HERBST, Phil 1944-

(Philip H. Herbst)

PERSONAL: Born June 1, 1944, in Peoria, IL; son of Eugene S. and Mary (David) Herbst. Education: University of Illinois—Urbana-Champaign, B.A. (sociology), 1966; Cornell University, Ph.D. (cultural anthropology), 1976. Hobbies and other interests: Old books, dogs, travel, French language.

ADDRESSES: Home and office—2415 Central St., Ste. 0, Evanston, IL 60201; fax 847-475-5226. E-mail—[email protected].

CAREER: National Institutes of Health, conducted anthropological field work in Suva, Fiji, 1969–70; State University of New York College at Potsdam, Potsdam, NY, instructor in anthropology, 1971–74; Follett Corp., American Publishers Co., Chicago, IL, educational sales representative in New England, 1974–75; Chicago Daily News/Sun Times, Chicago, IL, educational consultant, 1975–79; freelance editor, 1979–81; American Society of Clinical Pathologists Press, Chicago, IL, product development editor, 1981–85; Scott, Foresman/Little, Brown (publishing companies), Glenview, IL, project editor, 1985–90; New Trier Extension, Wilmette, IL, instructor in anthropology, 1990; Northwestern University, Evanston, IL, visiting scholar in anthropology, 1990–92; Harold Washington College, Chicago, IL, lecturer in English as a second language, 1995–96; Evanston Township High School, Evanston, IL, instructor in English as a second language, 1996–97; Northwestern University, Evanston, IL, visiting scholar in gender studies, 1999. Volunteer at local public library.

MEMBER: Chicago Book Circle, Chicago Women in Publishing, Phi Beta Kappa, Phi Kappa Phi, Phi Eta Sigma.

WRITINGS:

The Multicultural Dictionary: A Usage Guide to Ethnic and Racial Words, Chicago Women in Publishing (Chicago, IL), 1993.

The Color of Words: An Encyclopedic Dictionary of Ethnic Bias in the United States, Intercultural Press (Yarmouth, ME), 1997.

Wimmin, Wimps & Wallflowers: An Encyclopedic Dictionary of Gender and Sexual Orientation Bias in the United States, Intercultural Press (Yarmouth, ME), 2000.

Talking Terrorism: The Biased Language of Terrorism and Political Violence, Greenwood Press (Westport, CT), 2002.

Contributor of articles and reviews to periodicals, including Oceans, Contemporary Times, Booklist, Book Jacket, and Copy Editor.

SIDELIGHTS: Phil Herbst once told CA: "I write because I love language and ideas. Having enjoyed and profited from the labors of others for so long, I felt the need to return something, however small, to our body of printed work. Writing reference books is different from writing other kinds of books; it is heavier on the research and organization side, perhaps easier on the imagination, but never easy.

"It took almost five years to research The Color of Words: An Encyclopedic Dictionary of Ethnic Bias in the United States, in addition to my freelance work as an editor, but it was worth the effort. Writing the book gave me the opportunity, which I relish, to debunk the ethnic-racial system in our society, exposing all the crud that gums up the democratic works and bringing to light the prejudices and half-truths behind our national discourse. The project also engaged me in my own racial-ethnic biography, painfully revealing how I am implicated in all this. It was an act of social self-discovery.

"My newest book deals with biased and controversial language in relation to terrorism and other political violence. The question I am most frequently asked is whether researching biased language and hate speech ever gets depressing. Somehow it intrigues me, though this may be depressing in itself."