Read on Twitter
Black prof here, with some views n the 'n-word' controversy at uOttawa. Not sure if Twitter is a hospitable place for these very tentative ideas, but it's better than keeping them in my head.
Academic freedom is a core value without which a university cannot thrive. The professor at the heart of the controversy has academic freedom and the choices that go with it. Choices don’t operate in a vacuum, and academic freedom does not relieve one of the need to be judicious.
Is it judicious to discuss the n-word in a university classroom? It might be, but the contexts are so limited that there's risk in probing them. It may be more justified when discussing a major work of literature versus, say, repeating the mundane words of a racist politician.
Personally, I would find it really hard to say the n-word in my classroom or elsewhere in my life, regardless of my context or audience. My gut feeling is I would find the Eng. version hardest. I would have to think hard of a thoughtful response if a student said it in class.
So I try hard to put myself in the position of a white professor who can say it. Perhaps they were braver than me. Perhaps it comes more easily. Perhaps they thought the context was right. Maybe they felt it was 'licensed' (esp. as some, like Dany Laferrière, lean this way).
If someone said it near me, my ears would perk up and I would probably be on guard for what they said next. Take that as a cue about what the word might mean for ‘human dignity’ (or whatever we call it). Others might react differently and with much more, or much less, hurt.
A university is an institution in society, a society in which racism is persistent. Visions of the university as a kind of boxing ring of ideas miss the mark — that’s not how ideas work or circulate, and not everyone can take the same punches. This is not opposite to ac. freedom.
The two following things can be true: 1) The student-as-customer is not a healthy model of education 2) Students are adults, can exercise judgement and can ask professionals they work with to be accountable. Racialized students have special perspective on this n-word controversy.
As a post-script, users of the word ‘woke’ in 2020 — many of whom are piping up on this controversy — almost universally mean it disingenuously and disparagingly. They claim today's antiracism has strayed from some more noble roots (which they likely never cared for either).
In the wake of open letters circulating, don’t be lured into an anglo-franco fight about who is the better (non-)racist. I see some accounts on here hijacking a discussion about race/education to try and score points with the same old prejudices they had well before all this.
