[Lingtyp] ALT: code of conduct
Gerhard Jaeger
gerhard.jaeger at uni-tuebingen.de
Tue Nov 21 22:37:45 UTC 2017
Dear all,
In his earlier post, David Gil wrote: "I do so without offering actual
citations because I think it is important to maintain a civilized
conversation devoid of ad hominem remarks."
David mentions an important point here when it comes to conveying the
impression of an inclusive and welcoming community.
Gerhard
On 21.11.2017 23:08, Emily M. Bender wrote:
> Dear all,
>
> Speaking as something of an outsider, I would say that there have
> definitely been contributions to this discussion that suggest that,
> even if everyone here agrees that harassment is bad, not everyone
> agrees that harassment is actually a problem in academia in general,
> or that it is not a problem worth addressing.
>
> For example, from Martin's message at the top of the thread:
>
> "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."
>
> Emily
>
> On Tue, Nov 21, 2017 at 2:04 PM, Maria Koptjevskaja Tamm
> <tamm at ling.su.se <mailto:tamm at ling.su.se>> wrote:
>
> Just a moment: was there anyone who said anything about being
> unsupportive of people from diverse backgrounds and communities? I
> thought this is exactly what has been pointed out in the
> discussion – the members of this list have very different
> background, we work with different languages and cultures and
> should therefore be aware of the differences in people’s
> understanding of what is appropriate, inappropriate and all that.
>
> I don’t think people should judge the climate in the academic
> world the ALT represents by the email discussions on the list.
> These are miles away from both the conferences and from our normal
> activities and communication. As everyone on this list knows, most
> of the members hardly ever post anything on it, which does not
> mean that they lack any opinions -– either on a particular issue
> or in general. It’s not their cup of tea.
>
> It’s not mine either by the way – even though I count myself to
> very active representatives of the field.
>
> Best,
> Masha
>
>
>
> Prof. Maria Koptjevskaja Tamm
> Dept. of linguistics, Stockholm university, 106 91, Stockholm, Sweden
> tel.: +46-8-16 26 20 (office)
> www.ling.su.se/tamm <http://www.ling.su.se/tamm>
> tamm at ling.su.se <mailto:tamm at ling.su.se>
>
>
>> On 21 Nov 2017, at 22:33, Andrew Garrett <garrett at berkeley.edu
>> <mailto:garrett at berkeley.edu>> wrote:
>>
>> hi all,
>>
>> thank you for the question. Again, I emphasize my outsider status
>> and express gratitude for being able to contribute to the
>> conversation!
>>
>> I would be surprised if anybody feels intimidated by the simple
>> fact of an open conversation; hopefully everybody is in favor of
>> that. And so many societies lack a meeting code of conduct that
>> its absence may well not be driving people away. But the current
>> lingtyp conversation is definitely being circulated (not by me),
>> and observed, among linguists who are not ALT members. Many
>> linguists — possibly even most linguists! — do not self-identify
>> as primarily "typologists" but are interested in typology to a
>> greater or lesser degree; such people may choose whether or not
>> to join ALT and drift a little closer to the important academic
>> world it represents. If they perceive the climate in that world
>> to be unsympathetic to equity and inclusion, and unsupportive of
>> people from diverse backgrounds and communities, they may choose
>> to go to a different conference or join a different organization
>> that seems friendlier to them.
>>
>> best,
>> Andrew
>>
>> On Tue, Nov 21, 2017 at 1:12 PM, Giorgio Francesco Arcodia
>> <giorgio.arcodia at unimib.it <mailto:giorgio.arcodia at unimib.it>> wrote:
>>
>> Dear Andrew, dear all,
>>
>> This is what I read in your e-mail (my emphasis):
>>
>> "Clarity in this area, and an expressed position along the
>> lines of the excellent ACL policy circulated by Emily Bender,
>> *would probably also help draw people into ALT who are
>> currently on the outside and (in some cases, I think) find
>> themselves discouraged by some of the tenor of the current
>> conversation*."
>>
>> English is obviously not my mother tongue, hence I might be
>> misinterpreting your words, but what I understand is: there
>> are people who would join (/participate in) ALT, but who are
>> currently discouraged to do so by the fact that we are
>> discussing the merits and demerits of a proposed Code of Conduct.
>>
>> If this is what you meant, I have to admit that, honestly,
>> this is incomprehensible to me. Should we refrain from
>> discussing in an open forum because otherwise people who are
>> probably not even in this mailing list might feel
>> intimidated? Above all, are there really cases of people who
>> stay away from ALT because ALT does not have a code of conduct?
>>
>> On the other hand, I do agree that the ACL policy circulated
>> by Emily Bender sounds much more reasonable than the original
>> ALT proposal. As Sebastian Nordhoff cleverly pointed out, its
>> purpose is clear and its scope is adequately defined, in my
>> view. The ACL policy 1. discourages harassing etc.; 2.
>> provides a fairly sensible procedure (i.e. how to deal with
>> cases of /alleged/ harassment), without assuming guilt.
>>
>> Lastly, I still haven't read a reply to David Gil's very
>> clever and thought-provoking challenge: how about the 'Padang
>> incident'? Or is that one fine, because it fits in our
>> (Anglophone) Western conception of what is acceptable and
>> what is not?
>>
>> Best,
>>
>> Giorgio F. Arcodia
>>
>>
>>
>> 2017-11-21 17:22 GMT+01:00 Andrew Garrett
>> <garrett at berkeley.edu <mailto:garrett at berkeley.edu>>:
>>
>> Hi all -
>>
>> Please forgive what may seem like an intrusion from a
>> linguist who happens to be on the ALT email list but is
>> not an ALT member. From my perspective (within a US
>> linguistics department), it seems very important that
>> institutions and organizations provide clear statements
>> regarding harassment. Bullying and harassment, ranging on
>> a spectrum from intellectual bullying to sexual
>> harassment (not to mention assault), are constant
>> problems in our public and academic life, and are all too
>> easy to minimize if we simply leave it up to our
>> collective and individual goodwill. Most scholars and
>> scientists do have goodwill, but it is incredibly easy
>> for us to turn a blind eye to the problem of harassment,
>> and thereby disempower, devalue, and exclude the voices
>> of those who experience it, if we do not experience it
>> ourselves.
>>
>> Clarity in this area, and an expressed position along the
>> lines of the excellent ACL policy circulated by Emily
>> Bender, would probably also help draw people into ALT who
>> are currently on the outside and (in some cases, I think)
>> find themselves discouraged by some of the tenor of the
>> current conversation.
>>
>> Thank you for your discussions of this important subject.
>> I wish all professional societies were as engaged as ALT.
>>
>> - Andrew Garrett
>>
>>
>>
>> Andrew Garrett
>> Professor and Chair, Department of Linguistics
>> Nadine M. Tang and Bruce L. Smith Professor of Cross-Cultural Social Sciences
>> Director, Survey of California and Other Indian Languages
>> 1203 Dwinelle Hall #2650
>> University of California
>> Berkeley CA 94720-2650
>>
>> email:garrett at berkeley.edu <mailto:garrett at berkeley.edu>
>> web:http://linguistics.berkeley.edu/~garrett
>> <http://linguistics.berkeley.edu/%7Egarrett>
>>
>>
>>
>> On Tue, Nov 21, 2017 at 6:07 AM, Emily M. Bender
>> <ebender at uw.edu <mailto:ebender at uw.edu>> wrote:
>>
>> Dear all,
>>
>> In case it is helpful for this discussion, here is a
>> link to the anti-harassment policy recently adopted
>> by the Association for Computational Linguistics,
>> another international scholarly organization:
>>
>> https://aclweb.org/adminwiki/index.php?title=Anti-Harassment_Policy
>> <https://aclweb.org/adminwiki/index.php?title=Anti-Harassment_Policy>
>>
>> We (the ACL exec) are presently in the process of
>> developing procedures to follow in case of
>> complaints raised under the policy. These cases are
>> never easy, and of course none of this is pleasant to
>> think about. However, it is clear that despite the
>> fact that most people attend academic conferences in
>> good faith and without wishing to make the atmosphere
>> unwelcoming to anyone, cases of harassment do occur,
>> and that therefore the status quo is unacceptable.
>> Furthermore, it is a helpful, positive thing for
>> professional organizations to set expectations. That
>> expectation setting in and of itself can help
>> underrepresented groups feel more welcome and
>> supported (and more likely to stick around in the
>> field). The "worst case" consequences in policies
>> such as this are there to give them teeth, but are
>> never automatic consequences of a complaint being
>> raised.
>>
>> Emily
>>
>> p.s. Here's the text of the ACL policy:
>>
>> ===
>>
>> Anti-Harassment Policy
>> The open exchange of ideas, the freedom of thought
>> and expression, and respectful scientific debate are
>> central to the aims and goals of the ACL. These
>> require a community and an environment that
>> recognizes the inherent worth of every person and
>> group, that fosters dignity, understanding, and
>> mutual respect, and that embraces diversity. For
>> these reasons, ACL is dedicated to providing a
>> harassment-free experience for all the members, as
>> well as participants at our events and in our programs.
>>
>> Harassment and hostile behavior are unwelcome at any
>> ACL conference, associated event, or in
>> ACL-affiliated on-line discussions. This includes:
>> speech or behavior that intimidates, creates
>> discomfort, or interferes with a person's
>> participation or opportunity for participation in a
>> conference or an event. We aim for ACL-related
>> activities to be an environment where harassment in
>> any form does not happen, including but not limited
>> to: harassment based on race, gender, religion, age,
>> color, appearance, national origin, ancestry,
>> disability, sexual orientation, or gender identity.
>> Harassment includes degrading verbal comments,
>> deliberate intimidation, stalking, harassing
>> photography or recording, inappropriate physical
>> contact, and unwelcome sexual attention. The policy
>> is not intended to inhibit challenging scientific
>> debate, but rather to promote it through ensuring
>> that all are welcome to participate in shared spirit
>> of scientific inquiry.
>>
>> It is the responsibility of the community as a whole
>> to promote an inclusive and positive environment for
>> our scholarly activities. In addition, anyone who
>> experiences harassment or hostile behavior may
>> contact any current member of the ACL Executive
>> Committee ([1]) or contact Priscilla Rasmussen
>> (acl at aclweb.org <mailto:acl at aclweb.org>), who is
>> usually available at the registration desk during ACL
>> conferences. Members of the executive committee will
>> be instructed to keep any such contact in strict
>> confidence, and those who approach the committee will
>> be consulted before any actions are taken.
>>
>> Implementation
>> This policy should be posted prominently on all ACL
>> conference and workshop webpages, with a notice of a
>> list of people who can be contacted by community
>> members with concerns. In case of a formal complaint,
>> the contacted ACL representative(s) will first speak
>> to all parties involved to try to resolve the issue
>> without presupposition of guilt.
>>
>> Approved by ACL Executive Committee, 2016
>>
>> ===
>>
>>
>>
>>
>> On Tue, Nov 21, 2017 at 5:13 AM, Good, Jeff
>> <jcgood at buffalo.edu <mailto:jcgood at buffalo.edu>> wrote:
>>
>> Dear all,
>>
>> In light of the ongoing debate about the proposed
>> code of conduct, I would like to send a brief
>> message on behalf of the ALT Executive Committee.
>>
>> The ALT Executive Committee recognizes the
>> importance of allowing open debates on topics of
>> relevance to the association and encourages
>> members with an opinion on the proposed code of
>> conduct to voice their views publicly on as they
>> see fit. Regardless of the outcome of the vote,
>> we welcome further discussion of this topic at
>> the upcoming biennial meeting.
>>
>> We also encourage members to vote on the code
>> (whether for or against) as presently proposed,
>> and we do not plan to propose a revised code
>> before the biennial meeting. Based on the
>> discussion at the meeting, a revision to the code
>> can be developed if the present code is passed or
>> a new code can be proposed if the present
>> proposal does not pass.
>>
>> Best,
>> Jeff Good
>> President, Association for Linguistic Typology
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>>
>>
>>
>> --
>> Emily M. Bender
>> Professor, Department of Linguistics
>> Check out CLMS on facebook!
>> http://www.facebook.com/uwclma
>>
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>>
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>>
>>
>> --
>> Prof. Dr. Giorgio Francesco Arcodia
>> Università degli Studi di Milano-Bicocca
>> Dipartimento di Scienze Umane per la Formazione
>> Edificio U6 - stanza 4101
>> Piazza dell
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>> E-mail: giorgio.arcodia at unimib.it
>> <mailto:giorgio.arcodia at unimib.it>
>> Website:
>> http://www.bilgroup.it/it/info/giorgio-francesco-arcodia/
>> <http://www.bilgroup.it/it/info/giorgio-francesco-arcodia/>
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>>
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>
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>
>
> --
> Emily M. Bender
> Professor, Department of Linguistics
> Check out CLMS on facebook! http://www.facebook.com/uwclma
>
>
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