screened social media posts from influencers. 97% of influencers shared posts containing some form of advertisement or sponsorship, but only 20% consistently disclosed the nature of these posts.

When you make a decision about purchasing something- do you solely rely on adverts? It is more likely that you will seek some opinions from friends and family, or perhaps look at online reviews. We rely on information from other consumers (word of mouth) as it is seen as more credible and authentic than information in adverts. Word of mouth is much more likely to be genuine than an advert from a brand that has financial incentive to persuade you. Therefore, influencers want to create the illusion of a 1:1 relationship with each of their followers, so that their sponsored endorsements don’t feel like adverts, but like a friend’s recommendation. This illusion of a close bond is often referred to as a parasocial relationship, which is common with high profile media personae and celebrities. Influencers can strengthen this illusion by interacting with their followers. For Gen Z, the best influencers are those that interact with their audiences. Responding to comments, livestreaming, offering giveaways and taking requests from followers can increase feelings of intimacy, and heighten the sense of genuine connection felt by their audiences. Influencers will typically

use colloquial, informal language and emojis to create a conversational tone, making use of slang and other language you might typically use with friends. They will often share intimate details of their lives and anecdotes in the form of ‘story time’ or ‘a day in the life’ posts, which gives their followers something to connect and relate to. Another tactic is using inclusive pronouns like ‘we,’ ‘us’ and ‘our’ to create a sense of community and shared experiences.

It is getting more and more difficult to spot adverts. Influencers in particular excel at seamlessly weaving adverts into their typical content, making them hard to distinguish. The next time you see an influencer promoting a product, take a moment to think about the techniques discussed in this article and ask yourself ‘How do I know if this information is accurate and trustworthy?’

SUPER CHALLENGE

Write a script for an influencer promoting a product you think everyone should have. Consider what your caption would be for the post too and what hashtags you might use.

If you’d like to find out more:

● Video: Why are brands choosing to work with influencers?

LINK >

● Video: Influencers have changed the industry. Now what?

LINK >

What does it mean?

What does a painting say? Abstract Expressionism and the politics of saying nothing

Author: Lily Middleton-Mansell, DPhil Candidate in English Literature, Oxford University

Abstract expressionism is a form of abstract art originating in America in the mid-twentieth century. It is defined by bold colours, broad brushstrokes and often a sense of spontaneity or movement. Artists such as Jackson Pollock, who produced famous “drip” paintings, or Lee Krasner, whose artwork ranged from intricate drawings to large, rippedup collages, saw their artwork as the product of their physical expression. Their emotions translated into their bodily movement, which was made permanent in the paintings it produced. Mark Rothko, who was part of the same New-York-based group as Pollock and Krasner, focused more on meditation than movement: his huge canvases, featuring rich planes of colour, were created to encourage an almost religious state of deep concentration and feeling.

Instead of representing something that exists in the world, abstract expressionism’s power lies in its claim

Abstract painting suggests that a key purpose of art is its ability to say nothing, but mean something. It captures the inarticulable.

to deep emotional impact: it attempts to depict feelings and experiences that cannot be captured through images or symbols. Abstract expressionism can in part be seen as a response to the increasing prominence of photography: if anyone can snap a picture at any time, then what’s the point of trying to produce a realistic painting? Abstract painting suggests that a key purpose of art is its ability to say nothing, but mean something. It captures the inarticulable.

However, while the intentions of the abstract expressionists may have been purely aesthetic, society’s response to abstract expressionism was more complex than just artistic appreciation. Watch the clip from the second series of Mad Men below, a drama that depicts the powerful advertising agencies of 1960s New York. A group of employees at an advertising firm have snuck into their boss’s office to have a look at his new painting, an abstract piece by Rothko.

Their different reactions capture the different responses to abstract expressionism at the time.

The first person comments on the painting’s price: $10,000. The second describes the painting as ‘smudgy squares’, then walks away. The third says that he can’t pretend he understands it, while the first starts looking for a ‘brochure’ or ‘something that explains it’. The fourth finally speaks up: ‘I don’t think it’s supposed to be explained.’ While the third person asserts, ‘I’m an artist, okay, it must mean something’, the fourth persists: ‘Maybe it doesn’t. Maybe you’re just supposed to experience it. Because when you look at it, you do feel something, right? It’s like looking into something very deep. You could fall in.’ The third person realises he’s right, asking, ‘did someone tell you that?’ The fourth replies, ‘how could someone tell you that?’

The third person highlights the way in which abstract expressionism can capture the inexpressible. While the others either dismiss the painting or try to find a way to explain it, the third person stays silent. Instead of trying to talk his way into finding meaning in the artwork, he simply stands there and experiences it, and is therefore able to ‘feel something’. Some critics of abstract expressionism

If you simply take the time to look at an abstract painting, you might find that it instead appeals to a deeper emotional instinct that cannot be put into words: ‘how could someone tell you that?’

dismiss such paintings as elitist or inaccessible, because their meaning is not immediately apparent. They argue that you cannot enjoy an abstract painting unless you have been educated about what it meanshence the third person’s ‘did someone tell you that?’ But the point of abstract expressionism is that it requires no knowledge of symbols or art theory to have an impact. If you simply take the time to look at an abstract painting, you might find that it instead appeals to a deeper emotional instinct that cannot be put into words: ‘how could someone tell you that?’

However, what the responses of the other employees demonstrate is that people will often try to make a painting say something, even if it is not supposed to. The third person’s declaration that ‘I’m an artist, okay, it must mean something’ highlights the fact that art until this point was understood as representational, defined by a specific meaning or message. By undermining the need for art to say something, the abstract expressionists represented a huge departure from the traditional function of painting.

But sometimes an artist has no control over what a painting says. While the fourth person may understand the aesthetic significance of the painting, the first person’s comment turns out to be right on the money when it comes to the

reason why their boss purchased the painting: ‘10,000 dollars’. In the second half of the clip, the boss finally explains why he bought the Rothko: ‘People buy things to realise their aspirations. It’s the foundation of our business. But between you and me and the lamppost, that thing should double in value by next Christmas.’ 1960s advertising firms worked to make products symbolise something deeper for consumers, and therefore seem to ‘realise their aspirations’. According to the advertisements, buying a new car could make you a better man. But the true meaning of the products advertised is ultimately the money that they make. The same goes for the Rothko. What the painting says to the boss is not just ‘10,000 dollars’, but ‘double’ that ‘next Christmas’. For some (wealthy) people, art is not about feeling or impact, they do not care what the artist intended, it just represents a financial investment: a painting means profit.

Therefore, even a painting that consciously avoids symbolism can come to say something to a particular audience. As it became increasingly popular, abstract expressionism started to represent not only a clever financial investment but also a powerful political tool. Beginning with art historian Eva Cockcroft, many scholars have highlighted the relation between the abstract expressionist movement and the events of the Cold War. During the Cold War, the Soviet State encouraged the production of artwork that promoted communist interests. Such posters and paintings contained clear symbolism and bold pictures. This made them effective propaganda, artwork that attempts to influence how its audience thinks about a political issue. America also produced propaganda, but often in

a much more subtle way. As critic Jasper Bernes explains, during the Cold War the US government began working to promote abstract expressionist painters abroad. The Museum of Modern Art (MoMA) in New York had an International Program which ‘was begun at the behest of its president at the time, Nelson Rockefeller, whose private foundation donated the initial grant for the program.’ The CIA became involved in the selection process

Soviet State encouraged the production of artwork that promoted communist interests. Such posters and paintings contained clear symbolism and bold pictures.

for international exhibitions which centred abstract expressionism. By seemingly having no meaning, in stark contrast with the clear symbolism of Soviet art, abstract expressionist paintings represented the pinnacle of American liberalism: the right to say nothing, to have no

Nelson Rockefeller

political function. Bernes explains, ‘MoMA was committed to advancing the idea that the United States had generated a nonconformist and yet apolitical avant-garde, freeing itself from formal constraints on pure selfexpression.’

But by promoting abstract expressionism as a symbol of American liberalism, the American government transformed this seemingly apolitical genre of art into propaganda. Exhibited abroad, abstract expressionist paintings functioned to present a strong image of America as a free society (unlike the regimented Soviet Union) to foreign intellectuals who could influence their position in the Cold War. Abstract Expressionism was initially radical in its rejection of the traditional representational function of art and its refusal to contain political messaging. But this desire to say nothing made abstract expressionism the perfect blank slate for American liberalism. As Bernes concludes, ‘the messages that the United States wanted to send the world did not need to be axed to these paintings; they spoke quite eloquently on their own about “the political choice of giving up politics,” as their

champion Harold Rosenberg put it. Their refusal of political content and the propagandistic aims of social realism made them the perfect propaganda.’

The longer an artwork exists in the public eye, the wider the distance grows between the artist’s intentions and how its audiences understand it. Abstract expressionism was a highly important movement which highlighted how art’s impact does not have to be rooted in what it says, but rather in how it makes you feel. However, even (and sometimes especially) the most abstract paintings can have messages attached to them. As demonstrated in Mad Men, in the art market a popular artwork may represent no more than financial gain. It is a product that functions to make profit, just like the items that the big advertising companies work to sell. But even within the world of public art, the exhibitions run by museums whose function may seem to be art for art’s sake, an abstract painting can be transformed into a powerful political symbol. This does not mean that the initial, emotional, impact of abstract expressionism is lost. However, it is important to understand that the meaning of an

artwork can exist on many different planes. While a painting may say nothing to some audiences, this very lack of statement can represent a very particular message to others.

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If you’d like to find out more:

● Accounts of the abstract expressionist movement are often dominated by male artists, but it is important to pay attention to the important role of female artists who have since been overshadowed by their male peers. Read this article to find out more about Lee Krasner.

● If you would like to read more about the relationship between American art and the Cold War, click here.

● Watch this video to learn more about abstract expressionism.

● You can see some of MoMA’s abstract expressionism collection here.

Would it be better if we all spoke the same language?

Oxplore is an engaging digital resource from the University of Oxford and the ‘Home of Big Questions’. Their resources aim to challenge you with debates and ideas that go beyond what is covered in the classroom and invite you to consider alternative opinions.

Pullman’s world

S P OTLIGHT O N OXFORD

Philip Pullman’s fantasy city

Author: Lily Middleton-Mansell, English Graduate St John’s College, Oxford

The world of Philip Pullman’s fantasy series, His Dark Materials, is continually reawakened and reimagined. Starting with a trilogy of novels (Northern Lights, The Subtle Knife and The Amber Spyglass) that track the coming of age of Will and Lyra as they wander through parallel universes, Pullman’s world has blossomed into a film series, TV series and even more books: Lyra’s Oxford, Once upon a time in the North, The Collectors, Serpentine and The Book of Dust trilogy. The City of Oxford sits at the centre of this unfolding universe. The two worlds that Lyra and Will representLyra’s is a fantasy place of magic and daemons (animal-shaped companions that reflect their human’s soul), while Will’s is the ordinary world of Pullman’s audience - are anchored in the real geography of Oxford, especially its libraries and colleges. While the success of His Dark Materials can be attributed to the power of Pullman’s imagination, the author himself has given due credit to the City of Oxford as the foundation of his fantasy. Quoting from a fake travel guide, Pullman describes the city as a slipping point between magic and reality:

Oxford, where the real and the unreal jostle in the streets; where

Oxford, where the real and the unreal jostle in the streets; where North Parade is in the south and South Parade is in the north, where Paradise is lost under a pumping station; where the river mists have a solvent and vivifying effect on the stone of the ancient buildings, so that the gargoyles of Magdalen College climb down at night and fight with those from Wykeham, or fish under the bridges, or simply change their expressions overnight; Oxford, where windows open into other worlds…

A fold-out map of Oxford that accompanied Lyra’s Oxford (2003) by Philip Pullman Credit: John Lawrence

North Parade is in the south and South Parade is in the north, where Paradise is lost under a pumping station; where the river mists have a solvent and vivifying effect on the stone of the ancient buildings, so that the gargoyles of Magdalen College climb down at night and fight with those from Wykeham, or fish under the bridges, or simply change their expressions overnight; Oxford, where windows open into other worlds…

The power of Pullman’s Oxford lies in how he combines the real and the imaginary magic of the city. If it is true that ‘North Parade is in the south and South Parade is in the north’ and that ‘the river mists’ change the ‘stone of the ancient buildings’, then it could equally be true that ‘Paradise is lost under a pumping station’ or ‘that the gargoyles of Magdalen College climb down at night’: Oxford may easily become a place ‘where windows open into other worlds’. The magic of Oxford’s reality makes it easier to

believe Pullman’s fantasy.

This jostling of ‘the real and the unreal’ is most evident in the Oxford University buildings that Pullman integrates into his books. The most famous Oxford landmark of His Dark Materials is Jordan College, where Lyra grew up. As Lyra roamed the halls of this prestigious (and fictitious) college, you can explore its buildings in a parallel universe by visiting Exeter College in central Oxford. Pullman studied English at Exeter in the 1960s (although he wasn’t the most studious pupil, ultimately receiving a third-class BA) and his old college became the model for Jordan College when he came to write Northern Lights in the 1990s. Exeter is a small but beautiful college, with a spectacular chapel and an elevated Fellow’s Garden overlooking the famous Radcliffe Camera library. While Lyra spits plum stones from the Jordan roof to harass passing scholars, visitors to the Exeter Fellows garden

can take a privileged birds-eye view of the students and tourists crowded below. Pullman isn’t the only literary talent inspired by the real magic of Exeter College. Its alumni include J.R.R. Tolkein, author of the Lord of the Rings series, as well as writers Alan Bennett and Martin Amis. Want to explore the real Jordan College but can’t get to Oxford? See a virtual tour of Exeter College here

Next door to Exeter College, you can find Pullman’s Bodley’s Library, which hosts the Bodleian alethiometer, a truth-telling device. In the real world, this building is known as the Bodleian Library, one of the oldest libraries in Europe. While it doesn’t hide any magical tools, it does contain hundreds of priceless artefacts, from the very earliest medieval manuscripts to contemporary novels. Lyra’s Oxford has in fact found a permanent home in Oxford University libraries: the Weston Library, which sits opposite the Bodelian, contains archives of Pullman’s notes, drawings and manuscripts about the His Dark Materials Universe. Students and academics at Oxford can study Pullman’s fantasy world in the parallel world of Oxford University that inspired it. Click here to explore a virtual tour of the Bodleian libraries.

Pullman’s Oxford stretches beyond the university buildings. Academics describes the significance of a particular bench in the Oxford Botanic gardens to those in the know about His Dark Materials: On the far side of the Botanic Gardens near the river is a bench. In The Amber Spyglass, the second novel of Pullman’s His Dark Materials

Magdalen College

you’ve read Philip Pullman, it’s just a bench’. The bench was not just a bench to me.

Here ‘the real and the unreal jostle’ again: Pullman’s imaginary bridge (or bench) between the parallel worlds of Will’s and Lyra’s Oxfords becomes a real link to the fantasy world of His Dark Materials, as the graffiti and artwork in the Oxford Botanical gardens point to the spot’s special significance, a wink to those familiar with Pullman’s stories. You can find pictures of the daemon sculptures here.

Coming up…

WORKSHP 3: HOW HAS LANGUAGE EVOLVED?

Debate questions include:

Was mathematical language discovered or invented?

Has History experienced a ‘Linguistic Turn’?

Is language change always for the better?

trilogy, the protagonists Will and Lyra have to part permanently. However, this bench exists in both of their parallel worlds and once a year, at noon on Midsummer’s Day, they agree to sit on it and remember each other. The same place, at the same time, in different worlds. Lyra’s and Will’s initials have been inscribed on the bench by visitors [...] In 2019, a statue was erected behind the bench, portraying Will’s daemon, a cat called Kinjava, Lyra’s, Pantalymon, Lyra’s pine marten daemon and Philip Pullman’s raven daemon, Nevermore. A guide, Serafina, mused about the metaphysical significance of the bench: ‘It’s interesting because a lot of people don’t realise what it is, or the importance of that bench. Unless

Knowledge of Pullman’s fictional Oxford can therefore transform the city itself into a fantasy world. Walk through the Covered Market, and you might glimpse Lyra hanging out by the fruit and vegetable stores; wander the streets of Jericho, you could hear the laughing children of the His Dark Materials canal workers playing in the streets; explore the jumble of ancient artefacts in the Pitt Rivers Museum, and maybe you’ll find the trepanned skulls that Lyra investigates there in The Subtle Knife. Reading books such as His Dark Materials can reveal the secrets of a city that you never knew existed, opening your mind to a world where ‘the real and the unreal jostle in the streets’. Think about what secrets could be found in your local streets: perhaps you can make your own city host the next hidden fantasy.

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The Covered Market

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even are words anymore?