I'm only echoing many, many others when I say that this conference was urgent and invigorating in a way that I've not experienced before. Many, many thanks to @eoin_price, @Georgie_M_Lucas, and the rest of the team at @SwanseaUni for facilitating it.
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Our plenary speakers, (untagged because I have more to say & don't want to clog their mentions) set the perfect tone for the many vitally important discussions that took place between scholars, teachers, and practitioners from around the world over the four days.
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The conference forced many of us to confront truths we've been shying away from. Our field is not a vacuum, our scholarship is not neutral, none of our classrooms should or can remain untouched by this material and these voices (repeat, repeat, repeat).
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(Many of us knew that already and generously shared their best practices. But it can't hurt to be reminded of it. And it definitely hurts not to be reminded of it).
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It would be disingenuous of me to celebrate feeling personally included in this conference in particular (there are obvious reasons why I've never felt unwelcome in a scholarly space). But I am encouraged by the huge amount of mentorship I saw going on.
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I wish this reached all corners.
@robin__craig,@hbachrach,@clamorousvoice,@DrDadabhoy, @drlettycgarcia, and others (apologies for many omissions) were bravely and importantly vocal while the conference was running about behaviour and inclusion in these spaces#BSASwansea2019Näytä tämä ketju -
(oh look, junior scholars doing great and important work for a change)
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I've lost count of the number of women, queer scholars, and scholars of colour I look up to. There are some great white men, too. But I all too frequently found myself appalled by the behaviour and micro-aggressions of senior white men towards their colleagues.
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I'm no one's knight in shining armour (please). My brilliant colleagues of colour, my female, trans, disabled, colleagues, don't need me as a saviour (I'll take anyone shopping but that's about it and also I'm super not into judging people on how they dress FYI)
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But I wish some of my senior male colleagues--whose position I one day hope to occupy--would think more carefully about their (un)conscious exclusionary practices. I'm not into making blanket assumptions (we all have our stuff), but some anecdotal experience from
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Explaining a junior colleague's paper back to them in the Q&A is exclusionary. Describing the Black and queer performances which are the cornerstone of a scholar's work as 'bizarre' in the Q&A is exclusionary.
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Repeatedly invoking the *personality* (not the work) of a senior scholar from a UK institution as the basis for humour during a seminar is exclusionary (we haven't all met them, aren't all familiar with the politics of that institution, aren't all from the UK)
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Openly scoffing at a female ECA when she 'pipes up' during a seminar to which she's contributing and whose discussion you have thus far dominated is exclusionary.
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Forcing speakers to admit that they haven't looked into YOUR area of expertise in public is exclusionary (that we are ALL open to discussion and debate and we ALL want to learn more goes without saying: pick your moment).
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Deflecting the pretty unambiguously titled theme of a panel to push a different theoretical/ideological agenda and explaining to panelists what they 'should really be talking about' is exclusionary
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Publicly shouting down anyone who suggests opening up the organisation, its hierarchies, & its awards to underrepresented groups in the interest of preserving/gatekeeping its 'rigour' & commitment to 'excellence,' its definition of 'achievement,' is exclusionary.
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Forming closed-off groups of men who snigger at the back or visibly don't listen to speeches is exclusionary. We all want to catch up with our friends, we all gravitate towards certain people. But don't be surprised or aggressive if you're challenged on it.
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One more for good measure: trying to laugh off your mispronunciation of a foreign name or your misgendering of someone is exclusionary. When someone's been introduced by the panel chair at the start of the session, don't refer to them as 'THE CHAP' or 'THE LADY.'
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I don't exempt myself from this responsibility. I made mistakes at this conference and the generosity of underrepresented voices helped me to think through the impact of those actions & value systems. I don't think we should always leave it to them to educate us.
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Some of these concerns might seem minor or glib. Those who've already been tagged in this thread (sorry guys) have made vital contributions to this discussion already about what really matters. But I think we too often laugh off some of the things I've mentioned.
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I for one can't wait for @drlettycgarcia's Q&A handbook and the BSA's code of practice (thanks,
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That's all from me on this for now, I think. I don't want or deserve congratulation or thanks, and I vowed I'd *never* do a thread, but this conference has opened my eyes to how we can use the privileges we have to fight for the right of others to share them.
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