John McWhorter
Encyclopedia
John Hamilton McWhorter V (1965– ) is an American linguist
and political commentator. He is the author of a number of books on language and on race relations. His linguistic specialty is creole
and the process through which it forms.
in Philadelphia, and after tenth grade was accepted to Simon's Rock College, where he earned an A.A. degree. Later, he attended Rutgers University
and received a B.A.
in French
in 1985. He received a master's degree
in American Studies
from New York University
and a Ph.D.
in linguistics in 1993 from Stanford University
.
from 1993 to 1995 before taking up a position as associate professor of linguistics at the University of California, Berkeley
, from 1995 until 2003. He left that position to become a Senior Fellow at the Manhattan Institute
, a conservative
think tank
, and a columnist for the New York Sun
. Since 2008, he has been a lecturer at Columbia University
.
He has published a number of books on linguistics and on race relations and makes regular public radio and television appearances on related subjects. He has spoken many times on National Public Radio and is an occasional contributor on Bloggingheads.tv
. He has appeared twice on Penn & Teller: Bullshit!, once in the profanity episode in his capacity as a linguistics professor, and again in the slavery reparations
episode for his political views and knowledge of race relations. He is also the author of the courses titled "Understanding Linguistics: The Science of Language" and "Story of Human Language" for The Teaching Company
. His 2003 Authentically Black has been interview-reviewed on booknotes
.org.
Linguistics
Linguistics is the scientific study of human language. Linguistics can be broadly broken into three categories or subfields of study: language form, language meaning, and language in context....
and political commentator. He is the author of a number of books on language and on race relations. His linguistic specialty is creole
Creole language
A creole language, or simply a creole, is a stable natural language developed from the mixing of parent languages; creoles differ from pidgins in that they have been nativized by children as their primary language, making them have features of natural languages that are normally missing from...
and the process through which it forms.
Early life
McWhorter was born and raised in Philadelphia. He attended Friends Select SchoolFriends Select School
Friends Select School is a private Quaker school in downtown Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. The school has approximately 530 students in pre-kindergarten through 12th grade, and focuses on college preparation in the "upper school" . With a history dating to 1689, Friends Select has been located at...
in Philadelphia, and after tenth grade was accepted to Simon's Rock College, where he earned an A.A. degree. Later, he attended Rutgers University
Rutgers University
Rutgers, The State University of New Jersey , is the largest institution for higher education in New Jersey, United States. It was originally chartered as Queen's College in 1766. It is the eighth-oldest college in the United States and one of the nine Colonial colleges founded before the American...
and received a B.A.
Bachelor of Arts
A Bachelor of Arts , from the Latin artium baccalaureus, is a bachelor's degree awarded for an undergraduate course or program in either the liberal arts, the sciences, or both...
in French
French language
French is a Romance language spoken as a first language in France, the Romandy region in Switzerland, Wallonia and Brussels in Belgium, Monaco, the regions of Quebec and Acadia in Canada, and by various communities elsewhere. Second-language speakers of French are distributed throughout many parts...
in 1985. He received a master's degree
Master's degree
A master's is an academic degree granted to individuals who have undergone study demonstrating a mastery or high-order overview of a specific field of study or area of professional practice...
in American Studies
American studies
American studies or American civilization is an interdisciplinary field dealing with the study of the United States. It traditionally incorporates the study of history, literature, and critical theory, but also includes fields as diverse as law, art, the media, film, religious studies, urban...
from New York University
New York University
New York University is a private, nonsectarian research university based in New York City. NYU's main campus is situated in the Greenwich Village section of Manhattan...
and a Ph.D.
Ph.D.
A Ph.D. is a Doctor of Philosophy, an academic degree.Ph.D. may also refer to:* Ph.D. , a 1980s British group*Piled Higher and Deeper, a web comic strip*PhD: Phantasy Degree, a Korean comic series* PhD Docbook renderer, an XML renderer...
in linguistics in 1993 from Stanford University
Stanford University
The Leland Stanford Junior University, commonly referred to as Stanford University or Stanford, is a private research university on an campus located near Palo Alto, California. It is situated in the northwestern Santa Clara Valley on the San Francisco Peninsula, approximately northwest of San...
.
Career
After graduation McWhorter was an associate professor of linguistics at Cornell UniversityCornell University
Cornell University is an Ivy League university located in Ithaca, New York, United States. It is a private land-grant university, receiving annual funding from the State of New York for certain educational missions...
from 1993 to 1995 before taking up a position as associate professor of linguistics at the University of California, Berkeley
University of California, Berkeley
The University of California, Berkeley , is a teaching and research university established in 1868 and located in Berkeley, California, USA...
, from 1995 until 2003. He left that position to become a Senior Fellow at the Manhattan Institute
Manhattan Institute
The Manhattan Institute for Policy Research is a conservative, market-oriented think tank established in New York City in 1978 by Antony Fisher and William J...
, a conservative
Right-wing politics
In politics, Right, right-wing and rightist generally refer to support for a hierarchical society justified on the basis of an appeal to natural law or tradition. To varying degrees, the Right rejects the egalitarian objectives of left-wing politics, claiming that the imposition of equality is...
think tank
Think tank
A think tank is an organization that conducts research and engages in advocacy in areas such as social policy, political strategy, economics, military, and technology issues. Most think tanks are non-profit organizations, which some countries such as the United States and Canada provide with tax...
, and a columnist for the New York Sun
New York Sun
The New York Sun was a weekday daily newspaper published in New York City from 2002 to 2008. When it debuted on April 16, 2002, adopting the name, motto, and masthead of an otherwise unrelated earlier New York paper, The Sun , it became the first general-interest broadsheet newspaper to be started...
. Since 2008, he has been a lecturer at Columbia University
Columbia University
Columbia University in the City of New York is a private, Ivy League university in Manhattan, New York City. Columbia is the oldest institution of higher learning in the state of New York, the fifth oldest in the United States, and one of the country's nine Colonial Colleges founded before the...
.
He has published a number of books on linguistics and on race relations and makes regular public radio and television appearances on related subjects. He has spoken many times on National Public Radio and is an occasional contributor on Bloggingheads.tv
Bloggingheads.tv
Bloggingheads.tv is a political, world events, philosophy, and science video blog discussion site in which the participants take part in an active back and forth conversation via webcam which is then broadcast online to viewers...
. He has appeared twice on Penn & Teller: Bullshit!, once in the profanity episode in his capacity as a linguistics professor, and again in the slavery reparations
Reparations for slavery
Reparations for slavery is a proposal that some type of compensation should be provided to the descendants of enslaved people in the United States, in consideration of the coerced and uncompensated labor their ancestors performed over several centuries...
episode for his political views and knowledge of race relations. He is also the author of the courses titled "Understanding Linguistics: The Science of Language" and "Story of Human Language" for The Teaching Company
The Teaching Company
The Teaching Company is a Chantilly, Virginia company that produces recordings of lectures by university professors and high-school teachers. It sells the courses in CD, DVD, MPEG-4, and MP3 formats.- Background :...
. His 2003 Authentically Black has been interview-reviewed on booknotes
Booknotes
Booknotes is an American television series on the C-SPAN network hosted by Brian Lamb, which originally aired from 1989 to 2004. The format of the show is a one-hour, one-on-one interview with a non-fiction author. The series was broadcast at 8 p.m. Eastern Time each Sunday night, and was the...
.org.
Political Views
McWhorter characterizes himself as "a cranky liberal Democrat." In support of this description, he states that while he "disagree[s] sustainedly with many of the tenets of the Civil Rights orthodoxy," he also "supports Barack Obama, reviles the War on Drugs, supports gay marriage, never voted for George Bush and writes of Black English as coherent speech." McWhorter additionally maintains that the conservative Manhattan Institute, for which he has worked, "has always been hospitable to Democrats."External links
- Biography at Manhattan Institute
- New York Sun columns
- McWhorter's blog at The New Republic
- Cato Institute Podcast: Race Relations and the War on Drugs
- Affirmative Action at Berkeley article, debate on affirmative action
- TheRoot.com article about Black culture identity
- Video interviews and discussions with McWhorter on bloggingheads.tvBloggingheads.tvBloggingheads.tv is a political, world events, philosophy, and science video blog discussion site in which the participants take part in an active back and forth conversation via webcam which is then broadcast online to viewers...
- Latimes review of All about the Beat