I have been a ‘silent’ member of this email list since some years now,
except for sharing some job or workshop announcements. And may a debates
and discussions have gone by and I have remained silent.
But not anymore.
This list has been a source of a lot of information for me, and as a young
researcher attempting to navigate the waters of design research it has been
a great resource.
But not anymore.
And I see that the problem lies in the fact that most of us do not
understand what is privilege, or even if we do we are unwilling to see our
own privileges. Which to me is not only surprising because as design
academics and researchers we are supposed to be driven by ‘empathy’ but
also scary that we miss the most fundamental aspect shaping not only ours,
but also our students’ lives and experiences!
Here is my attempt to unpack privilege a bit, with the hope that those who
are blind to their own privilege open up to the possibility that it exists,
and that this blindness and unwillingness to see it is harming this space.
I will be mostly drawing specific examples from Prof. João Ferreira’s
statements, but this is not personal. As in this is not an attempt to
merely point at that person (I think he has been called out here and on
other platforms), but to use his statements as examples to highlight his
privileged position and how it harms this space.
But before I get to the concrete statements, let me bring in other
statements to highlight that the unwillingness to see privilege is
structural, and hence more than any one person, the moderators and the
general so-called liberal expectations of a ‘civilized exchange between
multiple truths’ that are detrimental to this space.
Let me begin with this statement that Prof. Ken Friedman made in response
to Layal and Luiza.
*I want to say to Layal that this list *is* a safe place in which to engage
in a discussion on these issues. No one has the right to prevent you from
speaking your mind. People do have the right to take a contrary view or to
criticise your position — but no one on this list is going to adversely
influence your future or your opportunities because you state a view.*
And here is the problem. Just because you or any other person says or
thinks that the list is “safe” because these are merely words and seemingly
civilized exchanges, does not make this space safe. Because your position
assumes that people here are all equally empowered. They are simply not. As
the scheme of things work in this world, a white, male senior professor in
a western university is more privileged than a black or brown, younger
researcher in other parts of the world. More privileged if the other person
is a female as compared to male.
By privileged I mean that they have more likely chances to be heard and
taken seriously, without interruptions and condescending attempts to shut
down. In other words, the social and cultural structures around us give
some of us more voice and agency than others, usually based on our race,
gender, caste, and other such human markers and identities.
Consider a white, male, and seemingly senior professor says these words,
*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.*
As a brown, Indian, male researcher, this prof is telling me that my
culture and my country do not strive for a just society, but only the
western democratic countries do. So, western democratic countries do not
need social justice, but the so called under-developed countries do. Isn't
this an imposition of his thoughts on mine? On this email list, is he not
stating this as a white, male, senior professor of design?
And if I respond, as Luiza did, I will get more justification of such
statements, not only by the person who said it, but also by others who feel
that he is merely expressing his opinion and I have the right to disagree
with it. Consider this response by Prof. João Ferreira
*Hold it right there, Luiza. Are you under the delusion that I live in
Saudi Arabia? Or Iran? If not, can you explain in what way is Europe a
patriarchy?*
I, as a brown, Indian researcher just about figuring out my space in this
world, is made to be felt ashamed of my country by such statements. Not
only that such sentences by white, male, seemingly senior professor make me
feel insecure of my own culture, they also impose on me a world-view that
the western / European culture (a monolith?) is superior to mine. This is
not only false, but also hurtful, and silencing. In my shame, I am
compelled to shut-up. It is not just opinion, is it? This is knowingly or
unknowingly an attempt to silence. We need to see it as such.
You could argue that these statements were taken out of context. My
response is simply that they are not. As a reader of this mailing list, I
see them in my inbox daily. I read them. That is the context. These
statements will be deemed silencing, if not oppressive, even when the
setting is a private exchange, but on a public forum, with a heterogeneous
mix of readers, they are highly excluding and oppressive.
And hence I am grateful to all those who stood up to such blatant attempts
at silencing both by such explicit statements and by the attempts to
justify and defend or rather wave these off as mere opinions and one
version of the truth. I hope to see more such voices.
Seeing ones own privileges is not really that hard. I know that as an upper
caste male, educated in a PhD from a western university is much privileged
here in India even while compared to similarly highly educated female
colleague. Because in general, the world around me, and not only in India
but also in the so-called democratic western world, an educated,
dispassionate male voice usually laced with sarcasm carries more weight
among peers than an educated, but passionate female voice.
I too was blind to my privileges till I started acknowledging it. I started
seeing who is the other person I am talking to and where do they and their
voice stand, structurally – socially, culturally in the given settings of
our exchange. In most cases my voice seem to carry more weight than theirs.
So I made it and I continue to make it point to listen more to what they
are saying. Even a slight hint that they feel unsafe talking or expressing
in front of me, I apologize and try to learn how to engage better. I do not
feel offended and attempt to defend myself thereby furthering my position
of power over them.
I will end this longish rant by drawing on, ironically, Prof. João
Ferreira’s words.
*This is a real problem indeed. I don’t know enough about it to have an
educated opinion on the matter, since it is extremely complex.*
If only we all had the same approach to whenever we come across terms,
concepts, and phenomenon, and we took care to understand who is saying
them, and why, then this list and actually the world too will be a better
place for all.
Best,
Naveen
--
Naveen L Bagalkot, Ph.D.
Researcher & Faculty Member
Srishti Institute of Art, Design, and Technology.
Bangalore
http://srishti.ac.in/ <http://labs.srishti.ac.in>
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