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Fellow @uottawa @apuoott @aptpuo profs: I stand with @uottawa students and colleagues who condemn professorial use of racially derogatory terms as acceptable in academic discourse.
Inclusion of thought is defined by a culture where all individuals feel they can contribute, participate, and belong. Inclusion requires balance in the face of power differences.
Our privilege as a professor to say what others cannot say necessitates that we use our words as weapons to effect change in support of a better world.
Our privilege as a professor to say what others cannot say necessitates that we use our words as weapons to effect change in support of a better world. Is academic discourse about issues of race and racism valued and important @uottawa? Yes!
Is it a professor’s academic right to use deeply offensive language? No! “Weaponized privilege” is an evil. We (professors) do not have the right to use our status of authority to force a debate on a subject that is not within our competence. Is allyship possible? Yes!
At @uottawa, we need to work on ways of approaching academic discourse on issues of race and racism that are the reality of many of our community.
I recognize that academic discourse on race and racism must be taught by those have expertise AND knowledge and that this is an experience that the majority of our professorial population has never experienced.
We have an Advisory Committee for a Racism-Free Campus with representation from persons with powerful lived experience. Their work will be actioned.
