1/ I've been thinking about stubbornness and racism and refusal to change language and categories to more inclusive terminology lately #medievaltwitter, especially as I have been confronted with this refusal in my classes and my professional life lately.
-
Show this thread
-
2/ The most common argument I hear is that we need to reclaim the language from the alt-right.
1 reply 1 retweet 5 likesShow this thread -
3/ Even when I note that I have colleagues who are marginalized and harmed by non-inclusive language many people assert this need to reclaim the language over and above the need to change it.
1 reply 1 retweet 5 likesShow this thread -
4/ I think this impulse stems from the same place that arguments in favour of unlimited free speech come from.
1 reply 1 retweet 4 likesShow this thread -
5/ Both of these claims rest on the Enlightenment idea that all people are equal and have equal access to expressing opinions, and experience speech and speech acts equally. Of course, this is not true.
1 reply 1 retweet 7 likesShow this thread -
6/ But the construction of university courses in Western Civilization and other "Great Books" courses post WWII taught generations of students (and, critically, high school teachers) that Enlightenment principles were universal even as they reinforced Western colonial hegemony.
1 reply 2 retweets 7 likesShow this thread -
7/ It's hard enough to see your own privilege. It's harder still to see it when you've been taught (wrongly) for years that that Enlightenment principles and human rights are universal and can be equally accessed by everyone.
1 reply 1 retweet 7 likesShow this thread -
8/ I'm not making excuses for people and I try to challenge these perceptions in every class I teach. But breaking through the years of training, which, in some corners (or broad swaths) of academia is ongoing still, is challenging.
1 reply 1 retweet 6 likesShow this thread
It is similar to the “we must correct” the far right argument. The far right do not care. They are interested in weaponizing things for violence. Violence means your free speech protections are not protected.
Loading seems to be taking a while.
Twitter may be over capacity or experiencing a momentary hiccup. Try again or visit Twitter Status for more information.