It is, to my mind, an undeniable fact that all areas of academic study benefit from the effective use of narrative. Literature, history, and the arts are natural candidates, yet even the maths and sciences can be enriched by including the human voices of those involved, telling us the story of what they discovered, how they did it, and what it means for humanity.
What strikes me, though, is that the voices of those on the ground outside of the ivory tower of academe are still rarely heard, and even more rarely acknowledged and valued.
In history, I want to hear more of the voices of those who did not "win," the so-called conquered peoples, the indigenous peoples, those crushed under the heel of imperialism. Some corrective measures have been taken to include these voices in the last few decades, but I know there is mountains more to be discovered.
In the field of medical science, I want to hear the voices of those who unwillingly gave up their lives for our knowledge of disease and treatment, like those experimented upon and murdered in Puerto Rico or in Tuskeegee. I want to hear the voices of traditional healers, whose knowledge was taken even as the land that gave birth to it was stolen from beneath them.
In political theory, particularly here in the United States, I want to hear the voices of the rank and file, of the revolutionaries, the socialists, the anarchists, the sovereign indigenous activists, the low income city dwellers who construct their own direct action networks to meet their own needs as the superstructure has long since abandoned them. I want to hear those who challenge the status quo, who do not search endlessly for ways to justify an unjust system.
I want to hear from working class academics as well, those of us who do not live off of loans or off of generous parents, who work long hours and then come to class to pump our already exhausted brains. I want to hear from those who are eaten up and spat back out by the university system, whose faces are proudly displayed on billboards which celebrate diversity, even as they struggle to get their needs met by the very same institution.
There are so many more whose voices are never heard, but from whose bodies, minds, and toils academics extract knowledge. Not only do they deserve to be heard, but our work as academics suffer for wanting of these stories. They contain the wisdom of lived experience, of bearing the brunt of the policies put into place under the guidance of our theories, of what is truly done upon the backs of the poor so that we may gain.
What strikes me, though, is that the voices of those on the ground outside of the ivory tower of academe are still rarely heard, and even more rarely acknowledged and valued.
In history, I want to hear more of the voices of those who did not "win," the so-called conquered peoples, the indigenous peoples, those crushed under the heel of imperialism. Some corrective measures have been taken to include these voices in the last few decades, but I know there is mountains more to be discovered.
In the field of medical science, I want to hear the voices of those who unwillingly gave up their lives for our knowledge of disease and treatment, like those experimented upon and murdered in Puerto Rico or in Tuskeegee. I want to hear the voices of traditional healers, whose knowledge was taken even as the land that gave birth to it was stolen from beneath them.
In political theory, particularly here in the United States, I want to hear the voices of the rank and file, of the revolutionaries, the socialists, the anarchists, the sovereign indigenous activists, the low income city dwellers who construct their own direct action networks to meet their own needs as the superstructure has long since abandoned them. I want to hear those who challenge the status quo, who do not search endlessly for ways to justify an unjust system.
I want to hear from working class academics as well, those of us who do not live off of loans or off of generous parents, who work long hours and then come to class to pump our already exhausted brains. I want to hear from those who are eaten up and spat back out by the university system, whose faces are proudly displayed on billboards which celebrate diversity, even as they struggle to get their needs met by the very same institution.
There are so many more whose voices are never heard, but from whose bodies, minds, and toils academics extract knowledge. Not only do they deserve to be heard, but our work as academics suffer for wanting of these stories. They contain the wisdom of lived experience, of bearing the brunt of the policies put into place under the guidance of our theories, of what is truly done upon the backs of the poor so that we may gain.
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