March 2, 2008

2008-03-02T12:00:03-05:00

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John McWhorter talked about his life, his career, and his body of writing. Topics included his careers as a linguist and as a commentator on race. He responded to telephone calls and electronic mail.



Video clips were shown of John McWhorter giving a tour of his home in Jersey City, New Jersey, and talking about his work day. He discussed his wriitng habits, his hobbies, and he also played the piano. A video clip was shown of remarks made by Michelle Obama in Madison, Wisconsin, on February 18, 2008.



Mr. McWhorter, currently a senior fellow at the Manhattan Institute, has taught at University of California - Berkeley and Cornell University. His books include: Authentically Black; Losing the Race: Self-Sabotage in Black America; Winning the Race: Beyond the Crisis in Black America; The Power of Babel: A Natural History of Language; Doing Our Own Thing: The Degradation of Language and Music in America and Why We Should, Like, Care; Defining Creole; and Language Interrupted: Signs of Non-Native Acquisition in Standard Language Grammars. His latest book, forthcoming in May 2008, is All About the Beat: Why Hip-Hop Can’t Save Black America.

John McWhorter talked about his life, his career, and his body of writing. Topics included his careers as a linguist and as a commentator on… read more