<div>Dear colleagues,</div><div> </div><div>I agree with Kristine that this is an important issue not to be downplayed and neglected, however, I have voted *against* this code of conduct, first, because I find the arguments put forward by Martin Haspelmath and especially David Gil (regarding intercultural differences) very compelling and, second, and even more importantly, because I believe that such issues as conduct codes should be *first* discussed with the community they are supposed to apply to and be agreed upon and only *then* voted. In this order, not the other way round, please.</div><div> </div><div>Best regards,</div><div> </div><div>Peter</div><div> </div><div>-- </div><div>Peter Arkadiev, PhD</div><div>Institute of Slavic Studies</div><div>Russian Academy of Sciences</div><div>Leninsky prospekt 32-A 119991 Moscow</div><div>peterarkadiev@yandex.ru</div><div>http://inslav.ru/people/arkadev-petr-mihaylovich-peter-arkadiev</div><div> </div><div> </div><div> </div><div>20.11.2017, 21:04, "Kristine Hildebrandt" <khildeb@siue.edu>:</div><blockquote type="cite"><div><font face="arial, helvetica, sans-serif">I respectfully disagree with Martin, although his comments (and David's) regarding unclarity do resonate with me. And this response comes from me personally, as an ALT member, and not as an Officer.</font><div> </div><div><span style="color:rgb(29,33,41);white-space:pre-wrap;"><font face="arial, helvetica, sans-serif">As an employee of a U.S./North American university, I'm obliged to go through mandatory annual trainings and periodic refreshers on what constitutes harassment/assault (sexual or other), how to "not do it", how to spot it when it might be happening to me/a colleague/a student, and what to do about that if I do suspect it (as a faculty member in the U.S. I'm actually under a legal obligation to <i>not</i> do <i>nothing</i>). I've found that there are so many definitions (often constructed as examples), so many nuances, so many lines that may or may not be crossed, that the whole experience can be somewhat dizzying and mind-numbing. But: I also feel from a woman's perspective, and this moves me beyond U.S. bounds--and I've also lived and worked in enough places now to be able to say this--that this very vagueness in *just what harassment is*, and the resulting back-stepping from dealing with it (even via symbolic language), is one reason why harassment/assault/discriminatory and predatory practice has managed to go on for so long and perpetuate, evolve, and expand in such insidious ways. As if to say: "If we can't pinpoint it, we can't deal with it". That's unacceptable to me.</font></span></div><div> </div><div><span style="color:rgb(29,33,41);white-space:pre-wrap;"><font face="arial, helvetica, sans-serif">I do also (again respectfully) disagree somewhat with David's observation that "most of us are good people who sometimes make mistakes...a few are rotten apples". I engage in no finger pointing, here. In my own personal encounters as a professional, I've only ever encountered the good people. But my world of professional interaction is only a very small subset, and I've heard enough accounts from other reliable colleagues from many backgrounds to know that they could have benefited from the presence of such codes, even if largely symbolic in power. It matters. I have been pleased to see codes of conduct slowly making their appearance in other Associations, even if their language does raise discussion about interpretation and application.</font></span></div><div> </div><div><span style="color:rgb(29,33,41);white-space:pre-wrap;"><font face="arial, helvetica, sans-serif">The challenge of vague terminology and cross-cultural variations in interpretations should not prevent this code from becoming a part of the ALT statues. Vagueness in terms of consequences, for example, can easily be fleshed out by the organizing committees and institutions putting together the meeting. In the U.S. we can turn to the policies held at the university level for guidance, for example. </font></span></div><div> </div><div><span style="color:rgb(29,33,41);white-space:pre-wrap;"><font face="arial, helvetica, sans-serif"><b>I recommend a 'yes' vote.</b> If a 'no' vote does prevail, then I hope it is simply because the language here needs refinement and people are open to that process. I do urge ALT members <b>not</b> to simply assume that this Association (or any other) gets to 'opt out' of this issue, so I would welcome some discussion on this towards crafting revised language, either online or during a special session, language </font></span><span style="color:rgb(29,33,41);font-family:arial,helvetica,sans-serif;white-space:pre-wrap;">that </span><i style="color:rgb(29,33,41);font-family:arial,helvetica,sans-serif;white-space:pre-wrap;">can</i><span style="color:rgb(29,33,41);font-family:arial,helvetica,sans-serif;white-space:pre-wrap;"> eventually be adopted formally.</span></div><div> </div><div><span style="color:rgb(29,33,41);white-space:pre-wrap;"><font face="arial, helvetica, sans-serif">And finally, I especially disagree with Martin that this ballot item and vote distracts from other (equally/more) important issues before ALT. I think we can take on/discuss/take action on any number of issues, even simultaneously. A code of conduct statement has nothing to do (in my mind) with a failure to take other steps to make other participants feel welcome within the Association and related events. I just don't see how this step precludes other discussions on other matters aimed at making ALT a more inclusive organization. Granted, my history here is shallow, and I don't always get to attend the meetings or be in all of the discussion loops. Perhaps there have been failed initiatives in the past and I'm oblivious to these, but with successive officer/EC/membership changes through time, we can (and should) revisit them. So it will perhaps be with this vote!</font></span></div><div> </div><div><span style="color:rgb(29,33,41);white-space:pre-wrap;"><font face="arial, helvetica, sans-serif">Thanks for hearing me, and I do appreciate all positions and perspectives on this important issue.</font></span></div><div> </div></div><div> <div>On Mon, Nov 20, 2017 at 8:09 AM, Martin Haspelmath <span><<a target="_blank" href="mailto:haspelmath@shh.mpg.de">haspelmath@shh.mpg.de</a>></span> wrote:<blockquote style="margin:0 0 0 0.8ex;border-left:1px #ccc solid;padding-left:1ex;"><div bgcolor="#FFFFFF">Thanks to the EC for its efforts, but I would strongly urge all ALT members to vote AGAINST the code of conduct.<br /><br />Such codes of conduct may be needed, but the present formulation is incompatible with free science.<br /><br />There is no definition of "harrassment" (just some examples of what harrassment is), and the formulation "offensive comments related to aspects of identity" is terribly vague.<br /><br />On the basis of such a code of conduct, almost anything that is controversial could be construed as violating the code, so anyone could be expelled from the conference, even though they are trying to make a serious contribution to science.<br /><br />It's completely unclear who has the authority to "find conference participants in violation", and how participants could defend themselves if wrongly accused. I would not want to attend a conference with such rules, as I would not feel safe to express my (potentially controversial) scientific ideas.<br /><br />So the present formulation is completely counterproductive and dangerous for ALT.<br /><br />I am aware that in Anglo-American culture, such codes of conduct are more and more widespread, but there are big cultural differences. In most parts of the world, precarious employment and restrictions on travel are much more urgent problems that are worth thinking about. I suggest that ALT's EC consider also other options to make people feel welcome at ALT conferences, e.g. to increase the participation fees for participants from rich countries substantially, in order to alleviate the outrageous obstacles to conference participation that many (potential) ALT members face.<br /><br />I'm all for addressing the problem of harrassment, but only if it clear what exactly consitutes harrassment, and if there is no threat of expelling participants from ALT conferences. (Or if there is such a threat, then there should be a due process, as we're used to in free societies, rather than an arbitrary decision by some unspecified authority.) Maybe there should be a larger discussion at the ALT conference, or on the LINGTYP List.<br /><br />Best wishes,<br />Martin<br /><br /> <div>On 20.11.17 14:24, Kristine Hildebrandt wrote:</div><blockquote type="cite"><div><div>Dear ALT members:</div><div> </div><div>We have two important items up for vote. Both items are contained in a single electronic ballot, which can be found here:</div><div> </div><div><a target="_blank" href="https://siue.co1.qualtrics.com/jfe/form/SV_6id2p5qEU7W3tzf">https://siue.co1.qualtrics.com/jfe/form/SV_6id2p5qEU7W3tzf</a></div><div> </div><div>This link allows you to vote exactly once, and the origin of the vote is untraceable (ie. the vote is anonymous to me when I collect the results).</div><div> </div><div>Item 1:</div><div>Of the six current Executive Committee members, three are rotating off, and need to be replaced (Felix Ameka, Isabelle Bril, Keren Rice). Three continue for another term: Silvia Luraghi, Stepehen Matthews, Felicity Meakins.</div><div> </div><div>The ALT nominating committee identified and consulted with three nominees for the EC: Mark Dingemanse, Rachel Nordlinger, and Ljuba Veselinova.</div><div> </div><div>When you go the e-ballot, you will see brief bio-sketches of the three nominees. You can vote for all three together, or for any individual. And even if you do not vote for any nominee, you can still vote on Item #2 (below).</div><div> </div><div>We are grateful to both the outgoing EC members, and to the Nominating Committee (Nick Enfield, Nina Dobrushina, Martin Haspelmath, and Claire Bowern) for their work for ALT.</div><div> </div><div>Item 2:</div><div> </div><div>The ALT Officers (Jeff Good, Dmitry Idiatov, and me), in consultation with the EC have drawn up a code of conduct statement to be added to the ALT statutes. Please vote either for or against the adoption of this code.</div><div> </div><div><b>Voting is now open as of this email. The deadline to vote is Tuesday December 5 at 5pm Central Standard Time.</b></div><div> </div><div>Thank you!</div>--<div><div><div><div><div><div><div><div><div><div>Orche<br />('Thanks' in Manange)<div><br /><i>Kristine A. Hildebrandt</i></div><div><i style="font-size:12.8px;">Associate Professor, <a target="_blank" href="http://www.siue.edu/artsandsciences/english/">Department of English Language & Literature</a></i></div><div><i>Secretary, <a target="_blank" href="http://www.linguistic-typology.org/">Association for Linguistic Typology</a></i></div><div><i>Editor, <a target="_blank" href="http://escholarship.org/uc/himalayanlinguistics">Himalayan Linguistics</a></i></div><div><span style="font-size:small;">Check out our </span><a target="_blank" style="color:rgb(17,85,204);font-size:small;" href="https://mananglanguages.isg.siue.edu/">Manang Languages</a><span style="font-size:small;"> project page!</span></div><div><i>Southern Illinois University Edwardsville</i><div><i>Box 1431<br />Edwardsville, IL 62026 U.S.A.<br /><a target="_blank" href="tel:(618)%20650-3991">618-650-3991</a> (department voicemail)</i><div><i><a target="_blank" href="mailto:khildeb@siue.edu">khildeb@siue.edu</a><br /><a target="_blank" href="http://www.siue.edu/%7Ekhildeb">http://www.siue.edu/~khildeb</a></i></div></div></div></div></div></div></div></div></div></div></div></div></div></div> <pre>_______________________________________________
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Martin Haspelmath (<a target="_blank" href="mailto:haspelmath@shh.mpg.de">haspelmath@shh.mpg.de</a>)
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</font></span></pre><span><font color="#888888"> </font></span></div><br />_______________________________________________<br />Lingtyp mailing list<br /><a href="mailto:Lingtyp@listserv.linguistlist.org">Lingtyp@listserv.linguistlist.org</a><br /><a target="_blank" href="http://listserv.linguistlist.org/mailman/listinfo/lingtyp">http://listserv.linguistlist.org/mailman/listinfo/lingtyp</a><br /> </blockquote></div> <div> </div>--<div><div><div><div><div><div><div><div><div><div>Orche<br />('Thanks' in Manange)<div><br /><i>Kristine A. Hildebrandt</i></div><div><i style="font-size:12.8px;">Associate Professor, <a target="_blank" href="http://www.siue.edu/artsandsciences/english/">Department of English Language & Literature</a></i></div><div><i>Secretary, <a target="_blank" href="http://www.linguistic-typology.org/">Association for Linguistic Typology</a></i></div><div><i>Editor, <a target="_blank" href="http://escholarship.org/uc/himalayanlinguistics">Himalayan Linguistics</a></i></div><div><span style="font-size:small;">Check out our </span><a target="_blank" style="color:rgb(17,85,204);font-size:small;" href="https://mananglanguages.isg.siue.edu/">Manang Languages</a><span style="font-size:small;"> project page!</span></div><div><i>Southern Illinois University Edwardsville</i><div><i>Box 1431<br />Edwardsville, IL 62026 U.S.A.<br /><span>618-650-3991</span> (department voicemail)</i><div><i><a target="_blank" href="mailto:khildeb@siue.edu">khildeb@siue.edu</a><br /><a target="_blank" href="http://www.siue.edu/~khildeb">http://www.siue.edu/~khildeb</a></i></div></div></div></div></div></div></div></div></div></div></div></div></div></div>,<p>_______________________________________________<br />Lingtyp mailing list<br /><a href="mailto:Lingtyp@listserv.linguistlist.org">Lingtyp@listserv.linguistlist.org</a><br /><a href="http://listserv.linguistlist.org/mailman/listinfo/lingtyp">http://listserv.linguistlist.org/mailman/listinfo/lingtyp</a></p></blockquote>