The title of this post is borrowed from a Foucault book, so you know it’s dope.
The book in question is where the idea of the panopticon is discussed most frequently, at least in the field of rhetoric. No symbolism there.
When I was 14 years old, my favorite teacher told me that if I didn’t start talking more, sharing my thoughts, people would bowl me over, and I’d never amount to anything. So this one’s for him.
I’ve spoken before about how English studies sometimes treats its young more than once, often with a level of anxiety and fear, on this very blog. Many of you, if you look back, will see me expressing my discomfort with speaking out because when I did it at previous points in my career, I was disciplined for it. But I’ve been pushing back lately, even though I’m not anyone important to the field. How well is my push back going? I posted my open letter to CCCC on Medium, as many of you know. Here’s how that’s done in a little over a week (showing you the behind-the-scenes dirt because some of us are transparent).
It’s interesting to me that almost 1000 people clicked through and didn’t read, but still, 753 reads in a week from such a small community is pretty significant, I’d think.
Still, I’m not sure what actual impact I can have. I’m one dude, and I’m one dude who isn’t thought of as very important to this particular institution. In response to the actual letter, I received assurances it would be passed on but that it would be made anonymous. Presumably for my protection?
To which I said back:
People in the field are scared to question authority, so much so that the chair of our major conference assumed he had to take my name off my pointed critique to keep me safe (I guess). But that sense of removing impact speaks to the fact that concerns are ignored or played down on the regular. If I wasn’t being a good colleague and chose to air dirty laundry I could tell you horror stories from what I’ve seen, what people have confided in me and what I’ve supported people through. The silencing and attempts to downplay concerns are real.
I put my name on that letter, and I’m posting this now, knowing people may very well fire back at me. I’m taking the risk because this issue is too important to be ignored. You can’t sit this aside and then say “oh, wait, it’s too late to do anything.” And it sure seems like that might be what is happening. I mean if it’s not, you could just tell me. But that would require you being open and not ignoring my request to know what’s going on. You’d have to treat the working class first generation mixed blood junior faculty member like you thought he mattered enough to include him in the conversation. You might have to write a whole paragraph in an email, take a whole five minutes out of your day, to make the effort.