Hello all,
Design researcher from an “under-developed country” here.
First of all, let me say that I have never actively participated in this list before. However, I cannot abstain myself from this discussion, given the profoundly condescending (and sexist) tone of João’s reply to Mariam’s CfP. First, I would like to ask a couple questions, much like João felt compelled to do to Mariam:
> I get a bit edgy when I read terms such as “social justice”. I assume that
> the context of the workshop is western democratic countries;
Why does this term make you so uncomfortable? Why are you assuming that this is the context of the workshop? Even in “western democratic countries” there are people from that “other” part of the world; I am one of those people, and I’d say that a conversation like the one Mariam is proposing here is absolutely necessary. Having the “wrong” passport can make your life quite difficult.
> it is granted (hopefully) that we all (well, maybe not Donald Trump) strive for a
> just society, a laudable principle that in our social-democratic states
> evolved to a political system based on the ideas of separation of powers
> (legislative, executive, and judiciary) upholding of individual freedom(s),
> egalitarianism, and so on.
Striving for a just society does not make it just by default. Moreover, I’d say that, for those who fall outside of the boundaries of privilege (examples of privilege: being male and/or white and/or european), I don’t see much of an effort being made for actually create a just society in the first place. Society is just for those who are already included in it. But let’s continue
> Of course, this is a somewhat naive perspective, since history has shown us
> that democratic states do not neatly evolve towards progressively more fair
> and just societies.
Now you take your previous statement and admit they’re naive. What is the point of even mentioning it before, then? Sounds like you’re using this as a strategy to belittle Mariam’s wording just because.
> I should probably make my point before I inevitably stray into deep waters:
> when you say “social justice” I wonder what do you actually mean. Justice
> for whom? What kind of injustice are we talking about? Why is this
> injustice not being handled by current laws? Who is going to enforce this
> “social justice”?
I’m pretty sure that to anyone who’s ever lived outside of the boundaries of privilege - women, non-white folks, people from formerly (or currently) colonised countries, trans or queer folks - the definition of “social justice” is abundantly clear. I think João’s confusion about the exact meaning of this term is an excellent example of why we - those who actually feel the need to discuss “social justice” - have to speak out about these things. We need to educate those who, due to their privileges, are unable to see how certain social mechanisms are harmful to a significant (though often silenced) part of the population.
You also ask why is this injustice not being handled by current laws, so let me explain that: we all - including those of you hailing from the “developed" part of the world (though I’d rather call it the “colonizing” part of the world) - live in societies that are biased towards certain values, such as patriarchy or whiteness. Those values tend to have a stronger pull than laws - just take a look at how many law enforcement officers have murdered young african-american men and women in the past two years in the US, and been considered not guilty <http://blacklivesmatter.com/> Or read a bit about how despite rising rates <http://www.nydailynews.com/news/world/femicide-rise-central-america-article-1.1552233>, crimes against women are frequently <http://www.economist.com/news/americas/21586575-laws-punish-domestic-violence-are-too-often-honoured-breach-everyday-aggression> met with <http://www.ohchr.org/EN/NewsEvents/Pages/EndingImpunityLAC.aspx> impunity <https://rainn.org/news-room/news/reporting-and-prosecution-of-rape-cases>, and how these figures become even worse if you take into consideration the victim’s race <http://www.salon.com/2015/10/21/the_gun_crisis_we_arent_talking_about_black_women_are_under_attack_and_america_doesnt_care/> or <http://www.aljazeera.com/indepth/features/2015/08/lgbt-el-salvador-beatings-intolerance-death-150805075132892.html> gender <http://www.huffingtonpost.com/brynn-tannehill/ohio-and-the-epidemic-of-_b_6720892.html> identity <http://www.ucu.org.uk/media/pdf/r/6/transphobic_hate_crime_in_eu.pdf>.
(this is why, by the way, the ruling for Daniel Holzclaw’s case <http://www.huffingtonpost.com/entry/daniel-holtzclaw-and-the-reality-of-police-brutality-against-black-women_566b0b4ee4b080eddf580671> is so utterly extraordinary, while it should be the norm).
> What do you mean with “oppressive structures”? Oppressive to whom? What is
> the nature of these structures? I take issue with vague, slightly scary,
> and definitely cringe-worthy terms such as these because they are a
> rhetorical trope commonly found in political propaganda. (This is coming
> across too harsh, I don’t think your text is propaganda, but perhaps
> elaborating on some of these terms [same goes for “individual systems of
> oppression”] might help clarify what the workshop is about…)
If you’ve paid attention to what I’ve written before, you’ll realize at this point that “oppressive structures” is not a vague and slightly scary term; if you actually care enough to think about it, it’s not hard to understand the point. Mariam mentions feminist activist Grace Lee Boggs and clarifies that the workshop aims to discuss things like decolonisation and intersectionality. For anyone who has ever taken even the slightest note of the world around them this cannot possibly be such a mystery. And in any case, there’s Google, Jstor and a number of other things on the internet to help those who are more empathy-impaired.
Finally, I think reading this article <http://feministing.com/2014/05/30/an-open-letter-to-privileged-people-who-play-devils-advocate/> could be a good start for a discussion about how this whole “let me just play devil’s advocate for a moment here” attitude is directly harming researchers who are dealing with these kinds of issues - not merely for the intellectual pleasure it brings, but because we actually need to do it in order to survive in the world. Though it is important that we educate the academic community about these problems, we simply cannot be expected to do the entire work by ourselves. We cannot be held responsible for other people’s ignorance. So I suggest that João, along with many others whom I’ve witnessed engage in similar attitudes here in this list, inform themselves about the struggles of others. It might just make you not only a better researcher, but a better person to work with, and a better human being.
Cheers,
// Luiza Prado de O. Martins
PhD Candidate in Design Research
Universität der Künste Berlin – Fakultät Gestaltung
a-pare.de <http://a-pare.de/>
> On 11 Dec 2015, at 11:44, João Ferreira <[log in to unmask]> wrote:
>
> Dear Mariam,
>
> I realize your post’s intention was to promote the workshop and not
> necessarily discuss the ideas therein. However, some of the statements made
> me raise an eyebrow, and since this is a public and open forum I would like
> to make a few comments.
>
> You wrote
>
> *The goal of the workshop is to first and foremost build a community of
> researchers, practitioners, and organizers around the intersection of
> technological design and social justice. *
>
> (Just a minor note) I would argue that all design is “technological”, but
> perhaps you mean design that operates at the cutting-edge?
>
> I get a bit edgy when I read terms such as “social justice”. I assume that
> the context of the workshop is western democratic countries; if so, it is
> granted (hopefully) that we all (well, maybe not Donald Trump) strive for a
> just society, a laudable principle that in our social-democratic states
> evolved to a political system based on the ideas of separation of powers
> (legislative, executive, and judiciary) upholding of individual freedom(s),
> egalitarianism, and so on. I’m not an expert on political science, but I
> reckon that, in democracy, a “just society” slowly emerges from the
> evolution and combination of those ideas and values, as well as from the
> constant adjustment of individual desires and collective interest. Of
> course, this is a somewhat naive perspective, since history has shown us
> that democratic states do not neatly evolve towards progressively more fair
> and just societies.
>
> I should probably make my point before I inevitably stray into deep waters:
> when you say “social justice” I wonder what do you actually mean. Justice
> for whom? What kind of injustice are we talking about? Why is this
> injustice not being handled by current laws? Who is going to enforce this
> “social justice”?
>
> Mind you, I can think of several injustices that exist in our current
> western societies (and I can think of dozens in under-developed countries)
> but I don’t think they can all be encompassed in the same sweeping term
> “social justice”.
>
> And also:
>
> *Specifically, we seek to facilitate the conversations necessary to move
> beyond “design with good intentions” toward design praxis, or reflection
> and action directed to transform oppressive structures with and by the
> dispossessed, marginalized, and oppressed. *
>
> What do you mean with “oppressive structures”? Oppressive to whom? What is
> the nature of these structures? I take issue with vague, slightly scary,
> and definitely cringe-worthy terms such as these because they are a
> rhetorical trope commonly found in political propaganda. (This is coming
> across too harsh, I don’t think your text is propaganda, but perhaps
> elaborating on some of these terms [same goes for “individual systems of
> oppression”] might help clarify what the workshop is about…)
>
> Again, I hope this doesn't come across too harsh. Good luck for the
> workshop!
>
> Best regards,
> João Ferreira
>
> On Fri, Dec 11, 2015 at 1:36 AM, Mariam Asad <[log in to unmask]> wrote:
>
>> **apologies for cross-posting**
>>
>> Hi folks,
>>
>> Some colleagues and I are co-organizing a one-day workshop at CHI 2016 in
>> San Jose, CA and we’d like to invite y’all to participate. The Call for
>> Participation— as well as workshop details, submission dates, and
>> additional information— is available online <
>> http://depts.washington.edu/tatlab/socialjustice/> now [1].
>>
>> The goal of the workshop is to first and foremost build a community of
>> researchers, practitioners, and organizers around the intersection of
>> technological design and social justice. Specifically, we seek to
>> facilitate the conversations necessary to move beyond “design with good
>> intentions” toward design praxis, or reflection and action directed to
>> transform oppressive structures with and by the dispossessed, marginalized,
>> and oppressed. There are examples of projects that contend with individual
>> systems of oppression—however, there is presently no unified community or
>> common understanding of how these research projects and activism can hang
>> together. Moreover, there is a clear need to unpack and provide nuanced
>> understandings of HCI projects that promote “good”.
>>
>> Second, we strive to build knowledge together. In our experience with
>> social justice related projects, there are particular questions that need a
>> broad range of experiences and perspectives to help answer. For example:
>> “How can researchers balance commitments to research and the particular
>> activist project at hand?” or “How can different principles of social
>> justice inform HCI methods such as decolonization or intersectionality?” In
>> particular, we are interested in building knowledge around design methods,
>> researcher reflexivity, and different epistemic approaches toward design.
>> Just as design is often generative and future looking, so too are social
>> justice endeavors. As the late Grace Lee Boggs, a feminist social activist
>> and philosopher, stated, “…we have the power within us to create ourselves
>> and the world anew”.
>>
>> Early deadline for submission is December 14.
>> Apply to submit here:
>> http://depts.washington.edu/tatlab/socialjustice/submit/ <
>> http://depts.washington.edu/tatlab/socialjustice/submit/>
>> Any and all questions can be sent to us organizers at
>> [log in to unmask] <mailto:[log in to unmask]
>>> .
>>
>> Thanks— we look forward to seeing folks' submissions!
>>
>> -mariam
>>
>> [1] http://depts.washington.edu/tatlab/socialjustice/ <
>> http://depts.washington.edu/tatlab/socialjustice/>
>>
>> —
>> Mariam Asad
>> PhD Student, Digital Media, Georgia Institute of Technology
>> @mariamnotmiriam || 404-735-8505
>>
>>
>>
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>
>
>
> --
> *João Ferreira*
> 00351 967089437
> 0031 0619808750
>
> [log in to unmask]
> [log in to unmask]
>
>
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