Academic Aunties

We recently passed the 34th anniversary of the École Polytechnique anti-feminist shootings. The sad thing is that this horrendous crime isn't a thing of the past. From a stabbing attack on a Gender Issues course at the University of Waterloo in June, to the mass shooting at the University of Nevada, violence against academics is a serious concern. And while these are just two prominent examples of physical violence, we know of so many scholars who are victims of persistent cases of doxing, cyber harassment, and cyber bullying. This week, we continue our conversation about safety on university campuses. Joining us is Dr. Fady Shanouda, an Assistant Professor at the Feminist Institute of Social Transformation at Carleton University. He spoke to Ethel about the frustrating journey he was forced to take to seek safety after becoming the target of vitriolic, hateful cyber harassment last summer. We ask: What do we do when institutions do not have an organized response in the face of such violence? What are the different parts of the institution that have competing agendas, agendas which may actually paradoxically lead them to work against the interests of those facing violence? And what does a safe university look like? Thanks for listening! Get more information, support the show, and read all the transcripts at academicaunties.com. Get in touch with Academic Aunties on Twitter at @AcademicAuntie or by e-mail at podcast@academicaunties.com.

In this episode of Academic Aunties, host Dr. Ethel Tungohan talks to Dr. Rebecca Major about the realities of gendered, racialized violence in academia. Dr. Major reflects on her own personal experiences with threats and harassment as an Indigenous scholar, which escalated to involve doxing and cyber harassment. She provides insightful strategies for those undergoing similar experiences, such as documenting incidences, notifying relevant university personnel, implementing safety plans, and building supportive relationships within the institution. We also also talk about the need for changes in university practices.Related LinksThe UniSAFE Survey on Gender-Based ViolenceNational Inquiry into Missing and Murdered Indigenous Women and GirlsThanks for listening! Get more information, support the show, and read all the transcripts at academicaunties.com. Get in touch with Academic Aunties on Twitter at @AcademicAuntie or by e-mail at podcast@academicaunties.com.

As the staggering death toll in Palestine rises, we talk about the censuring of Palestine solidarity discourse and the weaponization of anti-racism and equity, diversity, and inclusion language to silence and attack activists and scholars calling for peace. Joining Ethel is Dr. Rachel Brown, an activist with Jewish Voice for Peace, and Dr. David McNally, who has been a global justice activist since the Vietnam era.  Want to learn more? Please attend the "Academic Unfreedom: Speaking and Teaching Palestine" webinar, to be held on Tuesday, November 21, from 6 to 8 pm EST. Register to get the Zoom link.Registration: https://docs.google.com/forms/d/e/1FAIpQLSf33hz-C-k55o3Z-yPaUDRC6tU1WafGGw6Oblj1sYcTm3gm8g/viewformRelated LinksJewish Voice for Peace

The last few weeks have been devastating. Like many of you, I have been feeling this sense of immobilization, of helplessness, as we witnessed Hamas’s attack in Israel that killed 1,400 civilians and the Israeli state’s  bombing of Gaza that, as of the time of taping in late October 2023, have killed over 8000 Palestinians, as reported by the Associated Press. We had a long conversation about whether we should proceed, as planned, with the episodes that we have in store for this season. But doing so didn’t feel right. Instead, we wanted to make sense of the truly awful things we are seeing around us.So this week, we're joined by Academic Aunties producer, Dr. Nisha Nath as we talk with Palestinian scholar and activist Dr. Jennifer Mogannam, an Assistant Professor of Critical Race and Ethnic Studies at the University of California, Santa Cruz. Jennifer talks to us about how to understand what is happening now by understanding the larger historical context.Related LinksPalestine Feminist Collective Digital Action ToolkitAn Open Letter from Columbia University and Barnard College Faculty in Defense of Robust Debate About the History and Meaning of the War in Israel/GazaLetter signed by over 140 prominant feminist scholarsMiddle East Studies Association Board Statement on Palestine and IsraelRace and Ethnicity Caucus at York Letter

Sara Ahmed, a feminist writer and independent scholar known for her impactful work in feminist, queer, and race studies, discusses her latest book, The Feminist Killjoy Handbook. The conversation reveals the power of the feminist killjoy in fostering community and resistance against oppressive norms. Sara shares personal stories about embracing identity beyond academia, the emotional complexities of diversity work, and the need for genuine activism over superficial engagement. The discussion also highlights the significance of citations as acts of love in acknowledging marginalized voices.

We are back to school! So why do we feel so exhausted? On the season 4 premiere Ethel and Nisha listen to some academic aunties audio diaries about how September is going so far. We talk about why there are so many deadlines at this busy time of the year and what we can do to help make things more manageable.Thanks for listening! Get more information, support the show, and read all the transcripts at academicaunties.com. Get in touch with Academic Aunties on Twitter at @AcademicAuntie or by e-mail at podcast@academicaunties.com.

Season 3 finale! We conclude our series on academia in the UK and in Europe with Dr. Kidjie Saguin, an Associate Professor of Political Science at the University of Amsterdam. In our chat we talk about his experiences moving from the Philippines, to Singapore, to the US and to the Netherlands across his academic journey and we explore other ways of being in academia.We'll be back in the Fall. See you then!Thanks for listening! Get more information, support the show, and read all the transcripts at academicaunties.com. Get in touch with Academic Aunties on Twitter at @AcademicAuntie or by e-mail at podcast@academicaunties.com.

Since the end of April, the University and College Union in the UK has been on a marking strike to demand fair pay and working conditions that have deteriorated significantly. This week, we talk to Dr. Lucy Mayblin a Political Sociologist at the University of Sheffield, about what has been happening in UK academia, including how universities are transforming from institutions of public good to private institutions, and where university professors and staff are increasingly being made to act effectively as border guards with international students to create, quite explicitly, a hostile environment.In our conversation, we talk about the rise of neoliberalism in British academia, about how bordering practices are taking hold in UK universities, and ways for academics to take back their time.Related LinksUniversity and College Union Marking and assessment boycott 2023Backgrounder on the Hostile Environment PolicyThanks for listening! Get more information, support the show, and read all the transcripts at academicaunties.com. Get in touch with Academic Aunties on Twitter at @AcademicAuntie or by e-mail at podcast@academicaunties.com.

Yilin Wang is an award winning writer, poet, editor, and translator based in Vancouver, and recently has been passionately working on translating the works of 19th century feminist poet, Qiu Jin. So it came as a bit of a shock when she found out that the British Museum--that big national institution, holder of stolen artifacts, and symbol of British colonialism--had been using her translations in a major exhibit without credit, and importantly, without permission.In this special "emergency" episode, we talk to Yilin about her fight to get the British Museum to own up to and rectify their mistake, and the broader systemic issues of erasure and academic theft that translators and writers constantly face. And we talk about how listeners can help by contributing to her legal fund to get the British Museum to make things right and ensure this never happens again.Donate now to the CrowdJustice fundraiser and help meet the goal of £15,000 by July 10!Related LinksYilin Wang's Personal WebsiteThe Lantern and the Night Moths, Yilin Wang's forthcoming book from Invisible PublishingTwitter thread documenting the fightThanks for listening! Get more information, support the show, and read all the transcripts at academicaunties.com. Get in touch with Academic Aunties on Twitter at @AcademicAuntie or by e-mail at podcast@academicaunties.com.

Back from a fellowship in the UK, Dr. Ethel Tungohan talks to Dr. Eve Hayes De Kalaf about about cultures of backlash, processes of casualization, structured austerity, and the normalization of cruelty in academia in the UK post-Brexit. And once you're done listening, check out Dr. Eve Hayes De Kalaf's new book "Legal Identity, Race and Belonging in the Dominican Republic"!Thanks for listening! Get more information, support the show, and read all the transcripts at academicaunties.com. Get in touch with Academic Aunties on Twitter at @AcademicAuntie or by e-mail at podcast@academicaunties.com.