I am also putting this on the critical-management list, as it is not precisely co-terminous with c-m-workshop. UK readers in particular, read from the bottom
http://www.change.org/en-GB/petitions/ian-parker-should-get-back-to-his-work
________________________________________
From: The Critical Management Studies List [[log in to unmask]] on behalf of Parisa Dashtipour [[log in to unmask]]
Sent: 07 October 2012 11:38
To: [log in to unmask]
Subject: Re: Prof. Ian Parker
Can we perhaps create a petition..?
Parisa
On Sun, Oct 7, 2012 at 1:06 AM, George M Munchus III <[log in to unmask]>wrote:
> What can we do to help Professor Ian Parker?
> Peace,GM
>
> ________________________________________
> From: The Critical Management Studies List [[log in to unmask]]
> on behalf of Contu, Alessia [[log in to unmask]]
> Sent: Saturday, October 06, 2012 4:24 PM
> To: [log in to unmask]
> Subject: Prof. Ian Parker
>
> Dear Colleagues.
>
> Many of you would be familiar with the work of Professor Ian Parker one of
> the leading figures in critical psychology, discourse analysis and Lacanian
> psychoanalysis. Among his many activities he also co-organised a stream for
> the Critical Management Conference held in Manchester, UK few years back.
>
> I have just learnt he is experiencing a very difficult situation at work
> (he has been suspended and he is now fighting this with the help of the
> union) for having raised issues around secrecy at work and the management
> of information, so I wanted to share with you this grave news and I invite
> you to look into this, study what is happening and support Ian in any way
> you can.
>
> Below you find his message on facebook. I have also included the post on
> the DISCOURSE UNIT facebook page which provides further detail. Please look
> into this and forward this to your friends and colleagues.
>
>
> FACEBOOK MESSAGEs
>
> ON DISCOURSE UNIT PAGE:
>
> Dearest friends, something incredibly shocking has happened. Ian Parker
> has been suspended from Manchester Metropolitan University. It has happened
> suddenly and unexpectedly, and students and staff at the University have
> been given little to no explanation as to why.
>
> Ian was suspended from work after having been unable to arrange, with
> barely 18 hours notice, for a union official to come with hi
> m to hear a charge that the university said amounted to ‘gross
> professional misconduct’. What this seems to mean is that Ian raised
> concerns within the University about the problem of secrecy and control in
> the department in which he works, and was suspended for doing so. Ian has
> had to leave his office and key, been told not to contact University staff
> and students, and his access to his email has been suspended. For his
> students Ian has simply 'disappeared' overnight, and while he is keen to
> continue supervising and teaching, he is not allowed to.
>
> I could never fully express what effect Ian’s sudden, shocking and
> completely unjustified suspension might mean for students at MMU and for
> the wider international academic community. Ian’s suspension is happening
> against a wider backdrop in the UK where while universities are now
> charging students £9000 a year (and much more for international students),
> they are also cutting essential resources, often meaning staff have to work
> harder and complain less. This means that those staff who defend University
> as a space for open and democratic deliberation are often put under
> pressure to remain silent. In fact another member of staff at MMU (and
> another member of the University and College Union- the UCU), Christine
> Vié, is also being victimised, and has been made compulsorily redundant
> (and there is an ongoing campaign to defend her).
>
> We are in shock, but only if we speak openly together will we be in a
> position to challenge and change what is happening to all of us. Openness
> and democratic debate are the hallmarks of good education. Yet secrecy and
> silencing are key issues here. Ian has been silenced but his work continues
> to speak. Yesterday I looked at the principle aims of ‘Psychology,
> Politics, Resistance’, which Ian helped to set up in 1994 as a network of
> people who were prepared to oppose the abusive uses and oppressive
> consequences of psychology, to support individuals to challenge
> exploitation, to develop a collective active opposition to oppression, and
> to make this a key element in the education of all psychologists. So, let’s
> act together, and follow Ian's example, and speak out - tell as many people
> as we can, and come together collectively as an international critical
> community to call upon the management of MMU to come to a resolution of
> this problem and to reinstate Ian.
>
> Messages of protest can be sent to the Vice-Chancellor John Brooks (
> [log in to unmask]) and the Head of the Department of Psychology
> Christine Horrocks ([log in to unmask]). These messages can be copied
> as messages of solidarity to the MMU UCU chair Pura Ariza (
> [log in to unmask]) and it is imperative that, at the same time, support
> should be stepped up to support Christine Vié ([log in to unmask]).
>
> The postgraduate students at MMU are sending a letter to the Vice
> Chancellor, and there will be flyers and posters put up on campus, and call
> outs in lectures all next week. Please do send letters and emails, and tell
> as many people as you can.
>
> We will keep you posted about further action, and do let us know if you
> have any ideas for how we can fight this together (because we can fight
> this together). Please feel free to email me [log in to unmask]
>
> In solidarity,
> China Mills (alongside many of the students at MMU)
>
> Message posted by IAN PARKER on his facebook page:
>
> Hi,
> Please forgive this brief message. The contents of my suspension letter
> from MMU are ‘private and confidential’ and while the disciplinary process
> takes place I am advised by my trade union representatives (who I trust
> absolutely) that I should obey the instruction not to contact other
> university staff on or off the premises, nor access MMU email. I do know
> that others (for example, postings
> on the Discourse Unit facebook page) are calling for support for me at
> this difficult time with suggestions as to what can be done, and I cannot
> stop them from doing that. Nothing forbids me from telling you that this
> secretive controlled process follows an email I sent which drew attention
> to … secrecy and control. You should also know, and this is no secret, that
> Erica [Prof. Erica Burman, feminist psychology professor] has also been
> subject to intimidation over the past year and may be next in line for this
> treatment. She is currently away from MMU with a doctor’s note for stress
> at work.
> Ian
>
> ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
>
> For those of you who are not familiar with Ian's work, please check the
> following to learn more,
> http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ian_Parker_%28psychologist%29
>
> Thanks a lot
>
> Best wishes,
>
> Alessia
>
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