<
https://theconversation.com/friday-essay-not-for-me-amy-thunig-on-the-stigma-of-having-a-dad-in-lock-up-and-the-embrace-of-indigenous-academia-193527>
"The energy of academic conferences isn’t like your average conference. It is
the bringing together of academics from universities all around the country,
sometimes around the globe, all working within similar or related
specialisations. This means one thing: niche gossip and lots of it. There’s a
reason why so many academics love reality television – we have intensely
intellectual, oftentimes dry jobs, meaning much of the juicy elements of our
roles come from the interpersonal relationships.
At conferences you may sit across from someone who is later on your grant or
hiring panel. Though there is, of course, no formal segregation anymore,
exclusions and separations based on class, race, and privilege continue.
Presentations by Indigenous academics are often attended by almost entirely
Indigenous audiences, and when the proceedings break for lunch we tend to find
one another out on the grass somewhere, sitting in the shade, catching up on
everyone’s business.
Indigenous academic gossip is different though; many of us are connected
through bloodline or marriage, and informal gatherings within formal
proceedings allow us to check in on each other’s relations, and keep atop of
the cultural safety (or lack thereof) in different institutions and teams.
These are the kind of yarns you wouldn’t put in emails.
Learning the rhythm, language and protocol of the academy was a difficult
journey. I relied on Indigenous academics to be my guides, to steer me through
engagements that instead of allowing me to succeed because of what I do know,
would rather see me penalised based on what I didn’t."
Cheers,
*** Xanni ***
--
mailto:xanni@xanadu.net Andrew Pam
http://xanadu.com.au/ Chief Scientist, Xanadu
https://glasswings.com.au/ Partner, Glass Wings
https://sericyb.com.au/ Manager, Serious Cybernetics
