[Xmca-l] Pain and suffering vs business as usual

[Stetsenko, Anna]

Before we go back to business as usual, there is more to say on the recent crisis, which to me is not over. This is because I think we need to be “sensitive to that which is not over… We are up against history; walls. We need to support, stand with, and stand by, those students [and all who are marginalized] who are fighting to survive hostile institutions. It is our job.”

(this is from Sarah Ahmed, posted by Jacob Mac Williams on xmca in 2015, I will reference it several times, it’s a brilliant piece, google Against Students – The New Inquiry<https://urldefense.com/v3/__https://thenewinquiry.com/against-students/__;!!Mih3wA!WAbdo5T8clZdbaSRiStryH25GERvxlFFvv7xm2PZaIowRAKm26u2lmlg1OXvKH2Q6_xIYA$ >).


A short prelude – I attended an amazing meeting yesterday on Audre Lorde organized by the GC CUNY, Translating Audre Lorde Now /Traduciendo Audre Lorde Ahora. Scholars, educators, and students spoke about Lorde and centrally brought up the theme of pain and suffering in academia and beyond – for those who are marginalized due to their skin color, ethnicity, non-traditional gender identity…Perhaps there could be people who do not know or prefer not to know but this is directly relevant to xmca, where pain and suffering have been incurred and many experienced violence of racism, sexism, and discrimination. There have been interventions, and heart-felt notes from Mike, Antti, Alfredo (for example), yet they fall on deaf ears and many choose to remain oblivious to what is going on and to their own actions (!). We hear about this here on the list and even more in private emails – many are actually afraid to come up and share their experiences!
This is not a matter of just brining up grievances or of political correctness. This is a matter of well being, of being able to breath! “Caring for myself is not self-indulgence. It is self-preservation, and that is an act of political warfare" Audre Lord.
I think we have been speaking of the crisis in general, abstract terms. But history is always concrete – and why not rise from the abstract to the concrete (for those who like to couch things in terms of “academic debates’)? Many conveniently return to “freedom of speech” and “inclusion” mantra. But in 2020 it should be clear there is no going back to these in the midst of pain and suffering. Sarah Ahmed explained this:

"Interestingly one white male academic when asked about 'decolonizing the university' ..was reported to have said something like “this is education not democracy: we get to decide what we teach.” He helpfully reveals to us how the democracy often defended is an illusion: what is being defended as democracy is often despotism."

Here is to the concrete. Andy posted his reflections and there is not a hint of what has been going on for many years. Andy, your style has been stifling to people – your dominant posture, the flair of “knowing the answers” and lecturing others, your insistence on “objectivity” in science (read: canons of white male superiority only accessible to “Great Men”). The latter came through when Jacob MacWilliams responded to you, not just once! With great eloquence and also pain. And left after that, to a great loss to xmca, as did many others, in desperation. Hope someone will do a discourse analysis of epistemic violence on xmca… A claim to objective knowledge is an absolute demand for obedience (Mendez, Coddou, & Maturana). Exactly! And Kristie Dotson will be useful here indeed, thank you, Diane, for bringing this up.

There is more to add on epistemic violence…I will wait for other voices and then probably add, with more specific illustrations.
But important for now, if we hear voices telling us that there is racism and violence in messages they see on xmca, we have to act. Anthony, people are not feeling safe in your presence – this was expressed to you and I heard this from many people in private too – I am making this public now. As someone wrote – this is about “awful e-mail exchanges,” so that she “didn't feel like engaging in such a violent environment.”  What is it that you do not understand about this?



Anna Stetsenko, PhD
Professor
Ph.D. Programs in Psychology/Human Development and in Urban Education
The Graduate Center of The City University of New York
365 5th Avenue, New York, NY 10016
https://urldefense.com/v3/__http://annastetsenko.ws.gc.cuny.edu/__;!!Mih3wA!WAbdo5T8clZdbaSRiStryH25GERvxlFFvv7xm2PZaIowRAKm26u2lmlg1OXvKH1Lf6KQHA$ 
visit https://urldefense.com/v3/__http://www.academia.edu__;!!Mih3wA!WAbdo5T8clZdbaSRiStryH25GERvxlFFvv7xm2PZaIowRAKm26u2lmlg1OXvKH3w9PF7bQ$ <https://urldefense.com/v3/__http://www.academia.edu__;!!Mih3wA!WAbdo5T8clZdbaSRiStryH25GERvxlFFvv7xm2PZaIowRAKm26u2lmlg1OXvKH3w9PF7bQ$ > for my recent publications
________________________________
From: xmca-l-bounces@mailman.ucsd.edu <xmca-l-bounces@mailman.ucsd.edu> on behalf of Anthony Barra <anthonymbarra@gmail.com>
Sent: Tuesday, December 1, 2020 10:27 AM
To: eXtended Mind, Culture, Activity
Subject: [Xmca-l] Re: How much fun are we having . . .

Thank you to Helena.  Very interesting.

"Vygotsky - through a Labor Education lens" -- https://urldefense.com/v3/__https://youtu.be/iYndG7cKlj0__;!!Mih3wA!WAbdo5T8clZdbaSRiStryH25GERvxlFFvv7xm2PZaIowRAKm26u2lmlg1OXvKH219hc5HA$ <https://urldefense.com/v3/__https://youtu.be/iYndG7cKlj0__;!!Mih3wA!TEUjOSfiWRp0TM4f0of9IHUPilVY3cdyCB7aTG5A6Jd4TSu70iaaju2lZ974R-I7RgvKPw$>

On Sat, Nov 28, 2020 at 6:05 PM Helena Worthen <helenaworthen@gmail.com<mailto:helenaworthen@gmail.com>> wrote:
Anthony, I am going to try taking you up on your challenge.

How would YOU explain Vygotsky's theory for a general audience -- e.g., parents, teachers, coaches, relatives -- without sacrificing too much accuracy?

I did this, of course, in my book, What Did You Learn at Work Today? The Forbidden Lessons of Labor Education, published by Hardball Press in 2014.  Note the prestigious academic press  — and it only costs $15!!!! But I will boil it down to the 5-minute schpiel that I would give in my classes to union members whose second question, after “How did you learn to do labor education?” would be, “How can I get your job?”


Helena Worthen
helenaworthen@gmail.com<mailto:helenaworthen@gmail.com>
helenaworthen.wordpress.com<https://urldefense.com/v3/__http://helenaworthen.wordpress.com__;!!Mih3wA!TAFFMpAC8Z-sarCBZ1096ZKAubJYY6x-H0Ry8_xyxTpxycaDyL87wBMJVZbUD25IOaUS6g$>

check your registration at vote.gov<https://urldefense.com/v3/__http://vote.gov__;!!Mih3wA!TAFFMpAC8Z-sarCBZ1096ZKAubJYY6x-H0Ry8_xyxTpxycaDyL87wBMJVZbUD26CQqKEAg$>




On Nov 28, 2020, at 12:32 PM, Anthony Barra <anthonymbarra@gmail.com<mailto:anthonymbarra@gmail.com>> wrote:

Recently, a small spat has spun into an interesting larger discussion, and mostly productive at that.

The whole spat, however, began with a misunderstanding.  When sharing the "Why generations?" video, Andy was alluding, lightly and positively, to a previous video where he himself was "put on the spot" (ironically enough in a post titled "Let's have some fun!<https://urldefense.com/v3/__http://culturalpraxis.net/wordpress1/2020/11/09/an-audience-participation-question-lets-have-some-fun/__;!!Mih3wA!T43ZvPV-bP_hJ_7jwudj1LjgsrqO8umkMgxxV9l0-NRN9Ldn3GSgisSsJJXWQaTroRXAcg$>").  In my family, from childhood onward, 'on the spot' always had a positive, even playful connotation. (Maybe it's an italian-american thing?)

Sadly, the initial offer of fun, three weeks ago, was hardly taken up, save for a brief, interesting response from Huw Lloyd.  But the party shouldn't end, and the open-ended question remains:
How would YOU explain Vygotsky's theory for a general audience -- e.g., parents, teachers, coaches, relatives -- without sacrificing too much accuracy?

Andy gave it a nice go, without advanced warning (i.e., 'on the spot').  I think it's a pretty hard question, and maybe a poorly asked one -- but what if many of us weighed in and gave it a shot?  It'd probably be less hard then, and certainly interesting (and likely beneficial to anyone looking to share Vygotsky's work in various settings beyond academe) ---> "the pool of collective knowledge is big," perhaps even oceanic.

No one wants my advice, but this would be it: assume you have something worth saying and also that it might not come out as well as you'd like AND that people will want to hear it anyway, and even more importantly, that the momentum of having many voices contribute will be worth as much (probably more) than any individual contribution (i.e., literally no pressure).

Give it a shot here, maybe even in video-form if you'd like: "An Audience Participation Question . . . Let's Have Some Fun!"<https://urldefense.com/v3/__http://culturalpraxis.net/wordpress1/2020/11/09/an-audience-participation-question-lets-have-some-fun/__;!!Mih3wA!T43ZvPV-bP_hJ_7jwudj1LjgsrqO8umkMgxxV9l0-NRN9Ldn3GSgisSsJJXWQaTroRXAcg$>  <<But please avert your eyes at the 1:47-1:48 mark>> (I kid, I kid!)

There are other good videos over at CulturalPraxis -- and hopefully, the uptick in xmca engagement will spill over to there as well (the more the merrier).

As Natalia Gajdamaschko has suggested, "development comes out of resolving some sort of contradiction..some type of crisis -- a good crisis<https://urldefense.com/v3/__http://culturalpraxis.net/wordpress1/2020/10/05/video-series-join-the-discussion-dr-natalia-gajdamaschko-crisis-in-the-classroom/__;!!Mih3wA!T43ZvPV-bP_hJ_7jwudj1LjgsrqO8umkMgxxV9l0-NRN9Ldn3GSgisSsJJXWQaQl-3J_Og$>."

Enjoy,

Anthony




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