#***Note the lack of quotes; this is paraphrased from the essay from Lee.

[circular-bircular]

Hooooo boy okay.

I want to preface this with something big: I do not disagree with many of your points. Plural, as a term, was coined for inclusive systems -- it was coined with any and all types of systems in mind, with a leaning toward endogenic systems. Plurality includes but is not the same as DID, and people who are harassing endogenic systems for using the term plural are clearly in the wrong.

With that being said... Be warned, there is a hefty rant under the cut. Because OP, this was horrifically offensive.

We do not need to invalidate DID or anything related to it in order to boost up plurality.

One: we do not need to demonize the DSM to boost up plurality. The DSM does not have anything to do with endogenic systems, beyond if you want to twist the exclusion clause to be retroactively about that community. Want to? Go for it, I don’t care. But calling it “the Bible of Psychiatry” is really fucking starting to piss me off, both as a medicalized system and as a Christian. I’m so fucking tired of people dragging the DSM under the bus entirely, simply to argue about endogenic plurality online. It is a flawed diagnostic manual, and that is all. Please stop bringing it up unless you’re discussing activism for disordered systems.

Two: The source you provide on the change from MPD to DID does not state that it was a response to moral panic; it coincided with a few different panics as abuse became more widely known and sensationalized in both public and media, and you’ve inserted your own correlation to causation based on Lee��s (frankly unsettling, I really have such a strong distaste for this author’s views on survivors) take. Just took my nebulizer, so I'm a little too shaky to find all the sources, but thankfully, someone has debunked this claim hard already. It was not done out of moral panic, nor out of a single man's disbelief in DID. It was done because the task force for the DSM saw fit to make the diagnosis more accurate to what was actually being presented in the brains of those with the disorder. The most recent DSM (in which the single man often quoted for that moral panic you described was no longer part of the task force) removed many of the thresholds to diagnosis, reworded things more, and still kept the disorder name changed because it's more accurate. Just like all dissociative disorders at the time, which ALL had their names changed. I doubt anyone diagnosed with Dissociative Amnesia are particularly eager to return to Psychogenic Amnesia anytime soon (particularly with the -genic labels prominent in sys spaces).

Three: No, trauma is not a part of the diagnostic criteria. This is because of systems like me -- LIKE MANY OF US -- who could not recall our trauma at time of diagnosis. There has never been a case studied in all the decades of DID research where it came to pass that a DID system did not have trauma. Furthermore, it doesn't fucking matter because endogenic systems do not have DID*. There is literally absolutely no reason to mention the lack of a trauma requirement in the DSM. FURTHER furthermore, the DSM is not the end all be all of DID research. It is simply and has always been diagnostic criteria. It's literal only purpose is to help people diagnose disorders. However, there is a WEALTH of research into the trauma-based origins of DID. It's literally everywhere. Meanwhile, I find no sources on non-trauma DID existing despite nearly a decade now of searching (unless we count anything the False Memory folks have tried to say! Which has been linked to me. A lot.) Please, again, stop punching sideways at DID systems to validate endogenic plurality.

Four: Here's what actually led to me responding, because HOO my blood boiled at this part.

Community historian LB Lee gives several good reasons why-- as trauma-surviving plurals-- they choose not to call themselves "traumagenic" or divide the community by origins. If I may briefly paraphrase a couple of these: If you see suffering as your whole foundation of who you are, then you have a more difficult time envisioning a better situation. If you want others to respect you, a losing strategy is to put down people who are seen as similar to you.

Digging into this horrendous essay has not endeared me to Lee anymore than the first you provided. Here's some highlights, for those curious in more than a paraphrase (I'll color it red so it POPS):

Despite being generally looked down on by singlet culture, plurals have nonetheless created an internal pecking order so as to feel superior to each other.

Oh, lovely, yet another person who insists that the "internal pecking order" is for people to feel superior. This internal pecking order, mind you, being the delineations between traumagenic and endogenic. As if to say that "plurals" created "traumagenic" to feel superior to "endogenic." If that isn't how you initially read that sentence, I envy you -- maybe I've just had to read the words "traumatic embitterment" too many times in the past few years and I'm a little jaded.

These folks called themselves “traumagenic,” while everyone else was lumped into the category “endogenic,” which is a false binary, one the term “endogenic” was created specifically to avoid

The term endogenic was coined "lovingly" in 30 minutes, utilizing a term unfortunately originally used to fakeclaim traumagenic origins, as an alternative to Natural / Healthy Multiplicity. I don't think "endogenic" was coined speicfically to avoid a false binary; it was coined because Natural Multiplicity was really fucking offensive. Like atrociously offensive. Now, I could believe that Lunastus has stated it was intended to avoid this binary, and I believe that's what the community stands for now. But when it's being written like this to inherently display a binary between traumagenic systems (seeing themselves as better) than endogenic systems, uuuuuuuuuugh!

This is a problem I’ve seen a lot—taking ableist arguments (“disabled people have no right to privacy”) and dressing them in the clothes of the opposite (“by not publicly stating trauma, you must have no trauma, and thus be trying to sneak into my clubhouse and steal my culture, and you are oppressing me”). It is a convoluted little piece of anti-logic, hard to explain and refute. But let’s try.

I've got one for you:

"By joining this space, you attest you're a CDD system, because this is a space dedicated to only CDD systems, because we need a space to heal and grow in our own way due to the severe and repeated childhood trauma we faced."

This is what got me labeled as a sysmed for goddamn years. Because everyone assumed that a single barrier of entry to a space = exclusion, never pausing to wonder why the exclusion existed.**

I'm not saying that what Lee states here doesn't exist. I'm just saying, pot, meet kettle -- I have seen many endogenic and pro-endogenic systems use this line of thinking as an excuse for their ableism toward completely chill traumagenic systems. Almost like what I saw in this post, hmm.

Plenty of people put doctors on pedestals, but medicalized multiples in particular have a culture of overly deferring to their healthcare team: never making a move without asking the doc’s opinion, treating therapists as their parent replacements, relying on their shrinks for things they should really learn to do themselves, such as taking care of their internal children.

I'm so sorry that Lee has met only those "medicalized multiples." Meanwhile, I got harassed by a pro-endo system for discussing how I had to teach my therapist how to fucking care for me due to his flawed beliefs, in a discussion with a lot of fucking other medicalized multiples. Furthermore -- wasn't this discussion about traumagenic VS endogenic? Beautiful to see that traumagenic inherently means medicalized.

I met multiples who had been in care for decades, never improving, never seeming to learn any skills, but still absolutely enamored of their brilliant therapist (who they apparently couldn’t function without). These weren’t children either; these were people old enough to be my parents or grandparents!

This from the same individual who said "But when it comes to my personal experience, nobody can replace me." I'm sorry, but I find it incredibly offensive to see someone talk behind disabled people's backs about how they "never improve" and "never seem to learn any skills." Does nobody else find this REALLY fucking offensive? I pray to god that the people who went to these conferences that Lee is talking about never see this goddamn essay.

Traumagenic multiples have the same problem with this culture as any other medicalized multi subgroup. But they are the first I’ve seen who claim that not mindlessly deferring to medical authority is ableist.

Again. Not traumagenic multiples. Anti-endos. Not every traumagenic system is an anti-endo, not every traumagenic system is a 'morally outraged ableist,'*** not every traumagenic system even gives a solitary fuck about syscourse. I am sooo fucking tired of, yet again, traumagenic systems being thrown under the bus for syscourse.

Given that Lee wrote this in 2019, I have to assume he had the words "anti-endo." Yknow. Given the fact that I was part of syscourse at that time and had already been harassed by pro-endos for being a DID system. I wonder where they got the idea that DID systems are inherently medicalizing scum.

The only way to actually overcome these problems is through active engagement, awareness, and change. And I have seen no indication that traumagenic multiples, actually want to do those things, despite all their blathering about ableism.

I really wonder where that idea that all traumagenic systems are ableist scum came from...

But traumagenic is not treated as descriptor, as far as I’ve seen. It’s an identity, and as far as I can tell, it’s mostly based around medicalization, trauma, and suffering.

Source?

No, really, I need a source on that claim. Because as a system who is in traumagenic spaces, who THRIVED in those spaces... I have genuinely no idea what Lee is smoking here. And I could fucking use a hit by this point.

Many traumagenic systems discuss their suffering. That is because they are traumatized people talking about their trauma. That does not mean they BASE their ENTIRE IDENTITY on THEIR FUCKING TRAUMA.

As a system who used to use the label traumagenic, I used it to deliniate myself from endogenic systems because I was so often told I was endogenic... by other endogenic systems. I was taught to deny my trauma, taught I couldn't be traumatized due to numerous factors (such as growing up wealthy or "being so clearly loved" by my abusers). I used the label to claim my trauma as my own, to understand it, to process it.

I now no longer use the label, because people like Lee -- and I suppose, like you -- used it to suggest I was an ableist looking to put myself "above" endogenic systems. And don't worry, you're certainly not alone. I have been told numerous times that I'm lucky. Because I'm traumatized. It makes me "more legit."

(Again. Always by endogenic systems.)

Now... again... if Lee were to say anti-endos... yeah no it's still not correct, but at least I wouldn't be personally offended. I would just be offended for my friends who accept endogenic plurality but call themselves anti-endo so they can focus on overcoming their disorders in peace.

And since traumagenic is falsely equated with “disabled” and “oppressed,” it begs the question, what happens if we stop being disabled or oppressed? What happens if we achieve all our most utopian dreams? That should be cause for jubilation, not existential crisis!

It begs the question, why suggest this entirely hypothetical thing that cannot happen? DID may go into remission, but that doesn't mean someone stops being disordered, or stops being oppressed. You can't change the trauma history. WHY the fuck was this part of this article?

At least the survivor communities, for all their problems, are ostensibly about hoping for healing and recovery someday: folks might be traumatized now, but one day maybe they won’t be. The traumagenic identity, though, reframes the focus from “this is where I am for the moment,” to “this created me.” That is a static, unchanging identity. A creation can not be undone.

IDK fam, for me, I said, "Trauma led to my disorder, and I cannot change my past, but I can grow from this trauma and claim it as my own AND STILL BE A BOSS ASS BITCH." Something something how MOTHER FUCKING ABLEIST ARE YOU???

It’s one thing to show a respect for our origins, to accept their role in our lives. But I don’t want to have my identity forever framed as a horrific conception story. And I certainly don’t want my community and sense of self to hinge on my suffering, because that means I am incentivized to suffer. If the whole point of disability activism is to make disabled lives better, I sure as hell ain’t picking an identity that encourages the reverse!

"Well, at least Lee said it was their identity! Right? Clearly this is all just about HIS interpretation of traumagenic as a label for himself!"

Which is what I WOULD say, if this wasn't one entire article slandering traumagenic systems, period.

And every trauma-based community I’ve been in, or researched, has had the problem of equating suffering as identity, even if they didn’t codify it like traumagenics have.

Gee... I wonder why the trauma-based communities identify with their trauma and suffering... It really is a fucking mystery, ain't it? And does that mean EVERYONE in those communities EVERY TIME, Lee? Or are you overgeneralizing for the shock value?

I want my identity and community to be founded on more than pain or oppression. I want to build on the good things my plurality brings me—my friends, my partners, my inner family, my art. Those, I hope, will prove to be a more solid, long-lived foundation than suffering.

Then I've got news for you, Lee -- the plural community isn't for you, either. Because while I'm trashing on this, I have seen cases where people make their suffering and oppression their entire personality -- regardless of origin label.

Need we forget "the future should be singlet"? Need we forget "pluralphobia"? Need we forget "traumagenic embitterment"? (Yes, we should forget all of those things, I'm still trying to find that bleach for my brain...)

GOD FUCK HOW AM I NOT EVEN HALFWAY DONE SCROLLING THIS FUCKING ABLEIST WEBPAGE?

God, okay, FOR MY ENERGY AND SANITY, the rest will be bullet points and just summarizing some of my ideas and thoughts, I can't:

Many endogenic systems do appropriate or have supported the appropriation other cultures (particularly tulpamancers) but the claims that all endogenic systems are appropriating multiplicity are just stupid and show a distinct lack of knowledge for the history of these communities.

The cultural experiences of plurals would differ somewhat from the cultural experiences of strictly DID systems, I feel. For instance, plurals don't have to deal with, oh, IDK, decades of people trying to prove your existence is made up by therapists. Only the last year or so of syscourse seems to be accusing endogenic systems of being made up by therapists.

"Footnote 2: Explaining the full twisted history of the social pressures that spawned “endogenic” is beyond the scope of this essay; for more details, see the Lunastus Collective, 2014; and Lee, 2019." And, yknow, a literal decade of syscourse about it, including traumagenic systems once again being told they're faking their distress and frustrations over something. Super casual folks. (Side note, sounds like Lee fucking hates endogenic as a term. Shoutout to the one thing we agree on****)

UGH. OKAY.

So... my conclusion about that little tidbit is that it was horrifically fucking ableist toward traumagenic systems, encourages the idea that all traumagenic systems are ableist anti-endos, and I am thoroughly fucking disgusted to have read that whole thing.

And, last but not least:

Five: "Neither psychiatry nor the greater community of plurals see trauma history as an important distinction in determining whether someone is plural."

Believe it or not, I want to try to just... try to end this on a happier note. Something I might be able to hold onto hope with.

I firmly believe that plurality exists, and that trauma histories are not important in the grand scheme of "if someone is plural." However, someone's trauma history can also be vital to their plurality, and this should never be ignored.

For instance: me. I am... someone who frankly refuses to use the term plural now, and refuses to identify with that label, due to the harassment that I have received for being a DID system. But, nonetheless, I am still multiple beings within one body, and I can acknowledge I fit the label in spirit, if not in truth.

My trauma is vital to my plurality. If I was not traumatized, I wouldn't be plural. No ifs, ands, or buts.

I find that a joyful thing. Maybe other folks don't get it -- I highly doubt Lee does, based on what he wrote. I KNOW a large portion of the #pluralgang community doesn't, or at least, didn't in the years 2015-2019 when I was participating in system spaces originally.

But it is my truth. And I shouldn't be barred from it simply because I am someone who is traumagenic and has suffered*****.

If I wanted to be Publicly Plural(tm), then I would be doing that trauma history included. And I would be offended by those who implied that my trauma wasn't important to that identity. Because it is, to me -- it's something I have BUSTED MY ASS to accept. To reconcile. To grow with -- not through.

And everything written in that goddamn horrendous essay invalidated that.

and that, OP, is why I just wrote this essay.

Hope you have a good timezone, wherever you are. Me, I'm heading to bed and praying the trauma-induced amnesia takes this god-forsaken post out of my mind soon.

Some fact checks about plurality

The "Bible of psychiatry" is the DSM. In 1994, the DSM changed the name of Multiple Personality Disorder (MPD) to Dissociative Identity Disorder (DID). This was in response to a moral panic where critics claimed that the condition was fake.

The original and current diagnostic criteria do not require trauma for DID (or MPD) (DSM-III, p. 259; DSM-III-R, p. 272; DSM-5-TR, p. 331).

The international counterpart of the DSM is the ICD-11. Its essential features for DID do not require trauma, either.

Both books say that not all cases of multiple personalities are a disorder or a severe impairment. Psychiatry recognizes that medicalizing them is not always appropriate.

Plurality (or multiplicity) is a community umbrella term for many ways of being more than one person in a body. Psychiatrists who know enough about DID are aware of it. Plurality includes but is not the same as DID.

The community has always included plurals who formed for reasons other than trauma. Dividing the community by excluding non-traumagenic plurals and calling them fake is new. That only started in August 2014 on Tumblr, unheard of elsewhere.

When that started, a trauma-caused DID system created the word "endogenic." This means plurals who formed naturally rather than from trauma. The Lunastus Collective coined it in solidarity with them.

(Similarly, the coiner of another umbrella term, "alterhuman," is a member of a traumagenic OSDD system who supports endogenic plurals. The purpose of that word is for plural systems to unite with other sorts who differ from usual definitions of human individual, valuing what we do and do not have in common, instead of in-fighting about who is more legitimate.)

Community historian LB Lee gives several good reasons why-- as trauma-surviving plurals-- they choose not to call themselves "traumagenic" or divide the community by origins. If I may briefly paraphrase a couple of these: If you see suffering as your whole foundation of who you are, then you have a more difficult time envisioning a better situation. If you want others to respect you, a losing strategy is to put down people who are seen as similar to you.

Neither psychiatry nor the greater community of plurals see trauma history as an important distinction in determining whether someone is plural.

[exchangehe]

The Academic Mentor as Translator Written by Dr Ryan Arthur,FHEA

Abstract

Academic culture is not evenly accessed or experienced (Spurling, 1990; Mirza, 1995; Read, Archer and Leathwood, 2003; Semper and Blasco, 2018; UUK and NUS, 2019). This opinion piece will liken the author's previous academic mentor role to a translator of institutional culture. Within this role, the author sought to demystify the university experience by providing academic support and guidance to student mentees (Smith, 2014; Naismith and Livingstone, 2017). Mentoring students throughout the pre- and post-assessment phases prompted the author's consideration of several dilemmas (Stevenson, 2013; Scager et al., 2017). The significance of this essay lies in the framing of academic support in the era of access and participation plans (UUK and NUS, 2019; Department of Education, 2019; Office for Students, 2019). Though the title of the author's role may differ from other occupations engaged in learning development, the experiences and dilemmas remain the same (Hartley et al., 2011; Hilsdon, 2018).

Introduction

“Translation is not a matter of words only; it is a matter of making intelligible a whole culture"                                                                                                      (da Cunha, 2010)

The above quote epitomises the role of the academic mentor (AM); the AM essentially 'translates' the requirements of the institution to the student mentee. This essay will commence with a very broad discussion of the AM's translator role. This will be followed by an exploration of the AM's translation remit in the pre – and post-assessment phases. The pre-assessment phase refers to the AM's transfer of knowledge that enables students to complete assignments successfully. In contrast, the post-assessment phase refers to any activity after the submission of assignments. Looking at these phases provides an excellent vantage point to observe the AM's translation work. Subsequently, there will be a brief reflection on the dilemmas of the translator role. This essay is significant because it seeks to conceptualise the largely unresearched and under-theorised work of student-facing academic mentors (Naismith and Livingstone, 2017).

Academic Mentoring

In the literature, academic mentoring can refer to a staff-facing role in which experienced academics support the professional development of their less experienced colleagues (Budge, 2006; Sorcinelli and Yun, 2007; Darwin and Palmer, 2009; Carmel and Paul, 2015; Schmidt and Faber, 2016). It can also refer to 'peer mentoring' in which older students are charged with the responsibility of mentoring younger students in a bid to increase self-esteem and establish specific academic goals (Budge, 2006; Terrion and Leonard, 2007; Smith, 2014). However, in the context of this opinion piece, academic mentoring is a fusion of the approaches above. The academic mentor is an experienced and qualified member of the university's academic staff that imparts knowledge, provides support and offers guidance to a student protégé on academic matters (Naismith and Livingstone, 2017; Eby et al., 2013). Mentoring has become increasingly important in higher education (HE) to facilitate integration into the culture of an institution and is regarded as a pivotal support mechanism to the success of students outcomes (Naismith and Livingstone, 2017; Foster et al., 2015; Santora et al., 2013)

Due to the contextualised nature of academic mentoring, it is important to discuss how it was implemented in the author's previous mentoring role in a post-1992 London university (Naismith and Livingstone, 2017).  Though the concept of academic mentoring may inspire notions of a blend between pastoral and academic support, the author's previous role inclined towards the latter; activities were centred on providing students with support throughout the assessment process, whereas other departments serviced their pastoral needs. The author's previous role was situated within the learning development sector; in the sense that it was 'concerned with how students learn and how they make sense of academic conventions' (Journal of Learning Development in Higher Education, 2020; Hartley et al., 2011; Hilsdon, 2018). The scenarios of a typical learning developer's role envisioned by Hilsdon in the opening pages of his edited book faithfully depict the author's past mentoring role (Hartley et al., 2011).

The mentoring role was carried out in the 'access and participation' climate in which higher education providers (HEPs) were required by the Office for Students (OfS) to be more strategically focused in providing support to their students (Singh, 2011; Department of Education, 2019; Office for Students, 2019; Office for Students, 2020). Such a climate has made it difficult for HEPs to direct blame to poor schooling and broader social inequalities; 'disadvantaged students will always do less well in their degrees' (Office for Students, 2020). The new climate that HEIs must acclimate to insists that if students from disadvantaged backgrounds are given support, they can end up performing just as well as, if not better than, their more privileged counterparts (Office for Students, 2020; Gorard and Siddiqui, 2019). With this in view, the task of translation has become increasingly important.

Translation

Upon entry, many students who were traditionally excluded from higher education encounter an immense institution, shrouded in mystery (Read, Archer and Leathwood, 2003; Mirza, 1995; Grant, 1997).  AMs seek to demystify the university by providing academic support and guidance (Lee, 2013; Naismith and Livingstone, 2017). In a sense, the academic mentor 'translates' the demands of the institution to the student body. The author could do this because he was 'bilingual'; on the one hand, he was able to recall his' native language' of initial fears, anxieties and bewilderment, on the other hand, through years of learning and teaching in HEIs, the AM acquired the 'institutional language', which he imparted to his mentee (Naismith and Livingstone, 2017; Foster et al., 2015; Santora et al., 2013; Lee. 2013). This is not to say that translation was 'one way', regardless of the topic, each student brought their previous knowledge, beliefs and attitudes to the discussion, translation involved communication between both parties to co-construct meaning (Ritchie, 2015; Jones, 2018).

The author has employed the analogy of 'translation' as opposed to 'interpretation' because the former has the connotation of asynchronous text-based communication, while the latter implies synchronous speech-based interactions (O'Hagan and Ashworth, 2002). The translation work of AMs is primarily concerned with the interpretation of asynchronous text-based communication text (assessment guidelines, feedback, lecture notes and criterion assessment grids).  

Moreover, when the analogy of translation is used, the author refers to 'paraphrasing' or 'translation with latitude' (Weyland, 1999; Schulte and Biguenet, 1992). This is where the exact meaning is kept in view, but the conversation between the mentor and the mentee will focus much more on the 'meaning' of the requirements in which issues may be minimised, amplified or qualified. Such selective translation avoids placing the full weight of the institution on the student's shoulders. A full translation may overwhelm the student; instead, what is needed is a prioritised and skilful rendering of the requirements (Weyland, 1999; Schulte and Biguenet, 1992).

'Paraphrasing' is in contrast to 'metaphrasing' or 'word for word' translation (Weyland, 1999; Schulte and Biguenet, 1992). Metaphrasing is not an effective approach for the AM.  It does not enrich students with any new understanding; the mentor merely duplicates what initially confused the students. Also, metaphrasing does not allow us to read between the lines to reveal the 'hidden curriculum' (Rowntree, 1987; Cotton, Winter and Bailey, 2013; Boud, 1995). The term 'hidden curriculum' is widely-used but covers a broad range of definitions; in the context of this essay, I will use it to describe the 'shadowy, ill-defined and amorphous nature of that which is implicit and embedded in educational experiences in contrast with the formal statements about curricula and the surface features of educational interaction' (Sambell & McDowell, 1998, p391 - 392; Cotton, Winter and Bailey, 2013). This 'shadowy' world is most recognisable in the pre- and post-assessment phases (Rowntree, 1987; Cotton, Winter and Bailey, 2013; Boud, 1995). Thus, the subsequent section will focus on these two aspects.

Pre – Assessment Translation

The first aspect of translation refers to AMs preparing students, in group and one-one sessions, for an upcoming assessment. The request for help is often prompted by a prior assessment that laid bare the students' misinterpretation of assessment guidelines. Commentators have observed that students tend to find assessment standards and criteria difficult to comprehend and that some aspects of their lecturers' expectations about assessment are difficult to articulate, hence 'hidden' (Orr, 2007; O'Donovan, Price, and Rust 2008; Lia and Hu, 2016). Many factors interrupt the transmission of assessment instruction; regarding the teaching staff, there may be issues with their pace of instruction, lack of scaffolding, minimal teaching experience, fluctuating assessment landscape, unfounded assumptions, lack of congruence between members of staff (O'Donovan, Price and Rust, 2004; Equality Challenge Unit and Higher Education Academy, 2016). Regarding the student body, absence, unfamiliarity with a particular writing genre and unawareness of the 'hidden' norms and conventions are cases in point (Higher Education Academy, 2013; Equality Challenge Unit and Higher Education Academy, 2016).  

Amid this communication breakdown, the AM intercedes to become a 'middle person' in the communication between teaching staff and the students. It must be noted that translating from the middle is not reflective of the critical pedagogy perspective in which presentation of seemingly neutral assessment requirements must be uncovered if they are to be critically addressed (Friere, 2017; Apple, 1990; Semper and Blasco, 2018). The motives of pre-assessment translation are far more modest; instead, it is merely a means to enunciate 'hidden' matters that are so taken for granted by lecturers that they are rarely given any attention (Gair and Mullins, 2001; Semper and Blasco, 2018). Even if lecturers had the desire to give such matters the attention they deserve, the transmission of implicit knowledge through continuous observation and practice is too resource-intensive and no longer viable given the reduction in resources and the growth of the student population (Li and Hu, 2016; Rust, Price, and O'Donovan 2003).

To bring these ideas to the fore, the author will provide their experience of pre-assessment translation, intersecting the experience with relevant commentary. Reacting to prior mediocre grades or the expectation of such, teaching staff would often request the services of an AM to 'walk' students through the assignment criteria in a classroom setting. This can be linked to broader notions of the 'culture of performativity' in which teaching is viewed as a response to a perceived deficit, which leads to short-term reactive responses; rather than 'proactive, thoughtful, research and disciplinary-based developments' (Jarvis, 2016).  While it may have been more fruitful to be part of a more thought-out intervention, whatever route allows learning developers to engage with the student body within a normalised space is an appreciated opportunity (McWilliams and Allan, 2014).  Once inside this space, the translation process begins by explicitly rejecting the 'transmission model' in favour of a 'dialogic model' (Li and Hu, 2016; Ajjawia and Boud, 2018).  This dialogic interaction was not a conversation but instead a guided and purposeful dialogue in which students and the author co-constructed meaning from exemplar assignments that met the assessment criteria (Li and Hu, 2016; Ajjawia and Boud, 2018).  Carefully placed prompts in the dialogue were established to give the translation process a more 'organic feel' that would lead to 'both stronger confidence and better performance in completing assignments' (Li and Hu, 2016, p2; Rust, Price, and O'Donovan 2003)

Post – Assessment Translation

The second aspect of translation involves the AM's translation of the teaching staff's written feedback.  Until the 1980s, very little research had been carried out to understand how students perceive tutors' written comments (Ziv, 1982; Sommers, 1982; Lee, 2013).  This is intriguing, given that this area of translation is significant because the lowest scores received by the National Student Survey (NSS) are often in the area of feedback (Higher Education Academy, 2013).  Students have experienced significant problems with understanding and addressing their feedback (Higher Education Academy, 2013). Correspondingly, staff were confounded by the lack of attention paid to feedback (Higher Education Academy, 2013).  Such a scenario is problematic because written feedback provides a 'mode of communication between the tutor and individual student that is unlikely or rarely likely to take place in the everyday classroom' (Lee, 2013, p. 11; Hyland and Hyland, 2001, p. 185).

Intersecting the experience of the author with relevant commentary, this piece turns its attention to the nature of post-assessment translation.  Students often requested a one-one appointment to make sense of their written feedback; in this regard, Sutton and Gill (2010) noted that deciphering feedback comments were described by students as akin to 'learning a foreign language' (Ajjawia and Boud, 2018).  Though a portion of the conversation involved a direct conversion of the teacher's comments to make them understandable to the student, a significant amount of 'latitude' was employed to foster the latter's self-regulation. The author needed to become 'creative' in this area, given that the majority of written feedback comments are at the level of task, in the sense that feedback was chiefly concerned with how well the task was performed or understood rather than fostering students' self-regulatory behaviours (Ajjawia and Boud, 2018; Arts, Jaspers, and Joosten-ten Brinke 2016; Lee, 2013; Glover and Brown 2006; Orsmond and Merry 2011; Hattie and Timperley 2007).  This was principally achieved by repurposing retrospective feedback ('You did not include the required introduction!') towards a 'feedforward' approach ('In future, it is good practice to include an introduction that gives the focus of the essay) (Higher Education Association, 2013; Lee, 2013).

Without such contextual translation in the pre- and post-assessment phases, even the most carefully worded guidance can hold little meaning for students (Maclellan, 2001; Hussey and Smith, 2002; O'Donovan, Price and Rust, 2004).

Dilemmas in Translation

There are four significant dilemmas that the author faced in his translation work. Differing from a 'problem' that can be solved, a 'dilemma' cannot be fully resolved without leaving some residue (Scager et al., 2017).  First, the quality of the author's translation was dependent on the quality of the teaching staff's instruction.  For example, it was not always possible to interpret feedback or assignment guidelines if they were poorly worded or provided minimal instruction (Lee, 2013). On occasion, this placed the author in a precarious situation in which he was faced with the choice of withholding support for a period or run the risk of providing erroneous translations.  This dilemma laid bare the problem of the academic staff not always being on the 'same page'. McWilliams and Alan's study (2014, p. 12) on embedding academic literacy skills saw this as 'one of the most challenging aspects of our work'.  

 A second dilemma is, are we socialising students away from their innate creativity towards a very narrow and rigid conception of a 'good student'?  On the one hand, it appeared to be a partnership; the discussions between a student and the author were framed by the needs of the former.  Also, the discussions appear to be a negotiation of meanings drawn from our knowledge and experiences.  However, this was counterbalanced by the push towards of conformity through the author's translation work; this notion is best explained by Lea and Street's educational research into student writing which uncovered three approaches: 'study skills'; 'academic socialisation'; and 'academic literacies' (Lea and Street, 1998; Lea and Street, 2006).  It would seem that the author's translation work did not move beyond the first two approaches; the transmission of a set of atomised skills that students must learn to 'fix' problems with their learning and the unquestioning induction of students into a new 'culture' of the academy (Lea and Street, 1998; Lea and Street, 2006). Inadvertently, both practices centre on how to get working-class students to write more like middle-class ones (Paris and Alim, 2014).  The author cannot confidently state that he was able to employ the third approach, 'academic literacies', in an explicit and sustained manner.   An academic literacies approach engages with what' counts' as knowledge by looking through the prism of meaning-making, identity, power and authority (Lillis et al., 2015; Lea, 2016). Such an approach invites students to read between the lines; instead of focusing on what disciplines 'are', there is an insistence on paying close attention to uncovering what disciplines actually 'do' and how they shape student's thinking (Lillis et al., 2015; Lea, 2016). Mirroring his fellow learning developers, the author's development activities were increasingly shaped by 'contingent approaches' that reflected local management priorities, constraining attempts to contest and expose meaning (Hartley et al., 2011).

The third dilemma involved the amount of translation that the author withheld or provided.  Throughout the translation process, the author had to remain conscious that he was not overly supporting the student to the detriment of their independent learning.  An essential component of enhancing self-efficacy is traversing through challenging periods.  Excessive support could hinder their journey of learning.  Studies have shown the need for students to face difficult challenges to stimulate learning (Noble and Childers, 2008; Weiss 2003; Scager et al., 2012).  Though teaching staff did offer opportunities to discuss assignment briefs and feedback, for many reasons, students did not always take advantage of these opportunities (Ramsden, 1992; Voss et al., 2007; Kandiko and Mawer 2013; Semper and Blasco, 2018).  As a result, the AM was increasingly accessed to translate assignment briefs and feedback. Faced with such demands, there remains a constant concern about what to withhold and what to provide.

The last and the most pertinent dilemma in the era of access and participation is the concern of whether my previous 'fire-fighting' role supported an institution that did not offer sufficient student support itself, but still accepted students whose educational experience could not adequately prepare them for the demands of higher education (Stevenson, 2011).  Was my role the equivalent of a 'bandage' placed on an ailing system?  As one of the few members of staff with a sole focus on supporting students, we could not faithfully meet the ever-growing demand of students that needed our support.  Yet, our services were heavily advertised to those inside and outside of the university.  Perusing through the university's prospectuses and access and participation plans of the last two years, you would be forgiven to believe that our impact and numbers were substantial.  However, upon entry to the university, you would soon discover that our services were severely limited.

 Conclusion

Following LeGrange (Jansen, 2019) who ended his chapter with a section titled 'some parting thoughts in lieu of a conclusion', the author does not 'really wish to conclude and sum up, rounding off the arguments so as to dump it in a nutshell for the reader'.  It is essential that discussions about how we view our work and the dilemmas that we encounter continue well beyond the closing words of this article.

Bibliography

 Ajjawi, R. and Boud, D. (2018) 'Examining the nature and effects of feedback dialogue', Assessment & Evaluation in Higher Education, 43(7), pp. 1106-1119.

 Apple, M. (1990) Ideology and curriculum. New York: Routledge.

 Arts, J.G., Jaspers, M. and Joosten-ten Brinke, D. (2016). 'A case study on written comments as a form of feedback in teacher education: So much to gain'. European Journal of Teacher Education, 39(2) pp. 159–173.

 Beetham, H. and Sharpe, R. (eds.) (2007) Rethinking Pedagogy for a Digital Age: Designing and Delivering E-Learning. London: Routledge.

 Biggs, J. (1996) 'Enhancing teaching through constructive alignment', Higher Education 32(3) pp. 347 – 364.

 Boliver, V., Gorard, S. and Siddiqui, N. (2019) 'Using contextualised admissions to widen access to higher education: A guide to the evidence base', Available at: https://www.dur.ac.uk/dece/themes/participation/External link [Accessed: 28 February 2020]

 Boud, D. (1995) Enhancing Learning Through Self-assessment. London: Kogan Page.

 Budge, S. (2006) Peer Mentoring in Postsecondary Education: Implications for Research and Practice, Journal of College Reading and Learning, 37(1), pp. 71-85.

 Carmel, R.G. and Paul, M.W. (2015). 'Mentoring and coaching in academia: Reflections on a mentoring/coaching relationship'. Policy Futures in Education, 13(4), pp. 479–491.

 Cotton, D., Winter, J. and Bailey, I. (2013). 'Researching the hidden curriculum: intentional and unintended messages', Journal of Geography in Higher Education, 37(2), pp. 192-203.

 da Cunha, E. (2010) Backlands: The Canudos Campaign. London: Penguin Classics

 Darwin, A. and Palmer, E. (2009) 'Mentoring circles in higher education', Higher Education Research & Development, 28(2), pp. 125-136.

 Department for Education, 'Universities Minister calls for greater improvement on access'. Available at:https://www.gov.uk/government/speeches/universities-minister-calls-for-greater-improvement-on-access [Accessed: 28 February 2019]

 Eby, L., Allen, T. and Hoffman, B. (2013) 'An interdisciplinary meta-analysis of the potential antecedents, correlates, and consequences of protégé perceptions of mentoring'. Psychological Bulletin, 139(2) pp. 441–76.

 Equality Challenge Unit and Higher Education Academy, (2016) Equality and diversity in learning and teaching in higher education. Available at: https://www.ecu.ac.uk/wp-content/uploads/2016/03/Equality-and-diversity-in-learning-and-teaching-Full-report.pdf [Accessed: 4 March 2020]

 Foster, H., Ooms A. and Marks-Maran, D. (2015) 'Nursing students' expectations and experiences of mentorship'. Nurse Education Today, 35(1) pp. 18–24.

 Freire, P. (2017) Pedagogy of the Oppressed. Penguin Books

 Margolis, E. (2001) The hidden curriculum in higher education. New York: Routledge.

 Glover, C., and E. Brown. 2006. 'Written feedback for students: Too much, too detailed or too incomprehensible to be effective?', Bioscience Education, 7(1) pp. 1–16.

 Grant, B. (1997) 'Disciplining students: the construction of student subjectivities', British Journal of Sociology of Education, 18(1) pp. 101-114.

 Hartley, P., Hilsdon, J., Keenan, C. Sinfield, S. and Verity, M. (2011) Learning Development in Higher Education. Basingstoke: Palgrave Macmillan.

 Hattie, J. and Timperley, H. (2007). 'The Power of Feedback' Review of Educational Research, 77(1) pp. 81–112.

 Higher Education Academy. (2013) HEA Feedback Toolkit. Available at https://www.heacademy.ac.uk/system/files/resources/feedback_toolkit_whole1.pdf [Accessed: 10 July 2019].

 Hilsdon, J. (2018) The significance of the field of practice 'Learning Development' in UK higher education. PhD Thesis. University of Plymouth.  

 Hussey, T. & Smith P. (2002) 'The trouble with learning outcomes', Active Learning in Higher Education, 3, pp. 220-234.

 Hyland, F., and Hyland, K. (2001). 'Sugaring the Pill: Praise and Criticism in Written Feedback'. Journal of Second Language Writing, 10(3), pp. 185-212.

 Jansen, J (2019) Decolonisation in universities: The politics of knowledge. Johannesburg: Wits University Press.

 Jarvis, J. (2016) 'We need to talk about teaching', LINK. 1(2) available at: https://www.herts.ac.uk/link/volume-1,-issue-2/we-need-to-talk-about-teaching

 Jones, T. (2018) 'Fostering self-efficacy in higher education students', British Journal of Educational Studies, 66(1), pp. 139-142.

 Journal of Learning Development in Higher Education, (2020) Home Page https://journal.aldinhe.ac.uk/index.php/jldhe [Accessed: 05 March 2020].

Kandiko, C.B. and Mawer, M. (2013). Student Expectations and Perceptions of Higher Education. London: King's Learning Institute.

 Lea, M. (2016) 'Academic literacies: looking back in order to look forward',

Critical Studies in Teaching and Learning, 4(2) pp. 88-101.

 Lea, M. and Street, B. (1998) 'Student writing in higher education: An academic literacies approach', Studies in Higher Education, 23(2), pp. 157-172.

 Lea, M. and Street, B, (2006) 'The "Academic literacies" model: Theory and applications. Theory into Practice, 45(4), pp. 368-377.

 Li, Y., and Hu, G. (2016) 'Supporting students' assignment writing: what lecturers do in a Master of Education programme', Assessment & Evaluation in

Higher Education. 43(1), pp. 1-13.

 Lillis, T., Harrington, K., Lea, M., and Mitchell, S. (eds.) Working with academic literacies: case studies towards transformative practice. Fort Collins: The WAC Clearinghouse.

 MacLellan, E. (2001) 'Assessment for Learning: The differing perceptions of tutors and students', Assessment & Evaluation in Higher Education, 26(4), pp. 307-318.

 Marton, F., Hounsell, D.  and Entwistle, N., (eds.) The Experience of Learning: Implications for Teaching and Studying in Higher Education. Edinburgh: Scottish Academic Press.

 McWilliams, R., and Allan, Q., (2014) Embedding academic literacy skills: Towards a best practice model, Journal of University Teaching & Learning Practice, 11(3) Available at: http://ro.uow.edu.au/jutlp/vol11/iss3/8 [Accessed 4 March 2020]

 Mirza, H. S. (1995). 'Black women in higher education: defining a space/ finding a place', in Morley, L. & V. Walsh (eds.) Feminist Academics: Creative Agents for Change. (London: Taylor and Francis).

 Nicol, D. (2010) 'From monologue to dialogue: improving written feedback processes in mass higher education' Assessment & Evaluation in Higher Education. 35(5) pp.501 -517.

 Noble, K. D., and Childers. S. (2008) 'A passion for learning: The theory and practice of optimal match at the University of Washington', Journal of Advanced Academics 19 pp. 236–270.

O' Donovan, Price, M., and Rust, C. (2004) 'Know what I mean? Enhancing student understanding of assessment standards and criteria', Teaching in Higher Education 9(3), pp. 325-335

 O'Hagan, M. and Ashworth, D. (2002) Translation-mediated Communication in a Digital World: Facing the Challenges Clevedon: Multilingual Matters.

 Office for Students, (2019) 'Regulatory notice 1 Access and participation plan guidance', Available at: https://www.officeforstudents.org.uk/media/0bcce522-df4b-4517-a4fd-101c2468444a/regulatory-notice-1-access-and-participation-plan-guidance.pdf [Accessed: 28 February 2019].

 Office for Students, (2020) 'English higher education 2019: The Office for Students annual review', Available at: https://www.officeforstudents.org.uk/annual-review-2019/ [Accessed: 28 February 2020].

 Orr, S. (2007). 'Assessment moderation: Constructing the marks and constructing the students' Assessment & Evaluation in Higher Education. 32, pp. 645–656.

 Orsmond, P., and Merry, S. (2011). 'Feedback alignment: Effective and ineffective links between tutors' and students' understanding of coursework feedback' Assessment & Evaluation in Higher Education, 36(2) pp. 125–136.

 Paris, D. and Alim. H. (2014) 'What are we seeking to sustain through culturally sustaining pedagogy? A loving critique forward. Harvard Educational Review, 84(1), pp. 85-100

 Race, P. (1998) The lecturer's toolkit. London: Kogan Page.

 Ramsden, P. (1992). Learning to teach in higher education. London: Routledge

 Read, B., Archer. L, and Leathwood., C. (2003) 'Challenging cultures? Student conceptions of 'belonging' and 'isolation' at a post-1992 university', Studies in Higher Education, 28(3), pp. 261-277.

 Ritchie, L. (2015) Fostering self-efficacy in higher education students. London: Palgrave Macmillan.

 Rowntree, D. (1987) Assessing Students: how shall we know them? London: Kogan Page.

 Sambell, K. and McDowell, L. (1998). 'The construction of the hidden curriculum: messages and meanings in the assessment of student learning', Assessment & Evaluation in Higher Education, 23(4), pp. 391-402.

 Santora, K., Mason, E. and Sheahan, T. (2013) 'A model for progressive mentoring in science and engineering education and research'. Innovative Higher Education. 38(5) pp. 427–40.

 Scager, K., Akkerman, S., Pilot, A. and Wubbels, T. (2017) 'Teacher dilemmas in challenging students in higher education', Teaching in Higher Education, 22(3), pp. 318-335.

 Scager, K., Akkerman, S., Pilot, A. and Wubbels, T. (2012). 'Challenging high-ability students' Studies in Higher Education, 39, pp. 659–679.

 Schmidt, E. and Faber, T. (2016) 'Benefits of peer mentoring to mentors, female mentees and higher education institutions', Mentoring & Tutoring: Partnership in Learning, 24(2), pp.137-157.

 Schulte, R. and J. Biguenet (eds.) (1992), Theories of translation. An anthology of essays from Dryden to Derrida. Chicago: University of Chicago Press.

 Semper, J.V.O., and Blasco, M. (2018). 'Revealing the hidden curriculum in higher education'. Studies in Philosophy and Education, 37(5), pp. 481-498.

 Singh, G. (2011). Black and minority ethnic (BME) students' participation in higher education: improving retention and success. A synthesis of research evidence. Higher Education Academy.  Available at: https://pureportal.coventry.ac.uk/en/publications/black-and-minority-ethnic-bme-students-participation-in-higher-ed-2 [Accessed: 4 March 2020].

 Smith, L.D. (2014) Academic mentoring and how it can support personalised learning. PhD thesis. University of Nottingham

 Sorcinelli, M. and Yun, J. (2007) 'From mentor to mentoring networks: mentoring in the new academy. Change: The Magazine of Higher Learning, 39(6), pp. 58-61.

 Stevenson, J. (2011) Ethical dilemmas in widening participation: issues of pedagogy and identity [PowerPoint presentation].  Available at: https://www.srhe.ac.uk/downloads/events/18_AWPN-dl-stevenson-140711.pdf [Accessed: 10 December 2013].

 Sutton, P., and W. Gill. 2010. 'Engaging Feedback: Meaning, Identity and Power' Practitioner Research in Higher Education, 41(1) pp. 3-13.

Terrion, J., and Leonard, D. (2007) 'A taxonomy of the characteristics of student peer mentors in higher education: findings from a literature review', Mentoring & Tutoring: Partnership in Learning, 15(2), pp.149-164.

Thielsch, A. (2017). 'Approaching the Invisible. Hidden Curriculum and Implicit Expectations in Higher Education'. Zeitschrift für Hochschulentwicklung, 12(4), pp. 167-187.

 Universities UK and National Union of Students (2019) Black, Asian and Minority Ethnic student attainment at universities: closing the gap. Available at: https://www.universitiesuk.ac.uk/policy-and-analysis/reports/Documents/2019/bame-student-attainment-uk-universities-closing-the-gap.pdf [Accessed: 15 September 2019]

 Voss, R., Gruber, T. and Szmigin, I. (2007). 'Service quality in higher education: The role of student expectations', Journal of Business Research, 60(9), pp. 949‐959.

 Weiss, R. (2003) 'Designing Problems to Promote Higher-Order Thinking' New Directions for Teaching and Learning, 94, pp. 25–31

 Weyland, S. (1999). Translation models and model translations. A journey across languages, time and cultures. PhD thesis. University of Aberdeen.