[INDOLOGY] Unfounded accusations of Sexism and Bias on INDOLOGY governing committee

Tue Apr 2 09:13:39 UTC 2019

Dear Audrey,

In your latest message to the Indology mailing list you stile yourself as a
victim of sexism experienced in recent times during your work on the
Indology committee. Moreover, you pretend to courageously blow the whistle
against the explicit advice of your colleagues who want to keep you silent
probably in order to save their reputation.

In this situation, it may be of interest to the larger community of
colleagues that as a fellow committee member I did not witness a single
instance in which, contrary to your claim, you “met with blanket denials,
belittling of … [your] concerns, declarations that discussing sexism is not
a substantive issue, accusations of being a troublemaker, and flat out
refusals to discuss gender issues.“ On the contrary, all committee members,
irrespective of their ethnicity and sex, always take your concerns
seriously and devote as much time to their discussion as possible under the
time constrains we all have to face in our daily work. Of course, we there
is disagreed. But disagreement is not necessarily an indication of sexism.
It may also occur on the (lack of) merit of arguments.

Your move to go public with unfounded accusations in order to strengthen
you position in the committee is something for which I have very little
understanding. It is utterly unfair to your colleagues who spend a lot of
time and energy to keep this list running to the best of their abilities. I
can’t believe that you are not aware of this.

Best,

Philipp
__________________________

Dr. Philipp A. Maas
Research Associate
Institut für Indologie und Zentralasienwissenschaften
Universität Leipzig
___________________________

https://spp1448.academia.edu/PhilippMaas

Am Di., 2. Apr. 2019 um 10:21 Uhr schrieb Jonathan Silk via INDOLOGY <
indology at list.indology.info>:

> Dear Dr Truschke
> I am sure that there are many members of this list who are concerned. But
> I confess that with the (lack of) information you provide, it is impossible
> for me either to understand what is actually going on, or what you suggest
> be done to correct the situation.
> I do not mean this in any way to be dismissive; it is a request for
> further information, and a proposed way forward.
> J Silk
>
> On Tue, Apr 2, 2019 at 9:56 AM Audrey Truschke via INDOLOGY <
> indology at list.indology.info> wrote:
>
>> Dear Friends and Colleagues,
>>
>> I am writing to call your attention to the entrenched, worsening sexism I
>> have been experiencing on the INDOLOGY governing committee over the past
>> year or so (I have served on the committee for six years). Other committee
>> members have warned me not to publicly discuss the bullying and abuse that
>> I have faced from them in private. I break my silence and go against their
>> explicit instructions here.
>>
>> I have repeatedly faced sexism within the INDOLOGY governing committee,
>> ranging from patronizing comments to silencing of discussions about bias to
>> overtly different standards applied to male and female members of the
>> committee and list. I have tried many times to raise these issues
>> internally among the committee and privately with specific individuals. I
>> have been met with blanket denials, belittling of my concerns, declarations
>> that discussing sexism is not a substantive issue, accusations of being a
>> troublemaker, and flat out refusals to discuss gender issues. Indology as a
>> discipline has deep-seated issues with male privilege, discrimination
>> against female scholars, and even outright misogyny. The issues within
>> INDOLOGY's male-dominated governing committee are arguably a reflection of
>> this larger set of problems that systematically drives women out of the
>> discipline. If Indology or INDOLOGY are going to survive in any worthwhile
>> form, we must face our ongoing issues of sexism and bias. I have made
>> numerous suggestions to the INDOLOGY governing committee in this regard,
>> including striving for gender parity on the committee by adding more female
>> members, conducting committee business more openly as a check on bullying,
>> and undergoing bias training. I hope the committee follows up on these
>> suggestions. But, to date, I have seen only a desire to circle the wagons
>> and deny bias, rather than any serious attempt to make the committee or the
>> list a more equitable place.
>>
>> Last week, following another case where I documented and called out a
>> committee member for acting with bias, that committee member wrote that if
>> he were in my position, he would consider resigning from the committee. In
>> other words, if I find members of the INDOLOGY committee discriminate
>> against women, then I should bow out. I find that suggestion highly
>> inappropriate, and I do not acquiesce to it here. But I will no longer
>> serve as a punching bag for men who insist I keep quiet.
>>
>> I expect to face significant pushback and recriminations for shedding
>> light on the dark underbelly of the INDOLOGY governing committee. But,
>> unlike many of my fellow committee members, I think that this is an issue
>> for the list at large. Many of us, myself included, find scholarly value in
>> this listserv. But knowledge exists within power structures, and I find
>> that I can no longer stomach what I have to overlook in order to quietly
>> run this forum. I think it is time for us to talk about the key issues of
>> bias and sexism facing our discipline that make women unwelcome at every
>> turn, including in running this listserv.
>>
>> All the best,
>>
>> Audrey
>>
>> Audrey Truschke
>> Assistant Professor
>> Department of History
>> Rutgers University-Newark
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>>
>
>
> --
> J. Silk
> Leiden University
> Leiden University Institute for Area Studies, LIAS
> Matthias de Vrieshof 3, Room 0.05b
> 2311 BZ Leiden
> The Netherlands
>
> copies of my publications may be found at
> https://leidenuniv.academia.edu/JASilk
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