Please note, this program is being postponed until Sunday, September 27 at 4 PM. 

Please note, this event will take place remotely via Zoom. Zoom meeting details will be emailed to you when you register.

Dangerous Crooked Scoundrels: Insulting the President from Past to Present
Presented by Edwin Battistella, Author

In this presentation, author Edwin Battistella discusses his book, Dangerous Crooked Scoundrels: Insulting the President from Washington to Trump (Oxford University Press, 2020). Battistella traces the ways in which presidents have been insulted over the centuries since the founding of the republic, selecting from over 500 examples he has collected. Battistella suggests that less has changed than you might think, as far as insults go. He also looks at the language of the insult itself and the categories of invective and figures of speech that resonate politically. He will also discuss how various chief executives have responded to attacks.

Edwin L. Battistella teaches linguistics and writing at Southern Oregon University in Ashland, Oregon. He is the author of six books including Sorry About That: the Language of Public Apology and Bad Language: Are Some Words Better Than Others? Battistella contributes a monthly blog to Oxford University Press, called Between the Lines with Edwin Battistella. He also moderates the Literary Ashland blog and twitter feed.