Rethinking Politeness with Henri Bergson

Alessandro Duranti is Distinguished Professor of Anthropology at UCLA. His books include From Grammar to Politics: Linguistic Anthropology in a Western Samoan Village (1994), the textbook Linguistic Anthropology (1997), The Anthropology of Intentions: Language in a World of Others (2015), and a number of edited volumes. He is a Fellow of the American Academy of Arts and Sciences and the recipient of the John Simon Guggenheim Fellowship, the UCLA Alumni Distinguished Teaching Award, and the American Anthropological Association/Mayfield Award for Excellence in Undergraduate Teaching.

• Acknowledgments Contributors Introduction Alessandro Duranti Politeness Henri Bergson Chapter One: A Sympathetic Reading of Bergson's Politeness Alessandro Duranti Chapter Two: Politeness is Political Mahalia Gayle Chapter Three: "Politesse," Power, and Point of View: Bergson's Essay in Comparative Perspective Judith T. Irvine Chapter Four: "Politeness has a heart": From Mantras to Stance-Taking in French Children's Socialization to Politeness Aliyah Morgenstern Chapter Five: "Hey, but that's not respectful!": Civic Discourse and Liberal Education in Pluralistic France Graham M. Jones Chapter Six: Giving up on Politeness: The Desire for Tactile Knowledge and the Art of Finding Life Lovable Terra Edwards Chapter Seven: The Surface of Politesse: Acting murt?? in Dhofar, Oman Kamala Russell Chapter Eight: Programming Politeness: Digital Servantry and the Rules of Social Engagement Keith M. Murphy Chapter Nine: Grace, Too: Reflections on Bergson's Ethics Jason Throop Chapter Ten: Bergson's intuitive politeness William F. Hanks Index

In the collective reflection initiated by Alessandro Duranti, Bergson's Discours sur la politesse, which was intended to edify high school students, becomes a profound and superb meditation, at the border between anthropology and linguistics, on the cultural, moral and political aspects of politeness - as it is and could be.