GEO Statement on the “Author’s Roundtable with Dipesh Chakrabarty” Hosted by UIUC’s Unit for Criticism and Interpretive Theory
EDIT 12/22/2021, 9:33 PM: Changed details of Dr. Chakrabarty’s Harrassment of Dr. Fair to reflect her statement more accurately.
(TW: Descriptions of sexual harassment)
The Graduate Employees’ Organization at the University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign, IFT/AFT Local 6300 states our support for the cancellation of the forthcoming author’s roundtable with Dipesh Chakrabarty hosted by the Unit for Criticism and Interpretive Theory on April 19, 2021. In her 2017 article, Dr. C. Christine Fair alleges that Chakrabarty asked her for sex while she was studying under him at the University of Chicago. Dr. Fair’s descriptions illustrate Chakrabarty’s misogyny and willingness to exploit inherent academic power imbalances in order to solicit sexual favors from junior female scholars. Chakrabarty has seemingly not faced any consequences for his actions and continues to hold his position of high esteem at the University of Chicago’s South Asian Languages and Civilizations department as a renowned postcolonial scholar. This is reflective of a dangerous tendency for academic institutions to shelter such abusive individuals due to the value of their intellectual achievements.
Furthermore, we are gravely disappointed by the decision made by Dr. Susan Koshy, the director of the Unit, to invite a publicly known sexual harasser onto campus to speak to students and faculty. The GEO believes that there are no scholarly contributions that are important enough to excuse abusive behavior, let alone to continue to give an academic platform to an individual accused of sexually coercing his students, which is a further act of violence against survivors. The GEO unequivocally stands with Dr. Fair and survivors of sexual trauma in academia and beyond, and denounces Dipesh Chakrabarty, as well as any and all scholars who abuse their power to exploit those they deem to be beneath them.
For these reasons, we demand that the Unit for Criticism and Interpretive Theory:
1.) Cancel the roundtable with Chakrabarty immediately.
2.) Release a public statement explicitly stating that the allegations against Chakrabarty was the reason for the talk’s cancellation. The Unit should also apologize to students and faculty for inviting him in the first place, and stress its continued support for the survivors of sexual trauma. The Unit should strongly denounce any abusive individuals like Chakrabarty who take advantage of power imbalances in academia.
The Graduate Employees’ Organization, AFT/IFT Local 6300, AFL-CIO, at the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, represents approximately 2,700 Teaching and Graduate Assistants on the UIUC Campus. In November 2009 and in February 2018, over 1,000 GEO members and allies participated in a strike to secure a fair contract and more accessible UIUC campus. With an active presence in the community, the GEO continues to work for high-quality and accessible public education in Illinois.
For more information, please contact geo@uigeo.org. More information can also be found on GEO’s website at www.uiucgeo.org.
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