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

Tue Apr 2 13:38:24 UTC 2019

Dear List members.
Below you may find a mail which I sent on the first of October 2016 to one of the moderators of the list personally (Dominik Wujastik):

Dear Dominik, I was rather amazed to find a message on sexual harassment on the list involving Bxxx Wxxx. It is a personal tragedy for the students involved as well for Bxxx Wxxx. But is this information that should have been passed on through the list? I am of the opinion that it is not and am even more amazed to see that the mail was sent by one of the moderators herself. With kind regards, Herman

A week later hell broke loose.

Herman

Herman Tieken
Stationsweg 58
2515 BP Den Haag
The Netherlands
00 31 (0)70 2208127
website: hermantieken.com<http://hermantieken.com/>
________________________________
Van: INDOLOGY [indology-bounces at list.indology.info] namens Philipp Maas via INDOLOGY [indology at list.indology.info]
Verzonden: dinsdag 2 april 2019 11:13
Aan: Indology List
Onderwerp: [INDOLOGY] Unfounded accusations of Sexism and Bias on INDOLOGY governing committee

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<mailto: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<mailto: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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