Starting this unit, two main factors jumped out to me: first, the large amount of pre-reading and, second, my slight concern about how the unit will be addressed. The first concern regarding the reading is once again ‘how am i going to manage this with my preexisting work load? Will every week look like this?’ These large tombs of text can be quite menacing; whilst I enjoyed the subject matter itself, the sheer word count had me slightly dejected. Too much of a good thing and all,
The second is more complex. I’ve had my own natural passion for social justice topics for many years now; they’ve always been a naturally evolving part of my online ecosystems. I’ve listened to hundreds of video essays on these topics and have always been keen to learn more and have challenging ideas brought to me. I especially enjoy and relate to issues surrounding gender and the social constructs around race, feminist and historical videos discussing the intersections of race and gender along side my own personal family history of oppression by the hands of the nazi invasion of poland have lead me to be naturally open to these topics and how they all intersect.
My concern lies in the way these units may be delivered. At its core, social justice of all kinds is about empathy- empathy for others, oneself, destruction of things that are devoid of empathy, etc. I fear that I may be ‘taught empathy’ during this unit, that academics might tell me ‘how’ to feel and convey my empathy using buzz words to fit an industry ideal. Again, how many feel it’s appropriate to show empathy is to be quiet and listen, reflect in our personal time, and allow challenging ideas to settle naturally within us at our own pace. If I have deadlines around these topics, I might be compelled to make an argument or response prematurely or make sure I fit the right words in the right places without challenging anything within me.
I’m hopeful that the unit may be focused more on helping our students and giving us the tools to check our own biases and privilege without asking us to suddenly grasp decades-long academic arguments about highly sensitive, nuanced topics.
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