The New Peace Linguistics and the Role of Language in Conflict (Peace Education)

The idea of Peace Linguistics (PL) has been around for decades. However, the practice of PL has only occurred much more recently, only within the last few years, since the first credit-bearing, university-level PL course was taught at Brigham Young University-Hawaii in 2017. Since then, the field of NPL has grown beyond its original goals, of using peaceful language and language that avoids or de-escalates conflict. The New Peace Linguistics (NPL) focuses on in-depth, systematic analyses of the spoken and written language of some of the most powerful people in the world, such as presidents of the USA, as it is they who have the power to start wars or to bring peace. As the first book to be published on PL and on NPL, this work represents a ground-breaking study of the power of language to hurt and harm or to help and give hope. The first four chapters of the book, which provide the foundation on which the rest of the book is built, introduce the concept of Peace Linguistics and the New Peace Linguistics, starting with the origins of PL and coming to the present day. The remaining Part Two and Part Three chapters present in-depth, systematic NPL analyses of George W. Bush, Colin L. Powell, Barack H. Obama, Donald J. Trump and Joseph R. Biden. The concluding chapter reiterates the most important distinguishing and recurring features of NPL, and looks at where the field may be headed in the future. Andy Curtis (PhD) is a Professor in the Graduate School of Education at Anaheim University. From 2015 to 2016, he served as the 50th President of the TESOL International Association. He has (co)authored and (co)edited 200 articles, book chapters and books, and he has presented to 50,000 language educators in 100 countries. He is based in Ontario, Canada, from where he works with learning organizations worldwide.