Abstract

This talk derives from my second book project, tentatively titled "Mind Over Chatter: The Conceptual History of Everyday Talk."  In "Mind Over Chatter," I trace the intellectual history of ordinary conversation from Søren Kierkegaard’s inaugural theory of “chatter" to Martin Heidegger’s resurgent account of “idle talk" to Jacques Lacan’s culminating treatment of “empty speech”—and ultimately into our digital present, where “small talk” has now become the basis for “big data.”

Short bio

Samuel McCormick is a EURIAS Fellow at AIAS and Associate Professor of Communication Studies at San Francisco State University, USA.  He studies rhetoric and public advocacy, especially as these topics intersect with broader issues in communication and social theory, intellectual and cultural history, and the ever-shifting relationship between media, technology, and social change. His first book, Letters to Power: Public Advocacy Without Public Intellectuals won the Franklyn S. Haiman Award for Distinguished Scholarship in Freedom of Expression, the James A. Winans - Herbert A. Wichelns Memorial Award for Distinguished Scholarship in Rhetoric and Public Address, and the Everett Lee Hunt Award.

Samuel McCormic's project at AIAS

What is a Fellows' Seminar?

The AIAS Fellows' Seminar is a session of seminars held by the AIAS fellow or by other speakers proposed by the fellows. In each seminar, one fellow will present and discuss his/her current research and research project, closing off with a question and discussion session.

All seminars are held in English and open to the public. Registration to the seminar is not necessary.  Read more about the AIAS Fellows' Seminar here.