When I wrote You Just Don't Understand: Women and Men in Conversation I didn’t know that what everyone would respond to most strongly is the question, “Why don’t men like to stop and ask for directions?” (Before the book was published, no one talked about this gender difference; as a result of the book, it is now the ubiquitous subject of jokes, cartoons, skits, greeting cards, and casual conversations.) The answer to this question will be revealed in the lectures that follow, as it captures the essence of what this course will address: the patterns that tend to distinguish how men and women use language in their everyday lives, and the consequences of these differences (as well as similarities) for conversations and relationships between women and men. My goal in this series, in addition to illuminating the patterns of women’s and men’s uses of language, is to enhance understanding of how language works in everyday life. I am told by students who have taken my courses that this understanding helps them in their everyday lives, as every aspect of our lives involves talking to people of the other sex—in our personal relationships, our families, at work, and in trying to get just about anything done.
Deborah Tannen is University Professor of Linguistics at Georgetown University in Washington, D.C. She has written countless articles along with nineteen books, including the best-sellingYou Just Don't Understand, That's Not What I Meant!, and I Only Say This Because I Love You: Talking to Your Parents, Partners, Sibs, and Kids When You Are All Adults.Tannen lectures around the world and regularly appears on television as an expert on
interpersonal communication.
Lecture 1 He Said/She Said: A Framework for Understanding Conversations Between Women and Men
Lecture 2 The Source of Gender Patterns: Children at Play
Lecture 3 A Cross-Cultural Approach to GenderTalk
Lecture 4 The Role of Opposition in Men's Relationships
Lecture 5 The Role of Talk in Women's Relationships
Lecture 6 The Interplay of Power and Connection
Lecture 7 Ambiguity and Polysemy: Two Keys to Understanding Language and Gender
Lecture 8 Indirectness: Not in So Many Words
Lecture 9 Talking at Home: Gender in the Family
Lecture 10 Talking at Work
Lecture 11 Who Talks More?: Public and Private Speaking
Lecture 12 A History of Research on Gender and Language
Lecture 13 Nature/Nurture: The Source of Gender Differences
Lecture 14 Conclusion: What Can You Do?