Whereas a generation ago, engaging in public discourse might have meant leafleting or writing letters to the editor, today a host of venues exist online, enabling meaningful dialogue on an unprecedented scale. It also provides researchers with an unprecedented look onto the diversity of positions people hold on a given issue align as well as the structure of argumentative combat in general. This talk will describe efforts to computationally discover both the variety of stances that people express in online debate and tactics through which they seek to defend their position.

Following the lecture, there will be a catered reception at the Stevenson provost house.

Pranav Anand is Assistant Professor of Linguistics at UC Santa Cruz. Mr. Anand’s work concentrates on elucidating how contextual factors affect the meaning of linguistic expressions, including expression of affect, belief, perspective, and quantity.