I also keep ending up in breakout groups with the same people, while there are others with whom I have never been assigned. I would love it we could maybe try to control for that/track that better.
I'd love for some varying perspective. Class is always 1-sided...capitalism is racist, everything is racist. Given the nature of the class and this school as whole, no student is going to speak up with that different opinion. As the professor, I think some effort should be taken to introduce some varying perspectives every once and a while
Good class. Didn't feel my group's spokesperson accurately captured our group's discussion. I think the spokesperson needs to be involved in the discussion so they can make sure they understand what is going on.
I liked that there was a TA or professor in every breakout room to push along the discussion. I think my breakout room probably would have sat there silently the whole time if not. I like that they appointed a foreman to report to the whole class. I think it would have been better if the foreman was appointed at the beginning of the discussion so that they know to take notes. Also, when the discussion goes quiet, I think the TA should be more proactive and call on people who have not yet contributed as much.
@Hyperion if you feel that you are going to be better able to capture the thrust of the conversation, that's a good reason to volunteer to be a foreperson
we're all benefiting and turning a blind eye to what is essentially slave labor in China and we're doing it to protect this idea of "equality" within the states
Now that the breakout rooms are supervised (which is a major improvement), I think it is important to have thread discussions in every class for people to voice dissenting viewpoints. No one in my breakout group, or probably any breakout group, was willing to challenge what is perceived as the orthodoxy here at HLS.
@Dakara people in the east work 80 hours a week to live at sustenance and we're totally fine with it because within our community (USA) we like having 40 hour work weeks and the ability to buy shoes for $25
@Pinwheel. It is very hard for a white male to voice an opinion in the class or in a breakout room. It is easier in threads, which we did not use today. I also would like varying perspectives and not an everything is racist perspective. However, when the topic is slavery what can you expect.
I did not say that there is a uniform male perspective. I do say that if a white male brings up an opinion that is not uniform to what we hear in class it will be rejected very stronly.
I do not accept the narrative that challenging the supposed "one-sided" nature of the class or "the orthodoxy of HLS" is somehow an underrepresented minority voice. It's not. The entire country this school exists in, the principles it has traditionally reinforced, and the structure it largely upholds are embodiments of that "alternative" view. It's fine to practice articluting counterarguments to the extent that we can improve our own thinking, but these particular complaints are extremely harmful to classmates, the HLS community, and they aren't mysterious.
I do not think Saturn said there was a "white male perspective." I think Saturn said that individuals who are white and make feel that they cannot speak up.
POC and especially BIPOC are made to feel they cannot speak up throughout their entire existence. Maybe that feeling among white students is part of the learning process.
@saturn @rhea it's getting exhausting hearing this same thing every week. as long as you give your opinion in context and make sure it is based in some logical structure nobody is going to think you're a racist or whatever. my advice would be to quit being a pansy and just speak up
@Messier: so anything you disagree with is harmful... typical. It is also typical that you see yourself as the victim even as you engage in suppression of dissent.
Well I'm white and male and when I speak in breakout rooms I give my sincere opinion. I'm pretty sure others in this class (conservatives even!) do that too. If you're afraid to voice your opinion because you're afraid someone will gossip about you or be mean in a breakout room that's on you
and if someone does think you're a racist for having a different opinion, is that person's opinion you really care about – you obviously have differing enough views to never be friends with that person in real life
I would like to be friends with everyone. When my voice is ineffective I just don't share it. That doesn't mean that I agree with what is said in class. I also believe that so many people are in a similar situation.
No--you have mischaracterized what I said. Talking about "alternative views" for the sake of "enhancing class discussion" is a privilege. People who are direct targets of the ways in which those views oppress particular groups of people have to both manage the sense of personal attack and the expectation to engage in personalized discussion. Raising those views as some sort of "minority perspective," essentially for sport, is not a privilege historically oppressed groups of people can enjoy.
Nothing you can say at HLS is too far left to the point it could damage your career. Anything you say at HLS that is to the right of Hillary Clinton can damage your career. Not because it is extreme, but because there are people at HLS who will try to damage your career.
This is an interesting conversation. I don't even know if it's a white male thing, it's just a monolith of self righteous virtue signaling assumptions and if you fall outside of that, you're anathema. I think it's insincere to just say "okay then just speak up." There's just a limit to how useful it is to hear the same baseline "everything is racist" discourse over and over again
Why did we move away from using threads? Was it because people were more willing to say how they felt even if it did upset the majority opinion? The majority here seems to believe that "the whole system is deeply racist and if you don't believe me, so are you." And if you think that I will disagree with that in front of future peers and employers, you are wrong. Perhaps I have a good reason to believe that the whole system, while definitely flawed, is not out to oppress minorities. I'd love to have a chance to share my opinion without being scared that it will ruin my career.
@Proxima: Are you distinguishing outright intention to oppress minorities from action intended for other purpose but nonetheless having the unintended consequence of oppressing minorities?