So, I hope it's OK with the person who wrote this that I unscreened it, because I wanted to reply to its argument directly.
First, in case there's any confusion: the reason it takes "zero seconds" to connect my name to this site is that I write here under my legal name. I give my institutional affiliation at multiple points. I include this blog on both my CV and in my cover letters for jobs. What I'm doing as ajnabieh is something I consider part of my professional work. This is the blog of Emily Regan Wills, and no one should be confused about that.
Second, I thought very hard about what I chose to write in this post, and how I chose to write it. My presentation of it is intentional. First, I did not give any specific details about the incident: not which of my classes this occurred in or what the content of the class was, not the genders, races, or other relevant identities of the student, and not the content of the comment. While the incident would be recognizable to one of the other people in the room at the time (or maybe not--who knows), that's as far as it goes. Second, I wrote this as a general question about my teaching, not about anything related to students. I attempted to show as much respect as possible for both students involved in the exchange--the one who, probably inadvertently, offended another, and the one who was offended. Both of them are equal members of the classroom community, and both are treated as such in my description. My priority here is on how I should act in a situation like this, not anybody else.
Third, I wrote this with the intention that hiring committees might see it. I did so because this is the teacher I want them to see: someone who is committed to her students' empowerment as political speakers, who is interested in being an ally to disenfranchised groups of all stripes but not interested in her classroom being an environment of shaming or attack, and someone who is critically reflective on her own work. This blog post is a public performance. Search committees, if you are looking? This is who I am.
Fourth, on the concept of "sensitive issues"--I tend to think the issues my research focuses on (things like state surveillance, the systematic disenfranchisement of communities in contemporary politics, the politics of political engagement around Palestinian rights, etc--are substantially more sensitive than a question of how to handle classroom conflict.
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(no subject)
Date: 2012-03-06 06:35 pm (UTC)First, in case there's any confusion: the reason it takes "zero seconds" to connect my name to this site is that I write here under my legal name. I give my institutional affiliation at multiple points. I include this blog on both my CV and in my cover letters for jobs. What I'm doing as
Second, I thought very hard about what I chose to write in this post, and how I chose to write it. My presentation of it is intentional. First, I did not give any specific details about the incident: not which of my classes this occurred in or what the content of the class was, not the genders, races, or other relevant identities of the student, and not the content of the comment. While the incident would be recognizable to one of the other people in the room at the time (or maybe not--who knows), that's as far as it goes. Second, I wrote this as a general question about my teaching, not about anything related to students. I attempted to show as much respect as possible for both students involved in the exchange--the one who, probably inadvertently, offended another, and the one who was offended. Both of them are equal members of the classroom community, and both are treated as such in my description. My priority here is on how I should act in a situation like this, not anybody else.
Third, I wrote this with the intention that hiring committees might see it. I did so because this is the teacher I want them to see: someone who is committed to her students' empowerment as political speakers, who is interested in being an ally to disenfranchised groups of all stripes but not interested in her classroom being an environment of shaming or attack, and someone who is critically reflective on her own work. This blog post is a public performance. Search committees, if you are looking? This is who I am.
Fourth, on the concept of "sensitive issues"--I tend to think the issues my research focuses on (things like state surveillance, the systematic disenfranchisement of communities in contemporary politics, the politics of political engagement around Palestinian rights, etc--are substantially more sensitive than a question of how to handle classroom conflict.