#Amna Khalid

[religion-is-a-mental-illness]

By: Amna Khalid

Published: Feb 17, 2023

Just days into the new year, Scottish papers reported that the University of Aberdeen had slapped a trigger warning on J.M. Barrie’s Peter Pan, a classic children’s novel about a place where nobody ever grows up. The reason: the book’s “odd perspectives on gender” may prove “emotionally challenging” to some adult undergraduates, even though it contains “no objectionable material.”

Yes, you read that right—a children’s book now comes with a trigger warning for adults. What’s more, Peter Pan is not the only children’s book to come with an advisory at Aberdeen. Among others are Robert Louis Stevenson’s Treasure Island, Edith Nesbit’s The Railway Children and C.S. Lewis’ The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe. Last year the university put a trigger warning on Beowulf, the epic poem considered one of the most significant works in the English literary canon, for its depictions of “animal cruelty” and “ableism.” The year before that, the university pushed lecturers to issue content warnings for a long list of topics including abortion, miscarriage, childbirth, depictions of poverty, classism, blasphemy, adultery, blood, alcohol and drug abuse.

Aberdeen is not the only British university following in the steps of American counterparts. The University of Derby issued trigger warnings for Greek tragedies. The University of Warwick put a content advisory on Thomas Hardy’s Far From the Madding Crowd for “rather upsetting scenes concerning the cruelty of nature and the rural life.” At the University of Greenwich, the death of an albatross in “The Rime of the Ancient Mariner,” Samuel Taylor Coleridge’s 18th century poem, was deemed “potentially upsetting” and stuck with a content notice.

This trend is alarming for several reasons. First, it runs counter to research on the effects of such advisories. As early as 2020 the consensus, based on 17 studies using a range of media, was that trigger warnings do not alleviate emotional distress, and they do not significantly reduce negative affect or minimize intrusive thoughts. Notably, these advisories, which were at least initially introduced out of consideration for people suffering from PTSD, “were not helpful even when they warned about content that closely matched survivors’ traumas.”

On the contrary, researchers found that trigger warnings actually increased the anxiety of individuals with the most severe PTSD, prompting them to “view trauma as more central to their life narrative.” A recent meta-analysis of such warnings found the same thing: the only reliable effect was that people felt more anxious after receiving the warning. The researchers concluded that these warnings “are fruitless,” and “trigger warnings should not be used as a mental health tool.”

But beyond the fact that trigger warnings don’t work in general, there is something particularly perverse about appending them to works of literature and art.

Engaging with art is not simply a matter of extracting information or following the storyline. Rather, as Salman Rushdie once put it, literature allows us “to explore the highest and lowest places in human society… to find not absolute truth but the truth of the tale, of the imagination and of the heart.” Literature cultivates an aesthetic sensibility, a deeper sense of empathy, and allows you to be taken out of yourself in a way that only art can do. Joyce Carol Oates characterizes it as “the sole means by which we slip, involuntarily, often helplessly, into another’s skin, another’s voice, another’s soul.”

In other words, literature is transformative precisely because it has the ability to shock and surprise. It can jolt us out of complacency, force us to contend with the uncertain, the strange and even the ugly. For Franz Kafka, the only books worth reading are the ones that “wound or stab us.” He observed:

If the book we’re reading doesn’t wake us up with a blow to the head, what are we reading for?... we need the books that affect us like a disaster, that grieve us deeply, like the death of someone we loved more than ourselves, like being banished into forests far from everyone, like suicide. A book must be an ax for the frozen sea inside us…

Contending with “the frozen sea” opens the door for the kind of contemplation that is necessary for growth. When a classic such as Beowulf comes with “animal cruelty” and “ableism” on the cover, a piece of literature that offers us a unique window into the traditions and values of medieval Anglo-Saxons is devalued, and simply becomes a text riddled with “problematic” themes.

I can’t help but think that something is broken when universities, the very institutions entrusted with helping young minds mature, infantilize students by treating them as fragile creatures. What accounts for this shift?

Students across Britain seem to be in favor of trigger warnings. According to a survey published by the Higher Education Policy Institute last year, 86% of students support trigger warnings (up from 68% in 2016). More than a third think instructors should be fired if they “teach material that heavily offends some students” (up from just 15% in 2016).

Sadly, it appears that universities in Britain have fallen prey to the kind of corporate logic that is already firmly entrenched in the United States. This growing managerial approach with its customer-is-always-right imperative is increasingly evident in university policies.

Indeed, it explicitly underpins Aberdeen’s decision to use trigger warnings. As the University spokesperson explained: “Similar to the way that content warnings are routinely applied by broadcasters, students are informed about the content of the texts and, as critically mature adults, they are empowered to make their own decision about which text to read. Our guidelines on content warnings were developed in collaboration with student representatives and we have never had any complaints about them—on the contrary students have expressed their admiration for our approach.”

But university is not a television or radio show. Far from it. It’s a place where students come for an education. A model where faculty and administrators pander to student sensitivities—to the extent that it starts undermining the mission of the university—would be comical were it not so serious. If we fail to equip our students with the skills and sensibilities necessary to cope with life, we are doing them a great disservice.

When adult university students ask for trigger warnings for children’s literature, we as a society should realize that somewhere along the line, we lost the plot. Instead of coddling our students we should be asking why they feel so emotionally brittle. Might it be that their fragility is the result of limited exposure to what constitutes the human condition and the range of human experience? Is shielding them and managing their experience of art and literature not just exacerbating their sense of vulnerability?

Perhaps, in the end, what they need is unmediated, warning-free immersion in more literature, not less.

==

https://quillette.com/2023/01/06/a-puritanical-assault-on-the-english-language/

Other universities have competed to see who can invent the most asinine warnings: Shakespeare’s Julius Caesar (1599) has a plot that “centres on a murder”; Robert Louis Stevenson’s Kidnapped (1886) “contains depictions of murder, death, family betrayal and kidnapping”; Ernest Hemingway’s The Old Man and the Sea (1952) includes scenes of “graphic fishing.” Even George Orwell’s Nineteen Eighty-Four has been slapped with a warning that students might find the contents “offensive and upsetting.” Of course, those who would assume that a famous dystopian novel would be inoffensive and uplifting probably shouldn’t be studying literature in the first place.

==

Universities are now barely disguised daycare centers.

[swanasource]

“I wanted to show that we have agency and can tell our stories in our own way. We don’t need people speaking over us all the time,”

Inside a Groundbreaking Anthology That Sheds Light on 18 Queer Arab Voices

[passion-of-arts]

THE OLD OAK | Trailer (German)

Lust mich zu einem besonderen Ort zu begleiten? "The Old Oak" ist nicht nur der letzte Pub 🍻, sondern auch der einzig verbliebene öffentliche Raum, in dem sich die Menschen einer einst blühenden, nordenglischen Bergbaugemeinde treffen. Taucht im #Trailer zu #TheOldOak gemeinsam mit mir in eine bewegende Geschichte ein. 🎥🎬📺

[riding-with-the-wild-hunt]

vetted fundraisers from today. please keep sharing and donating if it's within your means. these families are suffering every privation conceivable and they urgently need our support.

july 8th:

Muhammad Atallah (needs vital surgery after being shot with an explosive bullet) and his family of 12, including several children and a newborn (€1,051/€82,000) - @mohammed-atallah, verified by @/90-ghost

The Ayyad family of eight, including four children ($21,251/$35,000) - @mayadayyad81, @raghadayyad81, @aymanayyad82, verified by @/nabulsi

The AlBalawi family of ten, including several children (one who needs urgent hepatitis treatment) and two chronically ill members (€8,581/€50,000) - @aboooods-blog, @albalawii, @bisanalbalawi, verified by @/90-ghost

Mahmoud Khalaf's family of eight, including several children (€11,677/€30,000) - @mahmoudkhalafff, verified by @/nabulsi

8-year-old Yusuf who needs lifesaving treatment for kidney failure, his five siblings, and their parents (€41,211/€85,000) - @ahmednabubak, verified by @/el-shab-hussein

The Al Zaeem family of seven, including four children and their sick grandfather ($19,041 CAD/$50,000 CAD) - @malkzaeem, @yosofzaeem, verified by @/nabulsi

Wafaa Alnhal's family of 15, including four children and a newborn (the family has already lost multiple members, including Wafaa's sister and young niece) (€26,633/€50,000) - @wafs-posts, #171 on @/nabulsi and @/el-shab-hussein's spreadsheet

Helping Siraj Abudayeh, his wife, and their three young children rebuild their destroyed home ($4,513 CAD/$82,000 CAD) - @siraj2024, #219 on @/el-shab-hussein and @/nabulsi's spreadsheet

Amna Marwan, her husband, and their three little children (€10,550/€30,000) - @amnahab, verified by @/90-ghost

Nael Khalid and family (unknown amount) - @islamgazaaccount2, verified by @/90-ghost

Evacuating Firas Muhaisen's family of six (including three children), as well as covering he and his sister's university fees (time sensitive, tuition is needed by August) - @firasmuhaisenn, @nisreenameen, @hashem-fromgaza, verified by @/90-ghost

Toddler Yousef (who needs treatment for a life-threatening blood disease) and his parents (€2,220/€25,000) - @dima96yousef, verified by @/90-ghost

not yet vetted:

Mohammed Ayyad and his five children (€10,998/€35,000) - @mohammad1980ayyad

any contribution, whether of material resources or effort, helps to save lives! if your action seems too small, do it anyways. i promise it matters.

[marwahstudios]

Acclaimed Filmmaker Tusilya Muthukumar Revisits AAFT Alma Mater at Marwah Studios

Noida,: A sense of nostalgia and gratitude filled the air at Marwah Studios as acclaimed filmmaker Tusilya Muthukumar, an alumna of the Asian Academy of Film and Television (AAFT), returned to her alma mater after sixteen years. Hailing from Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia, Tusilya Muthukumar reminisced about her formative years at AAFT, where she honed her skills and passion for filmmaking.

“It feels like a homecoming to be back at AAFT after all these years. The foundation in filmmaking that I acquired during my time here has become ingrained in me. I am grateful for the education and training I received at AAFT, which has played a pivotal role in shaping my career as a filmmaker,” remarked Tusilya Muthukumar, reflecting on her journey.

Expressing her gratitude to her alma mater, Tusilya Muthukumar credited AAFT for her success in the film industry. Dr. Sandeep Marwah, President of AAFT, extended a warm welcome to Tusilya, acknowledging her achievements and contributions to the world of cinema.

“We are thrilled to welcome Tusilya back to AAFT. Her success is a testament to the quality education and training provided by our institution. We take pride in her accomplishments, and her visit is a moment of celebration for all of us at Marwah Studios,” stated Dr. Sandeep Marwah.

Accompanied by her husband, acclaimed filmmaker Deepban M Vignesh, Tusilya Muthukumar has been associated with an impressive array of projects, including collaborations with renowned filmmakers and productions across various genres.

Some of the notable projects Tusliya Muthukumar has been involved in include:

Notebook by Amna Al-Binali (Short Docu Drama)

Veganize It! by Khalid Salim (Short Fiction)

Inside Out by Salwa Al-Khalifa and Fahad AlObaidly (Short Doc)

Behind The Scenes by Gabrielle Sol (Short Doc)

Palm Tree by Jassim Al Rumaihi (Short Documentary)

Qumra Film Festival

Nafas by Mira Nair (Art Film)

Qatar: A Guided Meditation by Ron Fricke (Art Film)

Eye and Mermaid by Shahad Ameen (Short Fiction)

Crazy Calm by Noor Ahmed Ali (Short Fiction)

The Reluctant Fundamentalist by Mira Nair – Feature

Volunteers and Supermarket Showdown by Waheed Khan (Short Trailers)

Black Gold by Jean Jacques Annaud – Feature Tarak Ben Ammar

Haggler Series by Jamie Riordan (Short Trailers)

Land of Pearls by Moe Alibrahim (Short Fiction)

If Only (Short Fiction)

[youviralart]

giorgio dotti 

The Old Oak – Press Conference Press Conference of The Old Oak, of Ken Loach, starring Col Tait, Chrissie Robinson, Jen Patterson, Joe Armstrong, Maxie Peters, Diyaa Al Khalid, Claire Rodgerson, Chris McGlade, Dave Turner, Jordan Louis, Chris Gotts, Arthur Oxley, Andy Dawson, Yazan Al Shteiwi, Rahaf H, Trevor Fox, Amna Al Ali, Ebla Mari

[pakistanpopculture]

idk if you spoke about it cause i couldn't find anything, but what did you think of baaji?

I haven’t seen it 😢

[nicklloydnow]

“Universities should defend all students’ right to practise their faith. They should not allow that faith to dictate the curriculum. That is to introduce blasphemy taboos into the classroom.

Hamline has effectively declared whole areas of Islamic history beyond scholarly purview because they may cause offence. And not just Islamic history. As Audrey Truschke, associate professor of South Asian history at Rutgers University, observed, Hamline’s action “endangers… professors who show things in class, from premodern Islamic art to Hindu images with swastikas to Piss Christ”.

(…)

The actions of Hamline University are a threat not just to academic freedom but to religious freedom, too. They implicitly disavow the variety of traditions that constitute Islam and condemn those traditions as in some sense so bigoted that they cannot be shown in a class on Islamic art history. University bureaucrats are, as non-Muslims, taking part in a theological debate within Islam and siding with the extremists.

That is why, the historian Amna Khalid observes, it is as a Muslim she is most offended by Hamline’s actions that have “flattened the rich history and diversity of Islamic thought” and “privileged a most extreme and conservative Muslim point of view”. In an age in which there are demands for the syllabus to be “decolonised”, she adds, “Hamline’s position is a kind of arch-imperialism, reinforcing a monolithic image of Muslims propounded by the cult of authentic Islam”.

Perhaps the most damaging aspect of Hamline’s action is the use of the language of diversity to eviscerate the very meaning of diversity. This is an issue not confined to Hamline. Too many people today demand that we respect the diversity of society, but fail to see the diversity of minority communities in those societies. As a result, progressive voices often get dismissed as not being authentic, while the most conservative figures become celebrated as the true embodiment of their communities.

Here, liberal “anti-racism” meets rightwing anti-Muslim bigotry. For bigots, all Muslims are reactionary and their values incompatible with those of liberal societies. For too many liberals, opposing bigotry means accepting reactionary ideas as authentically Muslim; that to be Muslim is to find the Danish cartoons offensive and the depiction of Muhammed “harmful”. Both bigots and liberals erase the richness and variety of Muslim communities.

The Hamline controversy shows how the concepts of diversity and tolerance have become turned on their head. Diversity used to mean the creation of a space for dissent and disagreement and tolerance the willingness to live with things that one might find offensive or distasteful. Now, diversity too often describes a space in which dissent and disagreement have to be expunged in the name of “respect” and tolerance requires one to refrain from saying or doing things that might be deemed offensive. It is time we re-grasped both diversity and tolerance in their original sense.”

“Islam, my beloved faith, is under attack in America. But the threat does not derive from so-called Islamophobes or right-wing extremists.

No, the danger to Islam is much more insidious, because it comes from those who proclaim to be our allies, the woke left.

(…)

Unfortunately, in America today, Islamists have found sanctuary in a progressivist culture that values identity over reason, meritocracy, history, and truth. Fundamentalists and the woke are kindred spirits, united by a hatred of Western values.

Under wokism, identity defines its adherents. If you are a victim, then you are in the favored caste. And in this victim-hierarchy, Islam towers over all other religions.

In the streets of Iran, Iraq, Syria, Afghanistan, and Saudi Arabia, dissenters are silenced by the gun or club. But in America that dirty work is done with a word.

When you hear, Islamophobia, beware. The word is invoked as a weapon to silence.

What the Islamists at CAIR understand and the campus activists and oppressive progressive left may not fully realize is that they are working on behalf of the powerful, not the weak, when they silence free thought.

(…)

Of course, no one is denying that bigotry against Muslims exists, but free thought is not bigotry. If there is rampant anti-Muslim bigotry, it's the left's 'bigotry of low expectations'.

(…)

The very essence of America, debate, critical thinking, and learning is under threat. And American Muslims suffer from this beside their countrymen.

America was once a laboratory of reform for Muslims, it has instead become a place where our own universities cut us off at the knees. Our academics side with the fundamentalists, who hate America and everything it stands for.

The Islamist-woke alliance spells doom for Islam and the American way of life.”

[24pakistan-blog]

Mahira showers praise on Meera for her performance in song from 'Paray Hut Love'

[highfashionpakistan]

Elan’s “Palais Indochine” bridal campaign featuring Amna Baber and Jahan e Khalid. Photographed by Abdullah Haris. 

[tasksweekly]

[TASK 176: UNITED ARAB EMIRATES]

There’s a masterlist below compiled of over 90+ Emirati faceclaims categorised by gender with their occupation and ethnicity denoted if there was a reliable source. If you want an extra challenge use random.org to pick a random number! Of course everything listed below are just suggestions and you can pick whichever faceclaim or whichever project you desire.

Any questions can be sent here and all tutorials have been linked below the cut for ease of access! REMEMBER to tag your resources with #TASKSWEEKLY and we will reblog them onto the main! This task can be tagged with whatever you want but if you want us to see it please be sure that our tag is the first five tags, @ mention us or send us a messaging linking us to your post!

THE TASK - scroll down for FC’s!

STEP 1: Decide on a FC you wish to create resources for! You can always do more than one but who are you starting with? There are links to masterlists you can use in order to find them and if you want help, just send us a message and we can pick one for you at random!

STEP 2: Pick what you want to create! You can obviously do more than one thing, but what do you want to start off with? Screencaps, RP icons, GIF packs, masterlists, PNG’s, fancasts, alternative FC’s - LITERALLY anything you desire!

STEP 3: Look back on tasks that we have created previously for tutorials on the thing you are creating unless you have whatever it is you are doing mastered - then of course feel free to just get on and do it. :)

STEP 4: Upload and tag with #TASKSWEEKLY! If you didn’t use your own screencaps/images make sure to credit where you got them from as we will not reblog packs which do not credit caps or original gifs from the original maker.

THINGS YOU CAN MAKE FOR THIS TASK -  examples are linked!

Stumped for ideas? Maybe make a masterlist or graphic of your favourite faceclaims. A masterlist of names. Plot ideas or screencaps from a music video preformed by an artist. Masterlist of quotes and lyrics that can be used for starters, thread titles or tags. Guides on culture and customs.

Screencaps

RP icons [of all sizes]

Gif Pack [maybe gif icons if you wish]

PNG packs

Manips

Dash Icons

Character Aesthetics

PSD’s

XCF’s

Graphic Templates - can be chara header, promo, border or background PSD’s!

FC Masterlists - underused, with resources, without resources!

FC Help - could be related, family templates, alternatives.

Written Guides.

and whatever else you can think of / make!

MASTERLIST!

F:

Badriya Ahmad (1964) Emirati - actress. 

Huda El Khateib (1964) Emirati - actress. 

Ahlam Alshamsi (1969) Emirati / Bahraini - singer. 

Fatima Al Hosni (1969) Emirati - singer. 

Layla Kaylif (1971) Emirati - singer-songwriter and screenwriter.

Mahira Abdel Aziz (1982) Emirati - tv anchor. 

Salama Mohamed (1987) Emirati - instagrammer (salamamohamed).

Amal Mohammed (1987) Emirati - actress. 

Sarah Al Agroobi / Sarah Alagroobi (1989) Emirati / Syrian - actress, filmmaker, and interdisciplinary artist.

Aroob Ali (?) Emirati - model.

Nadya Alwiny (?) Emirati / Chinese - model.

Shamma Hamdan (?) Emirati - singer.

F - Athletes:

Elham Al Qasim (1982) Emirati - skier. 

Shahad Budebs (1994) Emirati - crossfit games athlete.

Khadija Mohammed (1995) Emirati - weightlifter. 

Zahra Lari (1995) Emirati - figure skater.

Nada Al-Bedwawi (1997) Emirati - swimmer. 

Amna Al Qubaisi (2000) Emirati - racing driver.

Mahra Al-Hinaai (2001) Emirati - ju-jitsu practitioner.

M:

Jaber Nagmoosh (1950) Emirati - actor. 

Abdallah Belkhair (1950) Emirati - singer. 

Ahmed Al Jasmi (1962) Emirati - actor. 

Saif Al Ghanim (1962) Emirati - actor. 

Ahmed Alansari (1963) Emirati - actor. 

Habib Ghaloom (1963) Emirati - actor.

Fayez Al Saeed (1974) Emirati - singer and composer. 

Ahmed Abdul Khaleq (1977) Emirati - blogger.

Ali F. Mostafa (1981) Emirati / British - filmmaker.

Khalid Al Ameri (1983) Emirati / Scottish - instagrammer (khalidalameri).

Yaser Alneyadi (1990) Emirati - actor.

Omar Almulla (1992) Emirati - actor.

Spek / Hussain Yoosuf (?) Emirati - rapper.

Ahmed Khamis Ali (?)  Emirati - actor.

M - Athletes:

Mohammed bin Sulayem (1961) Emirati - rally driver. 

Mubarak Ghanim (1963) Emirati - footballer. 

Zuhair Bakheet (1967) Emirati - footballer. 

Samir El-Mais (1980) Emirati - boxer.

Obaid Al-Jasmi (1981) Emirati - swimmer. 

Rami Yaslam (1981) Emirati - footballer. 

Hasan Ali (1981) Emirati - footballer. 

Mahmoud Almas (1983) Emirati - footballer. 

Ali Al-Wehaibi (1983) Emirati - footballer. 

Mahmoud Hassan (1984) Baloch Emirati - footballer. 

Mohamed Hammadi (1985) Emirati - paralympic athlete.

Yousif Jaber (1985) Emirati - footballer. 

Walid Abbas (1985) Baloch Emirati - footballer. 

Salem Abdullah (1986) Emirati - footballer. 

Abdullah Faraj (1986) Emirati - footballer. 

Abdulla Sultan Al Nasseri (1986) Emirati - footballer. 

Yaqoub Al Hosani (1987) Emirati - footballer. 

Mubarak Al-Besher (1988) Emirati - swimmer. 

Humaid Abdulla Abbas (1988) Emirati - footballer. 

Yousif Mirza (1988) Emirati - cyclist. 

Fawaz Awana (1988) Emirati - footballer. 

Ali Al-Hosani (1988) Emirati - footballer. 

Khaled Abdulrahman (1988) Emirati - footballer. 

Tareq Ahmed (1988) Emirati - footballer. 

Jasim Abdalla (1988) Emirati - basketball player.

Saeed Rashid Al Qubaisi (1989) Emirati - judoka.

Nasser Abdulhadi (1989) Emirati - footballer. 

Hazza Salem Al Faresi (1989) Emirati - footballer. 

Amer Abdulrahman (1989) Emirati - footballer. 

Hamdan Al-Kamali (1989) Emirati - footballer. 

Mohammed Khalaf (1989) Emirati - footballer. 

Bandar Al-Ahbabi (1990) Emirati - footballer. 

Abdulla Al-Karbi (1990) Emirati - handball player.

Habib Al Fardan (1990) Emirati - footballer. 

Ali Mabkhout (1990) Emirati - footballer. 

Mohammed Ali Ayed (1990) Emirati - footballer. 

Hamad Al-Hammadi (1991) Emirati - footballer. 

Hamad Al-Ahbabi (1991) Emirati - footballer. 

Qais Alshabebi (1991) Emirati - basketball player. 

Al Hassan Saleh (1991) Emirati - footballer. 

Waleed Hussain (1991) Emirati - footballer. 

Shahin Abdulrahman (1992) Emirati - footballer. 

Masoud Sulaiman (1992) Emirati - footballer. 

Majed Hassan (1992) Emirati - footballer. 

Abdullah Al-Naqbi (1993) Emirati - footballer. 

Salem Sultan (1993) Emirati - footballer. 

Waleed Jumaa (1993) Emirati - footballer. 

Suhail Al-Mansoori (1993) Emirati - footballer.

Sebil Ghazi (1994) Emirati - footballer.

Mohammed Jamal (1994) Emirati - footballer.

Rashed Muhayer (1994) Emirati - footballer.

Rayan Yaslam (1994) Emirati - footballer.

Khaled Ba Wazir (1995) Emirati - footballer.

Khalfan Mubarak (1995) Emirati - footballer.

Yaaqoub Al-Saadi (1996) Emirati - swimmer. 

Abdullah Kazim (1996) Emirati - footballer.

Mohamed Al Shamsi (1997) Emirati - footballer.

Mohammed Al Attas (1997) Emirati - footballer.

Ali Saleh (2000) Emirati / Scottish - footballer. 

Humaid Al-Derei (?) Emirati - judoka.

Sayed Ibrahim Al Hashmi (?) Emirati - bodybuilder.

[religion-is-a-mental-illness]

By: Amna Khalid and Jeffrey Aaron Snyder

Published: Aug 5, 2020

U.S. colleges and universities will be embracing diversity training with renewed vigor this fall.

In response to the killing of George Floyd, the massive Black Lives Matter protests and pressure from students, dozens of colleges and universities have made public commitments to new anti-racism initiatives.

The University of Florida will require all students, faculty and staff to undergo training on “racism, inclusion and bias.” Northeastern University will institute “cultural competency” and “anti-racism training” for every member of the campus community. And Ohio Wesleyan University will mandate “universal diversity, equity, and inclusion training.”

Given the vital importance of confronting past and present racism, we believe it is imperative that colleges and universities address racial disparities and discrimination in higher education head-on. However, as scholars who study race and social inequality, we know that diversity training suffers from “chronically disappointing results.” Recent research in psychology even suggests that diversity training may cause more problems than it solves.

What diversity training looks like

Called into a typical diversity training session, you may be told to complete a “privilege walk”: step forward if “you are a white male,” backward if your “ancestors were forced to come to the United States,” forward if “either of your parents graduated from college,” backward if you “grew up in an urban setting,” and so on.

You could be instructed to play “culture bingo.” In this game, you would earn points for knowing “what melanin is,” the “influence Zoot suits had on Chicano history” or your “Chinese birth sign.”

You might be informed that white folks use “white talk,” which is “task-oriented” and “intellectual,” while people of color use “color commentary,” which is “process-oriented” and “emotional.”

You will most definitely be encouraged to internalize an ever-expanding diversity lexicon. This vocabulary includes terms such as Latinx, microaggressions and white privilege.

It also features terms that are more obscure, like “adultism,” which is defined as “prejudiced thoughts and discriminatory actions against young people, in favor of the older.”

Disappointing results and unintended consequences

In terms of reducing bias and promoting equal opportunity, diversity training has “failed spectacularly,” according to the expert assessment of sociologists Frank Dobbin and Alexandra Kalev. When Dobbin and Kalev evaluated the impact of diversity training at more than 800 companies over three decades, they found that the positive effects are short-lived and that compulsory training generates resistance and resentment.

“A company is better off doing nothing than mandatory diversity training,” Kalev concluded.

Some of the most popular training approaches are of dubious value. There is evidence, for example, that introducing people to the most commonly used readings about white privilege can reduce sympathy for poor whites, especially among social liberals.

There is also evidence that emphasizing cultural differences across racial groups can lead to an increased belief in fundamental biological differences among races. This means that well-intentioned efforts to celebrate diversity may in fact reinforce racial stereotyping.

With its emphasis on do’s and don’t’s, diversity training tends to be little more than a form of etiquette. It spells out rules that are just as rigid as those that govern the placement of salad forks and soup spoons. The fear of saying “the wrong thing” often leads to unproductive, highly scripted conversations.

This is the exact opposite of the kinds of debates and discussions that you would hope to find on a college campus.

The main beneficiaries of the forthcoming explosion in diversity programming will be the swelling ranks of “diversity and inclusion” consultants who stand to make a pretty penny. A one-day training session for around 50 people costs anywhere between US$2,000 and $6,000. Robin DiAngelo, the best-selling author of “White Fragility,” charges up to $15,000 per event.

In this belt-tightening era of COVID-19, should colleges and universities really be spending precious dollars on measures that have been “proven to fail”?

[ Continued... ]

==

Con artists always find a vulnerability.

[a-bridal-scrapbook]

Elan's "Palais Indochine" bridal campaign featuring Amna Babar and Jahan Khalid

[67hakky]

Familia ya Mwanangu

Familia ya Mwanangu Nataka kuishi huku peke yangu, akiwepo pembeni yangu. Ndugu wa mtoto, familia ya mwanangu.

Suzy anamtazama Abdi kwa majonzi akishika uso wake na kuongea kwa sauti ya chini “Sawa”. Inspector Abdi anasimama akiongea “utamuona mwanao hivi punde”. Inspector Abdi anamtazama Khalid na kuondoka bila kuongea chochote. Suzy anasimama akifuta machozi akimtazama Inspector Abdi na askari wengine wakipanda kwenye gari na kufuta machozi.  “Amna mtu wa kuchezea hisia zangu ovyo tu kama wanavyotaka.…

[chrisabraham]

Bob Garfield's got a posse!