Language and Power 18 entries
001 Language and Power Linguistic capital
ling-GWIS-tik KAP-ih-tul noun
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001 Linguistic capital The social and economic value you get from speaking a language, or a way of speaking, that powerful people reward.
This is the hinge of your Fulbright question. The test is whether employers and universities reward English learned on TikTok, or only classroom English with the "right" accent. Bourdieu pictured society as a "linguistic market" where some ways of speaking are worth more than others. In Morocco that market ranks French, Modern Standard Arabic, English, Spanish, Darija and Tamazight differently depending on the setting.
Where the word came from
French sociologist Pierre Bourdieu, "The Economics of Linguistic Exchanges," Social Science Information, 1977.
Seen in 2027-28 Fulbright application; Triangle ChatGPT piece; Tunisia comparison.
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002 Language and Power Diglossia
dye-GLOSS-ee-uh noun
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002 Diglossia When a community uses one form of a language for formal things like news and religion, and a different everyday form at home and on the street.
Arabic is the textbook case. Moroccans read Modern Standard Arabic, which almost nobody speaks as a first language, but they live their lives in Darija. That split shapes literacy and decides who gets to feel "fluent."
Where the word came from
The Greek writer Emmanuel Roidis used the word in 1885, and Jean Psichari spread it in French. The Arabic scholar William Marcais applied it to Arabic in 1930. Charles Ferguson made it famous in English with his 1959 article "Diglossia" in the journal Word, though he's often wrongly called the coiner.
Seen in Fulbright application; literacy piece.
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003 Language and Power Code-switching
KODE-swich-ing noun
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003 Code-switching Moving between two or more languages or ways of speaking inside one conversation.
Moroccan speech often slides between Darija, French and English in a single sentence. That's a skill, not a weakness, and it signals identity and class.
Where the word came from
Linguist Hans Vogt is credited with first using the term, in a 1954 review in Word. Uriel Weinreich had written of "switching codes" in 1953.
Seen in Fulbright application; "doodle to reality" series.
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004 Language and Power Linguistic imperialism
ling-GWIS-tik im-PEER-ee-uh-liz-um noun
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004 Linguistic imperialism The spread of a powerful language, often English, in ways that push other languages down and keep unequal power in place.
This is the "reproduces the hierarchy" side of your question. Present it as one strong theory, because critics note that people also choose English for their own reasons.
Where the word came from
Robert Phillipson popularized the term with his 1992 book Linguistic Imperialism.
Seen in Fulbright application; French language politics piece.
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005 Language and Power Glottophobia
GLOT-oh-FOH-bee-uh noun
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005 Glottophobia Contempt for people, or discrimination against them, because of their accent or dialect.
It turns a conversation about "bad grammar" into one about prejudice. Mocking Appalachian speech is a clear example.
Where the word came from
French sociolinguist Philippe Blanchet popularized it, notably in his 2016 book Discriminations: combattre la glottophobie.
Seen in Dolly Parton investigation; French language politics piece.
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006 Language and Power Language ideology
LANG-gwij eye-dee-OL-oh-jee noun
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006 Language ideology The beliefs people hold about languages, such as which one is "logical," "backward," "modern" or "pure."
These beliefs are rarely about language alone. They usually stand in for beliefs about the people who speak it.
Where the word came from
Linguistic anthropologist Michael Silverstein is widely credited with defining "linguistic ideology" in a 1979 paper. Kathryn Woolard and Bambi Schieffelin built out the field in the 1990s.
Seen in Fulbright application; all language pieces.
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007 Language and Power Standard language ideology
STAN-dard LANG-gwij eye-dee-OL-oh-jee noun
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007 Standard language ideology The belief that a language has one correct version and every other version is a broken copy.
It explains why schools, news anchors and AI tools reward one accent over others. A 2024 UC Berkeley study by Fleisig and colleagues tested ChatGPT on 10 English varieties and was presented at EMNLP, a major language-technology conference. ChatGPT's answers to non-"standard" varieties were 19% worse on stereotyping, 25% worse on demeaning content and 15% worse on condescension.
Where the word came from
Linguist Rosina Lippi-Green defined it in 1994 as a bias toward an abstract, idealized, uniform language that dominant institutions impose and maintain.
Seen in Triangle ChatGPT piece; Dolly Parton investigation.
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008 Language and Power Glottopolitics
GLOT-oh-POL-ih-tiks noun
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008 Glottopolitics Every action a society takes on language, from national laws down to a parent correcting a child's accent.
It's wider than "language policy" because small everyday acts count too. That suits a reporter who reads TikTok comments as closely as ministry decrees.
Where the word came from
Louis Guespin and Jean-Baptiste Marcellesi, "Pour la glottopolitique," Langages, 1986.
Seen in Fulbright application; French language politics piece.
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009 Language and Power Arabization
air-uh-bih-ZAY-shun noun
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009 Arabization Government policies that replace other languages, especially French, with Arabic in schools, courts and public life.
After independence, states in the Maghreb used Arabization to undo French rule. Amazigh activists argue it also pushed Tamazight aside. The same policy reads as liberation to one group and erasure to another.
Where the word came from
From the Arabic "ta'rib." It became a state program after Morocco and Tunisia won independence in 1956.
Seen in Fulbright application; Tunisia comparison; "doodle to reality" series.
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010 Language and Power Francophonie
frahn-koh-foh-NEE noun
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010 Francophonie The worldwide community of French speakers. It's also the name of the international organization of French-speaking states.
The word was born inside a colonial project. Today it presents itself as cultural cooperation, and critics call it soft power.
Where the word came from
French geographer Onesime Reclus coined it around 1880 in France, Algerie et colonies. He openly supported colonial expansion. Some sources date the word's spread to the 1886 edition.
Seen in Capstone on French language diplomacy in Morocco; French language politics piece.
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011 Language and Power Darija
DAR-ee-juh noun
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011 Darija Moroccan Arabic, the everyday spoken language most Moroccans use.
Darija carries Amazigh, French and Spanish words, so it's a living record of the country's layered history. It has no official status, yet it thrives online.
Where the word came from
From the Arabic "darija," usually translated as "common" or "everyday" speech.
Seen in Fulbright application; "doodle to reality" series.
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012 Language and Power Tamazight
tah-mah-ZEET noun
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012 Tamazight The Amazigh (Berber) languages of North Africa. In Morocco, the name also covers the standardized official version.
Article 5 of Morocco's 2011 constitution says Arabic "remains the official language of the State" and Tamazight "constitutes an official language of the State." Activists read that "the" versus "an" as a quiet ranking.
Where the word came from
Tamazight is the Amazigh name for the language itself. The Royal Institute of Amazigh Culture (IRCAM) built the Moroccan standard from three regional varieties: Tashelhit, Central Atlas Tamazight and Tarifit.
Seen in Fulbright application; "doodle to reality" series.
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013 Language and Power Tifinagh
tee-fee-NAHG noun
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013 Tifinagh The alphabet used to write Tamazight, with roots in ancient Libyco-Berber rock inscriptions.
Choosing Tifinagh over the Arabic or Latin alphabet was a political fight. Pan-Arabist critics called it divisive, and supporters saw it as reclaiming heritage.
Where the word came from
King Mohammed VI approved it as the official script on 10 February 2003, on IRCAM's recommendation. Where the word itself comes from is debated. A common theory links it to "Punic," but that isn't settled.
Seen in Fulbright application; "doodle to reality" series.
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014 Language and Power Lingua franca
LING-gwuh FRANK-uh noun
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014 Lingua franca A shared language people use when they don't speak each other's first languages.
Calling English "the global lingua franca" sounds neutral. It also hides the question of who had to learn whose language.
Where the word came from
Italian for "Frankish language." It first named a Mediterranean trade language that mixed Italian, Spanish, Arabic and other languages.
Seen in Fulbright application; UN coverage.
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015 Language and Power Language shift and revitalization
LANG-gwij shift / ree-VY-tuh-lih-ZAY-shun nouns
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015 Language shift and revitalization Shift is when a community gradually stops using its language and switches to another. Revitalization is an organized effort to bring a weakened language back.
Shift usually happens one generation at a time, as parents choose the "useful" language. Tamazight on road signs and TV is a revitalization story still being written. Diaspora kids belong in this story too, from Moroccan families in the Netherlands to Amazigh speakers in Casablanca. Many of them understand a "heritage language" at home but can't read it.
Where the word came from
Uriel Weinreich discussed shift in 1953. Joshua Fishman's 1991 book Reversing Language Shift set the framework for revival.
Seen in "doodle to reality" series; Dolly Parton investigation; Netherlands piece.
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016 Language and Power Extramural English
EK-struh-MYOOR-ul ING-glish noun
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016 Extramural English English that people pick up outside the classroom through games, videos, music and social media.
This is exactly what your Fulbright project studies. Using the established term shows reviewers you know the research.
Where the word came from
Swedish researcher Pia Sundqvist coined it in her 2009 doctoral dissertation.
Seen in 2027-28 Fulbright application; Triangle ChatGPT piece.
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017 Language and Power Linguistic landscape
ling-GWIS-tik LAND-skape noun
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017 Linguistic landscape All the visible language in a public space, like street signs, shop fronts and graffiti.
A single photo of a Moroccan sign in Arabic, Tifinagh and French tells a whole story about power. That makes the idea a natural fit for Instagram and your doodle videos.
Where the word came from
Rodrigue Landry and Richard Bourhis defined it in a 1997 article.
Seen in "doodle to reality" series; UN photojournalism.
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018 Language and Power Substrate and superstrate
SUB-strayt / SOO-per-strayt nouns
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018 Substrate and superstrate A substrate is an older language that leaves traces in a newer one. A superstrate is a dominant language laid on top.
These are the technical words behind "colonial language layering," which is your own framing rather than a standard term. Amazigh sits under Darija as a substrate, and French and Spanish sit on top as superstrates. Phoenician (Punic) and Latin are older layers still.
Where the word came from
The substrate idea is usually credited to Italian linguist Graziadio Isaia Ascoli in the late 1800s.
Seen in "doodle to reality" series on the ten languages of Morocco.
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Media Literacy 7 entries
019 Media Literacy Framing
FRAY-ming noun
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019 Framing Choices about what to emphasize, what to leave out and which words to use. Those choices shape how an audience understands a story.
"Migrants" versus "invaders," or "clashes" versus "massacre," can describe the same event with a different moral. Euphemisms like "collateral damage" are framing too, because they make violence sound like paperwork.
Where the word came from
Erving Goffman's 1974 book Frame Analysis laid the groundwork. Robert Entman gave the standard media definition in 1993.
Seen in Rules of war and genocide pieces; border and migration piece.
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020 Media Literacy Agenda-setting
uh-JEN-duh SET-ing noun
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020 Agenda-setting The power news outlets have to shape what the public thinks is important, just by choosing what to cover.
At UNGA week, a hundred issues compete for a few headlines. Whichever crises get the cameras also get attention and money.
Where the word came from
Maxwell McCombs and Donald Shaw, Public Opinion Quarterly, 1972. They interviewed 100 undecided voters in five Chapel Hill precincts between 18 September and 6 October 1968.
Seen in Climate Week NYC and UNGA 2026 coverage.
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021 Media Literacy Propaganda
prop-uh-GAN-duh noun
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021 Propaganda Information spread on purpose to push people toward a belief or action, often through emotion rather than evidence.
Nearly every 20th-century genocide was prepared through propaganda. That makes it central to the "before" stage of your atrocity arc.
Where the word came from
From the Congregatio de Propaganda Fide, a Catholic missionary body founded by Pope Gregory XV in 1622. It meant "spreading the faith" before it turned negative.
Seen in Rules of war and genocide pieces; spectacle essay.
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022 Media Literacy Misinformation, disinformation, malinformation
mis- / dis- / mal-in-for-MAY-shun nouns
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022 Misinformation, disinformation, malinformation Misinformation is false and shared by mistake. Disinformation is false and shared on purpose. Malinformation is true but shared to cause harm.
Intent is the difference, and it changes how you report. Calling your uncle's post "disinformation" accuses him of lying.
Where the word came from
Claire Wardle and Hossein Derakhshan set out this "information disorder" framework in a 2017 Council of Europe report. "Disinformation" is usually traced to the Russian "dezinformatsiya," though its first use is debated.
Seen in Media literacy content; political piece.
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023 Media Literacy On the record, off the record, on background
phrases
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023 On the record, off the record, on background "On the record" means you can quote the person by name. "Off the record" means you can't use the information at all. "On background" means you can use it without naming the source.
Newsrooms define these terms differently, so agree on the ground rules out loud before an interview. That matters most in UN hallways.
Where the word came from
Long-standing newsroom conventions with no single documented coiner.
Seen in UNGA week 2026; Impact Lounge panels.
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024 Media Literacy Embargo
em-BAR-goh noun
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024 Embargo An agreement not to publish information until a set date and time.
UN reports and climate studies often arrive under embargo during UNGA and Climate Week. Breaking an embargo can cost you press access.
Where the word came from
From the Spanish "embargar," to seize or restrain. It first meant trade bans on ships.
Seen in Climate Week NYC and UNGA 2026 coverage.
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025 Media Literacy Large language model (LLM)
larj LANG-gwij MOD-ul noun
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025 Large language model (LLM) An AI system, like ChatGPT, trained on huge amounts of text to predict and produce language.
LLMs are now informal tutors for millions of people, but they tend to model one "standard" English. That raises your exact question of access versus hierarchy.
Where the word came from
The term spread in AI research in the late 2010s. OpenAI released ChatGPT publicly on 30 November 2022.
Seen in Triangle ChatGPT piece; Fulbright application.
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Empire and Globalization 12 entries
026 Empire and Globalization Protectorate
proh-TEK-ter-it noun
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026 Protectorate A form of colonial control where a foreign power runs a country's key affairs while a local ruler stays on the throne.
Morocco was a French protectorate from the 1912 Treaty of Fez until 1956, and Spain held zones in the north and south. That's why Spanish is on your map of Moroccan languages. France also framed its rule as a "mission civilisatrice," or civilizing mission.
Where the word came from
From the Latin "protegere," to protect. The name itself flatters a relationship of control.
Seen in "doodle to reality" series; capstone.
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027 Empire and Globalization Decolonization
dee-kol-uh-nih-ZAY-shun noun
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027 Decolonization Colonized countries winning independence. More broadly, it also means the work of undoing colonial habits in culture and thinking.
The word covers both a historical event and an ongoing project, so say which one you mean. Arabization was sold to the public as linguistic decolonization.
Where the word came from
Its first use is debated. German economist Moritz Julius Bonn is often credited with spreading it in the early 1930s, but a French use from 1836 exists.
Seen in Fulbright application; "doodle to reality" series.
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028 Empire and Globalization Neocolonialism
nee-oh-kuh-LOH-nee-uh-liz-um noun
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028 Neocolonialism Control of a formally independent country through money, debt, trade or culture instead of direct rule.
Critics apply this lens to Francophonie and some language programs. Your reporting can test whether the label fits a specific case.
Where the word came from
Kwame Nkrumah popularized it with his 1965 book Neo-Colonialism: The Last Stage of Imperialism. He did not invent the word.
Seen in Capstone; French language politics piece.
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029 Empire and Globalization Orientalism
or-ee-EN-tuh-liz-um noun
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029 Orientalism The Western habit of picturing the Middle East, North Africa and Asia as exotic or backward, in ways that justified domination.
Travel content about Morocco slides into Orientalism fast, with souks, spices and "timeless" medinas. Naming it keeps your platform honest.
Where the word came from
Edward Said gave it this critical meaning in his 1978 book Orientalism. Before that, the word just meant the academic study of "the East."
Seen in Fulbright application; your own content ethics.
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030 Empire and Globalization Hegemony
heh-JEM-uh-nee noun
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030 Hegemony Power that works mostly through consent, where people come to accept the ruling group's values as common sense.
When young Moroccans themselves call English "the language of success," that's hegemony. No law makes them say it.
Where the word came from
From the Greek "hegemonia," leadership. Antonio Gramsci developed the cultural meaning in his Prison Notebooks (1929 to 1935).
Seen in Fulbright application; political piece.
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031 Empire and Globalization Sharp power
SHARP POW-er noun
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031 Sharp power Influence that works through manipulation, censorship and distraction rather than through attraction or force.
It completes the set with soft and hard power. It helps you tell apart a cultural center that invites you in and an influence campaign that quietly limits what you can say.
Where the word came from
Christopher Walker and Jessica Ludwig of the National Endowment for Democracy, writing in Foreign Affairs on 16 November 2017.
Seen in Public diplomacy career path; political piece.
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032 Empire and Globalization Cultural diplomacy
KUL-chur-ul dih-PLOH-muh-see noun
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032 Cultural diplomacy A government using arts, language and exchange programs to build goodwill and influence abroad.
The Alliance Francaise, founded in Paris on 21 July 1883, is one of the oldest examples and a core case in your capstone. Fulbright is cultural diplomacy too, which makes you both participant and reporter, and deserves a transparency note.
Where the word came from
A 20th-century policy term with no single coiner. Milton Cummings's 2003 definition is widely quoted.
Seen in Capstone on French language diplomacy in Morocco; public diplomacy career path.
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033 Empire and Globalization Public diplomacy
PUB-lik dih-PLOH-muh-see noun
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033 Public diplomacy A government talking directly to foreign publics, not just their governments, to shape how it is seen.
It's a possible career track for you, and it has a candid origin story. Gullion said, "I would have liked to call it 'propaganda.'"
Where the word came from
Edmund Gullion, dean of Tufts's Fletcher School, gave it its modern meaning in 1965. Historian Nicholas Cull traced the phrase back to a London Times editorial in January 1856.
Seen in Public diplomacy career path; capstone.
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034 Empire and Globalization Global South
GLOH-bul SOWTH noun
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034 Global South A political label for countries shaped by colonialism and still disadvantaged in the world economy, rather than a strictly geographic one.
It replaced "Third World," which demographer Alfred Sauvy coined in 1952. China and India both sit in the Northern Hemisphere, so the label is about power, not the map.
Where the word came from
Activist Carl Oglesby is credited with first using it in a 1969 Commonweal article on the Vietnam War.
Seen in Climate Week NYC; UNGA coverage.
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035 Empire and Globalization World-systems theory
WURLD SIS-tumz THEER-ee noun
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035 World-systems theory The idea that the world economy is one system, with a rich "core," a poor "periphery" and a "semi-periphery" in between.
It explains why language choice follows money. People learn the languages of the core because that's where the jobs, visas and platforms are.
Where the word came from
Immanuel Wallerstein, The Modern World-System, volume one, 1974.
Seen in Fulbright application; grad school applications.
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036 Empire and Globalization Extractivism
ek-STRAK-tiv-iz-um noun
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036 Extractivism An economy built on pulling raw materials out of a place and sending the profits somewhere else.
It's a core Climate Week term. Researchers also use it for taking knowledge from communities without giving back, which is a warning for your own fieldwork.
Where the word came from
From the Spanish "extractivismo." Latin American scholars, including Eduardo Gudynas, developed its critical meaning.
Seen in Climate Week NYC 2026; Fulbright ethics section.
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037 Empire and Globalization Enclosure and Fortress Europe
en-KLOH-zhur / FOR-tris YOOR-up nouns
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037 Enclosure and Fortress Europe Enclosure is fencing off shared land and turning it into private property. Fortress Europe is a critical name for the EU's hard-line border policies.
Both are about walls around resources and people. "Fortress Europe" began as Nazi Germany's World War II phrase "Festung Europa," which shows how words travel from propaganda into policy debate.
Where the word came from
England's enclosures ran from roughly the 1500s to the 1800s. Karl Marx made them central to his history of capitalism.
Seen in Fortress and enclosure themes; border and migration piece; Netherlands piece.
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Global Justice and Human Rights 15 entries
038 Global Justice and Human Rights Genocide
JEN-uh-side noun
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038 Genocide Acts committed with intent to destroy, in whole or in part, a national, ethnic, racial or religious group.
The legal core is intent. Proving intent often depends on language in speeches, orders and broadcasts, which is why your language lens fits.
Where the word came from
Raphael Lemkin coined the word in his 1944 book Axis Rule in Occupied Europe, from the Greek "genos" (race, tribe) and the Latin "-cide" (killing). The UN adopted the Genocide Convention on 9 December 1948.
Seen in Atrocity and genocide history pieces.
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039 Global Justice and Human Rights Crimes against humanity
krymz uh-GENST hyoo-MAN-ih-tee noun
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039 Crimes against humanity Widespread or systematic attacks on civilians, like murder, enslavement or persecution, in war or peace.
This charge doesn't require intent to destroy a group. Prosecutors often use it when genocidal intent is hard to prove.
Where the word came from
France, Britain and Russia first used the phrase diplomatically in a May 1915 declaration condemning the massacres of Armenians. It was first prosecuted at Nuremberg in 1945.
Seen in Rules of war and atrocity pieces.
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040 Global Justice and Human Rights War crimes
WOR krymz noun
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040 War crimes Serious violations of the laws of war, like deliberately attacking civilians or torturing prisoners.
People online use the term loosely, but it has a legal meaning. Say who is making the claim and under which law. The International Criminal Court in The Hague tries these cases, but only for member states or cases the Security Council refers.
Where the word came from
Rooted in the Hague Conventions of 1899 and 1907 and in the Geneva Conventions. The ICC's founding treaty, the Rome Statute, took effect on 1 July 2002.
Seen in Rules of war pieces; Netherlands piece.
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041 Global Justice and Human Rights Jus ad bellum
yoos ad BELL-um noun
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041 Jus ad bellum The rules on when a country may go to war at all.
Today this mostly means the UN Charter's ban on force, with exceptions for self-defense and Security Council approval. It's the "before" of your rules of war arc.
Where the word came from
The Latin sounds ancient, but historian Robert Kolb showed the paired terms were coined in the League of Nations era, rarely used before the late 1940s.
Seen in Rules of war pieces.
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042 Global Justice and Human Rights Jus in bello
yoos in BELL-oh noun
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042 Jus in bello The rules on how a war must be fought once it starts, no matter who started it.
The two sets of rules are kept separate on purpose. A side fighting a "just" war still commits war crimes if it targets civilians or causes disproportionate civilian harm.
Where the word came from
It shares its history with jus ad bellum, as Robert Kolb's 1997 study in the International Review of the Red Cross showed.
Seen in Rules of war pieces.
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043 Global Justice and Human Rights International humanitarian law and the Geneva Conventions
in-ter-NASH-uh-nul hyoo-man-ih-TAIR-ee-un law noun
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043 International humanitarian law and the Geneva Conventions The law that protects people who aren't fighting, or can no longer fight, during armed conflict.
The Geneva Conventions are the backbone of this law. Every country has joined them, which makes violations a powerful story frame.
Where the word came from
The first Geneva Convention came in 1864. The four modern Conventions were adopted on 12 August 1949, with two Additional Protocols in 1977.
Seen in Rules of war pieces.
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044 Global Justice and Human Rights Responsibility to Protect (R2P)
ree-spon-sih-BIL-ih-tee tuh pruh-TEKT noun
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044 Responsibility to Protect (R2P) The principle that states must protect their people from atrocities, and that the world should step in when a state fails to.
It came out of the failures in Rwanda and Srebrenica, and the 2011 Libya intervention damaged it. That record makes it a strong "after" topic.
Where the word came from
The International Commission on Intervention and State Sovereignty set it out in a December 2001 report. World leaders endorsed a narrower version in the 2005 World Summit Outcome.
Seen in Rules of war pieces; UN human rights career path.
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045 Global Justice and Human Rights Atrocity prevention
uh-TROS-ih-tee pree-VEN-shun noun
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045 Atrocity prevention Spotting warning signs of mass violence early and acting before the killing starts.
Hate speech and dehumanizing language are key warning signs, so your language lens fits directly inside prevention work. Gregory Stanton's "ten stages of genocide" follows the same before, during and after logic.
Where the word came from
It grew into a policy field after Rwanda and Srebrenica. The UN's 2014 Framework of Analysis for Atrocity Crimes is a core tool.
Seen in Atrocity pieces; UN human rights career path.
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046 Global Justice and Human Rights Dehumanization
dee-hyoo-muh-nih-ZAY-shun noun
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046 Dehumanization Describing a group of people as less than human, such as animals, insects or disease.
Before the 1994 genocide in Rwanda, extremist radio called Tutsi "inyenzi," meaning cockroaches. It's one of the clearest cases of words doing the groundwork for violence.
Where the word came from
A general English term with no single coiner. Genocide researchers began studying it closely after the Holocaust.
Seen in Atrocity and genocide history pieces.
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047 Global Justice and Human Rights Incitement and hate speech
in-SITE-ment / hate speech nouns
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047 Incitement and hate speech Incitement is speech that pushes others to commit a crime. Hate speech attacks people for who they are.
With incitement, language itself becomes a crime. In the 2003 "Media Case," the Rwanda tribunal convicted radio and newspaper founders for what they broadcast and printed.
Where the word came from
Article III(c) of the 1948 Genocide Convention bans "direct and public incitement to commit genocide." The UN adopted a Strategy and Plan of Action on Hate Speech in 2019.
Seen in Atrocity pieces; spectacle essay.
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048 Global Justice and Human Rights Ethnic cleansing
ETH-nik KLEN-zing noun
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048 Ethnic cleansing Forcibly removing an ethnic or religious group from an area through terror, expulsion or killing.
It isn't a separate crime in international law, so it often works as a softer political label than "genocide." That choice of word is itself a story.
Where the word came from
It entered English in the early 1990s as a translation of the Serbo-Croatian "etnicko ciscenje," used during the Yugoslav wars.
Seen in Atrocity pieces; border and migration piece.
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049 Global Justice and Human Rights Transitional justice
tran-ZISH-un-ul JUS-tis noun
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049 Transitional justice The ways societies deal with past mass abuses, through trials, truth commissions, reparations and memorials.
It's the heart of the "after" stage. Its opposite is impunity, when perpetrators face no punishment. Morocco's Equity and Reconciliation Commission, set up in 2004, examined abuses from 1956 to 1999, the "Years of Lead."
Where the word came from
Legal scholar Ruti Teitel says she coined the term in 1991. Neil Kritz's 1995 volumes helped spread it.
Seen in Atrocity and genocide history pieces; Fulbright background.
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050 Global Justice and Human Rights Self-determination
self-dih-ter-mih-NAY-shun noun
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050 Self-determination The right of a people to choose their own political status and shape their own development.
It drove decolonization and still underlies disputes like Western Sahara. The UN lists Western Sahara as a Non-Self-Governing Territory, and Morocco claims it. Report that dispute with care.
Where the word came from
It was written into the UN Charter in 1945, Article 1(2), and strengthened by General Assembly Resolution 1514 in 1960.
Seen in Fulbright background; political piece.
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051 Global Justice and Human Rights Linguistic human rights and linguicism
ling-GWIS-tik HYOO-mun ryts / LING-gwih-siz-um nouns
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051 Linguistic human rights and linguicism Linguistic human rights are rights tied to language, like schooling in your mother tongue. Linguicism is discrimination based on language.
Together they link your two biggest beats. Amazigh activists use this frame to push for real implementation of Tamazight.
Where the word came from
Tove Skutnabb-Kangas coined "linguicism" in 1986, though many sources give 1988. She and Robert Phillipson edited the 1994 volume Linguistic Human Rights.
Seen in Fulbright application; UN human rights career path.
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052 Global Justice and Human Rights Refugee, asylum seeker, migrant
ref-yoo-JEE / uh-SY-lum SEE-ker / MY-grunt nouns
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052 Refugee, asylum seeker, migrant A refugee has fled persecution and is legally recognized. An asylum seeker is still waiting for that protection. A migrant is anyone who moves across borders.
Mixing up these words can erase legal protections. The rule of "non-refoulement" bars sending refugees back into danger.
Where the word came from
The 1951 Refugee Convention and its 1967 Protocol define "refugee." The word entered English from French in the 1680s, describing Huguenots who had fled France.
Seen in Border and migration piece; Netherlands piece.
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Culture and Identity 13 entries
053 Culture and Identity Amazigh (plural Imazighen)
ah-mah-ZEEG / ee-mah-ZEE-ghen noun and adjective
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053 Amazigh (plural Imazighen) The Indigenous peoples of North Africa, and their preferred name over "Berber."
"Berber" comes from the Greek word for "barbarian," so the choice of name is itself about power. Amazigh is often said to mean "free people," but linguists debate that. Whether Amazigh people should be framed as "Indigenous" is also debated inside Morocco.
Where the word came from
It's the name Amazigh speakers use for themselves, and its exact origin is uncertain. The UN adopted the Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples on 13 September 2007.
Seen in Fulbright application; "doodle to reality" series.
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054 Culture and Identity Intangible cultural heritage
in-TAN-jih-bul KUL-chur-ul HAIR-ih-tij noun
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054 Intangible cultural heritage Living traditions like music, oral poetry, crafts and rituals, as opposed to buildings and objects.
It covers Amazigh oral poetry, Appalachian ballads and Korean Buddhist ritual. A UNESCO listing brings money and pride, but it can also freeze a tradition in place.
Where the word came from
UNESCO's 2003 Convention for the Safeguarding of the Intangible Cultural Heritage.
Seen in Dolly Parton investigation; Gowoo Sunim documentary; Fulbright.
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055 Culture and Identity Cultural appropriation
KUL-chur-ul uh-proh-pree-AY-shun noun
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055 Cultural appropriation A dominant group taking parts of a marginalized group's culture, often without credit, understanding or benefit to that group.
Online, people often use the term for any borrowing at all. You can separate exchange from exploitation by asking who profits and who gets credit.
Where the word came from
No single person coined it. The OED's earliest citation is a 1945 essay by Arthur E. Christy. Kenneth Coutts-Smith's 1976 paper on "cultural colonialism" shaped the modern idea.
Seen in Dolly Parton investigation; counterculture essay.
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056 Culture and Identity Spectacle
SPEK-tuh-kul noun
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056 Spectacle In cultural theory, a society where images and media events stand in for real life and real participation.
UNGA week, political rallies and viral outrage all run on spectacle. Your essays can ask when spectacle serves the public and when it distracts.
Where the word came from
Guy Debord, La Societe du spectacle (The Society of the Spectacle), 1967.
Seen in Bread and Puppet essay; spectacle piece; political piece.
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057 Culture and Identity Bread and circuses (panem et circenses)
bred and SUR-kus-iz / PAH-nem et keer-KEN-sayz noun phrase
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057 Bread and circuses (panem et circenses) Keeping people quiet with cheap food and entertainment instead of real political power.
This is the anchor of your Bread and Puppet essay. The twist is that Bread and Puppet hands out real bread to wake audiences up, not to distract them.
Where the word came from
The Roman poet Juvenal, Satire 10, line 81, early 2nd century CE. He was mocking Romans who had traded their political voice for handouts and chariot races.
Seen in Bread and Puppet Theater essay.
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058 Culture and Identity Political theater and agitprop
puh-LIT-ih-kul THEE-uh-ter / AJ-it-prop nouns
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058 Political theater and agitprop Political theater is performance meant to push political thought or action. Agitprop is its most direct, message-driven form.
Peter and Elka Schumann founded Bread and Puppet on New York's Lower East Side in 1963. Its giant puppets became fixtures of anti-Vietnam War marches.
Where the word came from
"Agitprop" comes from the 1920s Soviet term "agitatsiya-propaganda." Erwin Piscator's 1929 book Das politische Theater helped define political theater.
Seen in Bread and Puppet essay; spectacle piece.
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059 Culture and Identity Counterculture
KOWN-ter-kul-chur noun
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059 Counterculture A group whose values and lifestyle openly reject the mainstream culture around it.
It's the umbrella over both the Beats and the hippies. Your essay title argues that the two belong to one longer story.
Where the word came from
Sociologist J. Milton Yinger used "contraculture" in 1960. Theodore Roszak's 1969 book The Making of a Counter Culture popularized the term.
Seen in "Before the Hippies Were the Beats."
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060 Culture and Identity Beat Generation (and beatnik)
BEET jen-er-AY-shun / BEET-nik noun
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060 Beat Generation (and beatnik) Postwar American writers like Jack Kerouac, Allen Ginsberg and William S. Burroughs who rejected conformity and experimented with form, spirituality and drugs.
The word "beat" shows how a label gets bent. Kerouac later tied it to "beatific," and the press turned it into the mocking "beatnik."
Where the word came from
Kerouac used the phrase with John Clellon Holmes around 1948. Holmes put it in print in the New York Times Magazine on 16 November 1952. Columnist Herb Caen coined "beatnik" in 1958.
Seen in "Before the Hippies Were the Beats."
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061 Culture and Identity Folk revival
FOHK rih-VY-vul noun
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061 Folk revival A movement to collect, perform and celebrate traditional music, often led by people from outside the communities it came from.
The American folk revival of the 1950s and 1960s turned Appalachian music into a national symbol. It also raised questions about who profits and who gets portrayed.
Where the word came from
It gained momentum with Harry Smith's 1952 Anthology of American Folk Music and the first Newport Folk Festival in 1959.
Seen in Dolly Parton investigation; "Before the Hippies Were the Beats."
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062 Culture and Identity Dialect and vernacular
DY-uh-lekt / ver-NAK-yoo-ler nouns
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062 Dialect and vernacular A dialect is a regional or social version of a language. The vernacular is the everyday language ordinary people actually speak, as opposed to an official one.
Whether something counts as a "dialect" or a "language" is usually decided by politics. Max Weinreich popularized the line in 1945 that a language is a dialect with an army and navy.
Where the word came from
"Dialect" comes from the Greek "dialektos," a way of speaking. "Vernacular" comes from the Latin "verna," a slave born in the household.
Seen in Dolly Parton investigation; Darija reporting.
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063 Culture and Identity Appalachian English
ap-uh-LAY-chun ING-glish noun
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063 Appalachian English The varieties of English spoken in the Appalachian mountain region of the United States.
Dolly Parton, born in 1946 in Sevier County, Tennessee, kept her accent in a culture that often mocks it. A popular myth says Appalachians speak "pure Elizabethan English," which linguists dispute.
Where the word came from
A descriptive term used by linguists such as Walt Wolfram and Michael Montgomery.
Seen in Dolly Parton investigation.
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064 Culture and Identity Matriarchy and matrilineality
MAY-tree-ar-kee / MAT-rih-lin-ee-AL-ih-tee nouns
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064 Matriarchy and matrilineality Matriarchy is a society where women hold primary power. Matrilineality means family descent passes through the mother's line.
Many societies are matrilineal without being matriarchal, and mixing the two up is a common error. Tuareg (Amazigh) society is often cited as matrilineal.
Where the word came from
Johann Jakob Bachofen's 1861 book Das Mutterrecht started the modern debate. Most anthropologists now doubt a true matriarchy has ever been documented.
Seen in Matriarchy piece.
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065 Culture and Identity Sunim and Seon
SOO-neem / SUN nouns
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065 Sunim and Seon Sunim is a Korean title of respect for Buddhist monastics. Seon is Korean Zen.
Getting the title right is basic respect in your documentary. Sources spell the name differently, so confirm with her directly.
Where the word came from
From the Korean "seunim." "Seon" is the Korean reading of the Chinese "Chan," which in Japanese is "Zen."
Seen in Short documentary on Gowoo Sunim.
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Field Notes 9 entries
066 Field Notes Ethnography and participant observation
eth-NOG-ruh-fee / par-TIS-ih-punt ob-zer-VAY-shun nouns
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066 Ethnography and participant observation Ethnography is studying a community by living among its people over time. Participant observation is joining in daily life while taking careful notes.
These are the core methods of "anthrojournalism" and of your Fulbright design. They take months, while a news assignment allows only days, and that tension is the heart of your hybrid model.
Where the word came from
"Ethnography" comes from the Greek "ethnos" (people) and "graphein" (to write). Participant observation is tied to Bronislaw Malinowski's fieldwork, described in 1922.
Seen in Fulbright application; grad school applications.
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067 Field Notes Positionality and reflexivity
puh-zish-uh-NAL-ih-tee / ree-flek-SIV-ih-tee nouns
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067 Positionality and reflexivity Positionality is how your identity shapes what you see and how people respond to you. Reflexivity is openly examining that effect.
An American researcher asking Moroccans about English carries built-in power. Naming that openly makes your Fulbright stronger.
Where the word came from
Both grew out of feminist and anthropological scholarship in the 1980s and 1990s, with no single coiner.
Seen in Fulbright application; Gowoo Sunim documentary.
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068 Field Notes Informed consent
in-FORMD kun-SENT noun
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068 Informed consent A person's clear, voluntary agreement to take part after they understand what you're doing and what the risks are.
Your Fulbright needs ethics review, and your documentary needs release forms. A public TikTok post isn't the same as permission to study someone.
Where the word came from
The 1947 Nuremberg Code set out the modern principle after the Nazi medical experiments.
Seen in Fulbright application; Gowoo Sunim documentary; UN outreach videos.
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069 Field Notes Anthrojournalism
AN-throh-JUR-nul-iz-um noun
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069 Anthrojournalism Your name for pairing slow, rigorous ethnographic research with fast, accessible public journalism.
It's the brand promise of rebecca.newswoman, so it deserves its own flashcard. Related ideas include "ethnographic journalism" and "public anthropology."
Where the word came from
No published coiner found, so this is presented as your own working term. That makes it yours to own.
Seen in Every project; grad school statements.
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070 Field Notes General Assembly vs. Security Council
JEN-er-ul uh-SEM-blee / sih-KYOOR-ih-tee KOWN-sul nouns
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070 General Assembly vs. Security Council The General Assembly includes all 193 UN member states, each with one vote. The Security Council has 15 members, and five hold vetoes.
Most General Assembly resolutions are recommendations, while Security Council decisions can bind states. Your UN Academic Impact internship and outreach videos sit on the General Assembly side.
Where the word came from
The UN Charter, signed on 26 June 1945, created both bodies.
Seen in UNGA week 2026; UN human rights career path; "8.1 Seconds of Hope."
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071 Field Notes Side event
SIDE ih-VENT noun
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071 Side event A panel, reception or talk held alongside a major official meeting, often run by NGOs, companies or governments.
Most of your UNGA and Climate Week coverage, including the Impact Lounge panels, is side events. Tell your audience these aren't official UN negotiations.
Where the word came from
Standard jargon at UN and other multilateral meetings, with no single coiner.
Seen in Climate Week NYC and UNGA 2026; Impact Lounge panels.
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072 Field Notes ECOSOC consultative status
EE-koh-sok kun-SUL-tuh-tiv STAT-us noun
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072 ECOSOC consultative status Official accreditation that lets NGOs take part in certain UN meetings and submit input.
It tells readers whether a group on a panel has formal UN standing. The status comes in three levels: general, special and roster.
Where the word came from
It rests on Article 71 of the UN Charter and is governed today by ECOSOC resolution 1996/31.
Seen in UNGA week coverage; UN career path.
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073 Field Notes Track II diplomacy
TRAK TOO dih-PLOH-muh-see noun
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073 Track II diplomacy Unofficial dialogue among people outside government, like academics and religious leaders, meant to ease conflicts that official talks can't.
Track I is official diplomacy. Knowing the tracks helps you judge who in a room can actually commit to anything. Many of these meetings run under the Chatham House Rule, created in 1927.
Where the word came from
US diplomat Joseph Montville coined it, with psychiatrist William Davidson, in "Foreign Policy According to Freud," Foreign Policy, Winter 1981-82.
Seen in UNGA coverage; public diplomacy career path.
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074 Field Notes B-roll and cinema verite
BEE-rohl / see-nay-MAH vay-ree-TAY nouns
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074 B-roll and cinema verite B-roll is supporting footage cut over interviews. Cinema verite is a documentary style that films real life with little staging.
Your Gowoo Sunim film will rely on quiet B-roll of daily practice. Verite style suits monastic life, but it still involves choices about what to film and what to cut.
Where the word came from
"B-roll" comes from old film editing, which used separate A and B reels. "Cinema verite" is tied to Jean Rouch and Edgar Morin's 1961 film Chronicle of a Summer.
Seen in Gowoo Sunim documentary; UN outreach videos; YouTube channel.
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