This paper shows that Elizabeth Anderson’s account of relational egalitarianism offers inadequate resources to combat interactional injustice, that is, the injustices in modes of social interaction that reinforce positions of unequal status and social vulnerability. The paper reviews Anderson’s argument that social integration is key to remedying specific kinds of unjust inequalities before exploring examples of interactional injustice for which integration – as Anderson specifies it – is an inadequate solution because the victims are already highly integrated, such as fat people. The paper argues that a policy-focused account such as Anderson’s misses the fact that interactional injustices are often the cumulative result of many individual people making individually legitimate choices to control their own interactional lives, choices which collectively subordinate, marginalise, or ostracise other people. In order to remedy interactional injustices, we must attend not only to government policies as Anderson does, but also to our personal responsibility for our choices and their collective impact.

Chapter 3 constructs the broad and historicised conceptualisation of mitigation politics by building on, critiquing and combining insights from constructivist political economy; climate policy, political economy of transitions; and socio-technical transitions research. The aim of this chapter is to present a perspective on mitigation politics that at once allows for analysis of different phases of climate mitigation policymaking and politics over time, recognises and incorporates mitigation-related constraints and opportunities, and takes account of a wide range of features of politics – collective choice, agency and capacity, deliberation, and social interaction. Doing so also offers up a more nuanced and detailed account of different but related varieties of politicisation – and how they interact with one another. The following four chapters apply this broad, inclusive, and historicised framing to explore and interpret different phases of constructing mitigation policies that have emerged over the past 40 years or so.

This chapter delves into the implications of citizen participation in commercial SCS for their support of the state’s digital policies. Unlike the focus on general political trust in Chapter 5, the attention here now turns to assessing support for a specific digital policy. This chapter finds that citizens are highly supportive of state, compared to company, involvement in managing the SCS. It explores potential explanations such as media exposure, social interaction, and potential network effects. However, high levels of state support can only be fully understood once how people experience policy implementation on the ground is taken into account. When these experiences are mostly financial in nature, individuals are more likely to believe that the chances of their data being used for political purposes is low. Therefore, they become more supportive of the state’s involvement in the SCS overall. For most citizens, a primarily financially oriented SCS is acceptable, but its use as a political tool is not.

Emotion permeates every human activity. In this chapter, after briefly reviewing research on emotion in language, discourse, and interaction, the authors outline what a sociopragmatic perspective brings to the study and theorization of emotion, building on an understanding of sociopragmatics as the systematic study of interactional, normative, and social dimensions of language use. They suggest that a sociopragmatic approach to emotion places greater attention on the role that different discourse systems play in how emotions are expressed, interpreted, responded to, and talked about across different languages and cultures. The authors argue that this calls for a need to broaden the scope of research towards a multidimensional and multidisciplinary analysis of emotion in discourse and social interaction. This leads to the introduction of the theoretical framework that underpins and motivates the studies included in this volume. The volume editors propose that a sociopragmatic theory of emotion needs to attend to three foundational phenomena: evaluation, relationships, and morality, and argue that emotion is not simply expressed, but is immanent to all three of these phenomena (and vice versa). The chapter concludes by briefly overviewing the structure of the volume and introducing its constituent chapters.

This chapter presents an overview of social interaction, technology, and language learning within the context of a cross-cultural exchange project. Interaction with others and being an active participant in an environment where the language is used is crucial to language learning. We will first look at social interaction and situate it in the context of language teaching and learning. Next, we present some primary themes of social interaction and discuss the practices that inform the role social interaction plays in collaborative projects in language classes. We provide examples of how technological tools were used to facilitate virtual social interaction between language students in France and the United States. Finally, the chapter concludes by offering insights for cross-cultural projects that prioritize social interaction.

Describe what theory of mind is and how it develops; understand the importance of theory of mind for children’s later development; consider the implications of theory of mind for collaboration and human uniqueness.

This chapter explores the unique relationship between music and individuals with autism spectrum disorder (ASD). It highlights the remarkable musical abilities often found in people with autism, contrasting with their challenges in social interaction and communication. Research shows that music can serve as a bridge, facilitating social interaction and emotional expression for those on the spectrum. Brain imaging studies reveal how brain regions typically associated with language processing are activated in autistic individuals when they engage with music. This suggests that music may offer an alternative pathway for communication and emotional understanding. The chapter also discusses the therapeutic applications of music for individuals with autism, such as auditory-motor mapping training (AMMT), which has shown promise in improving verbal communication and social skills. Music therapy can also foster emotional expression, social connection, and a sense of belonging. The chapter concludes by emphasizing the importance of understanding and embracing the individual’s musical preferences and strengths in order to support their development and well-being.

My work has been primarily located in two fields, both characterized by heated disagreements when I entered them. In child language research the nativist view was the default position in the late 1960s and through the next couple of decades. But in 1967 I studied adult input to children, in service of understanding its contributions to language acquisition. By the 2020s the notion that certain features of adult-child interaction are instrumental in language development has been robustly supported by multiple lines of work. I first got involved in thinking about literacy development in the mid-1990s during a time of conflict between what was then framed as “phonics” versus “whole language.” That conflict resurfaces with depressing regularity and is currently characterized as a struggle to implement the “science of reading.” The complexities in the reading domain are far greater than in language acquisition because of the larger role of educational publishers and school administrators in determining a course of action.

This chapter reviews ways of analyzing interactional and grammatical regularities of spoken, dialogically organized language in a constructional framework. The basic tenet is that grammatical constructions, when used in talk-in-interaction, are housed in interactional sequences, and it is the constructions’ positions in certain sequential locations that motivates their use and shapes their form. Therefore, aspects of sequence and discourse organization are potentially distinctive features of constructions, and reflections of the interactional contingencies that generate them. Four types of construction are examined: receipt questions, second assessments, a construction of meaning negotiation, and pseudo-clefts. All these patterns can be said to be responsive in one way or another, thus lending themselves well to a dialogically sensitive analysis. The analytic examples highlight the necessity of abstracted interactional information for a fuller understanding of the workings of grammatical constructions in talk-in-interaction and for how an interactional perspective can enrich constructional approaches to analyzing linguistic structure.

Social interaction with friends and family is pivotal for our cognitive development, mental health, and overall wellbeing. These connections shape our understanding of ourselves, others, and the world around us. Research consistently highlights the positive impact of social engagement on cognition and mental health, from stimulating problem-solving skills to combating loneliness and reducing stress. The brain regions activated during social interactions underscore the significance of social cognition, empathy, and emotional processing. Particularly during adolescence, positive friendships play a crucial role in emotional resilience and healthy development. Studies suggest an optimal number of close friends for mental health benefits, emphasizing quality over quantity in social relationships. Social support networks bolster resilience and aid in recovery from mental health disorders. Conversely, social isolation poses risks to brain health and mental wellbeing, highlighting the importance of maintaining social connections throughout life. Engaging in social activities, whether through clubs, volunteering, or hobbies, fosters social interaction and enhances overall wellbeing. In a world increasingly driven by technology, prioritizing face-to-face social interaction remains essential for brain health, cognition, and mental wellbeing.