[INDOLOGY] Indologist at Center of Sexual Harassment Mess at Berkeley

Thu Oct 6 09:09:38 UTC 2016

And then, there are people reluctant to say their opinion, because it is
very well-know what's the general flock's opinion about sexist behaviours
as much as it's well-known that this kind of misbehaviours are rooted in
every stratum of society.

Sincerely,
Paolo

On 6 October 2016 at 10:07, Paolo Magnone <paolo.magnone at unicatt.it> wrote:

> Dear Walter,
>
> Of course, you are unquestionably right. But you will never win. There are
> so many people, in this list as in the world at large, eager to flock
> together under the banners of political correctness, gender solidarity and
> what not. On the other hand, most people who share you views will not speak
> up, lest they should imperil their popularity. So, the more vocal majority
> shall have their way, no matter how utterly meaningless it may be to
> discuss the merely *factual** *behaviour of Caitra, Maitra or Viṣṇuyaśas
> (as contrasted with discussing general *principle* questions touching on
> Indology, like censorship in India etc.) in an indological list.
>
> Paolo Magnone
>
> --
> Paolo Magnone
> Sanskrit Language and Literature
> Catholic University of the Sacred Heart - Milan
> History of Religions - Hinduism & Buddhism
> Theological Faculty of Northern Italy - Milan
>
> Jambudvipa  - Indology and Sanskrit Studies (www.jambudvipa.net)
> Academia.edu: http://unicatt.academia.edu/PaoloMagnone
>
>
>
> On 06/10/2016 08:19, Walter Slaje wrote:
>
> Might I draw the gentle readership’s attention to the purpose of this list
> as published on their guidelines page (http://listinfo.indology.info/):
>
>
>
> INDOLOGY forum for Classical South Asian studies:
>
> INDOLOGY is an internet discussion group whose primary purpose is to
> provide a *forum* for discussion *among professional scholars of
> classical Indian* (South Asian) *civilization*. *The central focus of the
> list is the history and culture of ancient and classical India* [...]
>
>
>
> It is clear from this statement – but also from the general practice
> followed so far by its members – that the list is to focus on research
> pertaining to „ancient and classical India“  – but not to pursuing the
> immoral conduct of selected American South Asianists. To this day it has
> served the purely scholarly purpose very well indeed.
>
>
>
> I am concerned that the shift now introduced towards naming and shaming is
> not only a violation of the guidelines above, but will undermine the
> reputation of the list and make scholars, who feel disgusted by public
> pillorying, turn away from it. After all, it is for the courts to assess,
> for the media to publicize, and for the tabloids to expose.
>
> I can see no scholarship in any of it which would befit this list.
>
>
>
> It is certainly legitimate to take an interest in the morals of South
> Asian scholars. Whoever does so and considers the issue important enough
> might perhaps want to establish something like The American South Asianists
> Immorality Discussion Forum. I really don’t think we should subscribe to
> such news feed here on this list.
>
>
>
> Regards,
>
> WS
> 
>
> 2016-10-05 20:56 GMT+02:00 Antonia Ruppel <rhododaktylos at gmail.com>:
>
> Dear Audrey,
>
> Many thanks for the links and the excellent overview. You're absolutely
> right that we need to be aware of what is going on. Whenever something like
> this comes to light about someone who is a colleague or perhaps even a
> friend, it is shocking and uncomfortable. Still, the more information we
> have, the better we are able to find the right side to be on here. (And
> yes, I think that unfortunately there are sides here, and many of us close
> enough to the situation need to choose one.)
>
> All best,
>      Antonia
>
> On 29 September 2016 at 16:52, Audrey Truschke <audrey.truschke at gmail.com>
> wrote:
>
> Dear Colleagues,
>
> List members may be interested in an ongoing sexual harassment scandal at
> UC Berkeley involving an Indologist, Blake Wentworth.
>
> Wentworth, who works on classical Tamil literature, was found guilty of
> sexual harassment and misconduct last year by the university, and three of
> his victims came forward with details of the case (here
> <https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2016/apr/10/uc-berkeley-students-professor-sexual-harassment-complaint>
> and here
> <https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2016/may/27/uc-berkeley-sexual-harassment-scandal-blake-wentworth>)
> after being frustrated with delays in firing Wentworth.
>
> Now Wentworth is trying to silence the women he harassed with a defamation
> lawsuit (here
> <https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2016/sep/29/uc-berkeley-sexual-harassment-blake-wentworth-sues-victims>
> ).
>
> As many of you know, sexual harassment is an ongoing issue in many
> disciplines, and our corner of the academy, it seems, is no exception.
>
> Audrey Truschke
> Assistant Professor
> Department of History
> Rutgers University-Newark
>
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>
> --
> Antonia Ruppel
> Richmond (UK)
>
> Out soon: The Cambridge Introduction to Sanskrit
> http://www.cambridge.org/ir/academic/subjects/religion/buddh
> ism-and-eastern-religions/cambridge-introduction-sanskrit
>
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-- 
Paolo E. Rosati
Oriental Archaeologist
PhD candidate in "Civilizations of Asia and Africa"
South Asia Section
Dep. Italian Institute of Oriental Studies/ISO
'Sapienza' University of Rome
*https://uniroma1.academia.edu/PaoloRosati/
<https://uniroma1.academia.edu/PaoloRosati/>*
paoloe.rosati at uniroma1.it
paoloe.rosati at gmail.com
Skype: paoloe.rosati
Mobile: (+39) 338 73 83 472

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