Dear Colleagues,


I may be reacting a bit too late, but I wanted to underline something Audrey Truschke suggested for the committee which is bias training. As a member of a university department with an ongoing investigation concerning sexual harassment, I can assure you that bias training if well done is an eye opener for all, minority and women included. As scholars we know that only the ignorant are dead sure that they don’t need to learn what they are ignorant of. I believe that we all are actually in the process of understanding how deeply biases are and have affected the way we work- and training can help us assess this and help us overcome (some of) it. 


I want to add that the collective response to try to make things better on this list, the collective working out of problem is a heart warmer and gives much hope for the future of our field! In our French History of Science list, a similar problem ended up precisely with a whole group leaving the list because of the violent misogynistic attacks that were not moderated and seemed to have the approval of the majority and notably the creator fo the list. Indology can do better of course, but Indology can be proud of itself nonetheless!


best Agathe


From: Ananya Vajpeyi via INDOLOGY <indology@list.indology.info>
Reply: Ananya Vajpeyi <vajpeyi@csds.in>
Date: 5 April 2019 at 10:40:52
To: Indology <indology@list.indology.info>
Subject:  [INDOLOGY] Sexism and Bias on INDOLOGY giverning committee


Dear Colleagues, 

The discussions on gender parity in the work space, sexual harassment, "me too" and creating more respectful, equitable and enabling environments for women at home and at work are global and ubiquitous today. It's absolutely in keeping with these debates unfolding all around us in practically every profession, institution and cultural context that we should have our own conversation here on Indology. 

Whether it's looking at power imbalances, sexism, misogyny and inequality in the texts we read, or in the classrooms where we read them; between us as students, teachers, colleagues and friends; in the past or in the present; in India or outside, it's an important and necessary exchange to have and it's high time we had it amongst ourselves. Whatever our disagreements, I think it's an opportunity for us all to look within, clean up our act in our disciplinary settings, improve the functioning of our scholarly association and strengthen its rules and procedures, and go forward with -- well, for one thing, more women on board and a more open and frank approach to the problems that affect us all and take up our time and attention away from our beloved intellectual pursuits and pedagogical commitments. 

It's good to see that many of us have jumped in to this difficult space in good faith, believing that in the end we'll be the better for it. Seems to me we've already made some progress relative to when we had an earlier iteration of these and related topics last summer after the World Sanskrit Conference. 

Best wishes, 

Ananya Vajpeyi. 


--

Ananya Vajpeyi 
Fellow and Associate Professor
Centre for the Study of Developing Societies
29 Rajpur Road, Civil Lines
New Delhi 110054
INDIA


 
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