Classic Cases: Tales of Latin and Greek words in English

by Michael Salter

This non-technical and often humorous look at how the classical European languages shaped our own tells the quirky stories behind some innocent-looking English words. An Australian classics teacher explains the similarity between ballads and ballistic missiles, the connection between testimony and testicles, why hexagons should make you feel weak at the knees, and what the word eccentric has to do with the backside of a cow. Students of the classics and fans of words for their own sake will find plenty to savour in Michael Salter's tongue-in-cheek book.

89 pages, Kindle Edition

Published December 6, 2015

About the author

My work is focused on the intersections of gender, violence and culture and the ways in which violence is made meaningful by victims, perpetrators and others. Ongoing research interests include: child sexual abuse and its impacts across the lifespan, medico-legal responses to gendered violence, mental illness and substance abuse in traumatised populations, the role of online and digital technology in representations of violence, and the cultural significance of crime and violence. My background is in public health and public policy, and I've worked in the non-government and university sectors in translating research into policy and practice. My work aims to combine theoretical and empirical insights to inform work in a range of areas, including social work, child protection, therapy and counselling, policing and the law.

Research

I am currently a co-investigator on a Criminology Research Council funded grant addressing the social and legal aspects of young people's sexual use of digital and online technology with colleagues from the University of Sydney and the University of New South Wales. In addition to this project, I am undertaking research in a number of diverse areas including: the use of social media by victims of gendered violence to challenge legal processes, the fetishisation of technology in crime control and politics, the phenomenon of multi-perpetrator domestic violence and the significance of ethnicity and culture in media reporting on organised sexual abuse.

I have recently completed a study of adult survivors of organised sexual abuse, and a study of sexually abused clients in the alcohol and drug sector with Dr Jan Breckenridge (UNSW). These projects involved qualitative research with traumatised populations, which continues to be an area of interest for me.

Source: http://www.uws.edu.au/school-of-socia...