Topic: Language and Culture
From The Margaret Mead Symposium: Whither the United States in the World?
Commemorating the centennial of the birth of Margaret Mead.
December 2 & 3, 2001
Sponsors: Library of Congress and The Smithsonian Institution
Mead’s views on language are discussed, including links between language and conflict.
Mead on Common Language
Speaker: Judith Kipper
Middle East Forum, Council on Foreign Relations; Co-Director, Middle East Studies Program, Center for Strategic and International Studies, consultant, ABC News
Kipper discusses Mead’s belief that lack of a common language is one reason for conflict
Quicktime (1.59MB)- Windows Media Player (1.97MB)
Language and Culture
Speaker: Georges B. Kutukdjian
UNESCO
Kutukdjian implores us to learn languages, not only for communication, but to experience other ways of understanding. He points out Mead’s and Boaz’s belief that language is a logical construct.
- Quicktime (2.52MB)
- Windows Media Player (3.08MB)
