• About
  • Editorial Board
    • Staff Writers
  • Advertise
  • Join Us
  • Archives
The Wellesley News -
  • News and Features
    • The Wellesley (COVID) 100
      The Wellesley (COVID) 100
    • In memory of Professor Rebecca Summerhays
      In memory of Professor Rebecca Summerhays
    • Trans flag controversy: College power washes staircase after trans flag is painted over Harry Potter spray paint
      Trans flag controversy: College power washes staircase after trans flag is painted over Harry Potter spray paint
    • News
      • News in Brief
      • Nation & World
      • President’s Corner
      • Senate Report
    • Features
      • Alumnae Spotlight
      • Eye on Science
      • Faculty Focus
      • LGBTQIA+ Column
  • Opinions
    • The News in Conversation: Wellesley Against Mass Incarceration
      The News in Conversation: Wellesley Against Mass Incarceration
    • Editorial Board calls for keeping up trans flag murals
      Editorial Board calls for keeping up trans flag murals
    • No, Elon Musk’s Twitter will not restore free speech
      No, Elon Musk’s Twitter will not restore free speech
    • Staff Editorial
    • Letters to the Editor
    • The Elephant in the Room
  • Arts
    • Be/longing Centers Connection and Care
      Be/longing Centers Connection and Care
    • No image
      Birds Falling Upwards: Wellesley College Theater’s The Moors is a Must-See
    • No image
      Sometimes you just need to read a YA “Groundhog Day” to feel something
    • Arts In The News
    • Reviews
    • Music Peek
    • Books Before Boys
  • Health and Wellness
    • February Student Athlete of the Month
      February Student Athlete of the Month
    • Athletics Update
      Athletics Update
    • Victoria Garrick Speaks on Mental Health
      Victoria Garrick Speaks on Mental Health
    • Athlete of the Week
    • Boston Sports Update
    • The Vegan Digest
    • The SHE Corner
  • The Wellesley Snooze
    • Wellesley News Leadership Changes Completely Peacefully Without Any Suspicious Disappearances At All
      Wellesley News Leadership Changes Completely Peacefully Without Any Suspicious Disappearances At All
    • Solve Your Connection Problems With Wellesley Insecure
      Solve Your Connection Problems With Wellesley Insecure
    • Mayhem strikes Wellesley as paper towels removed from campus
      Mayhem strikes Wellesley as paper towels removed from campus
  • Miscellanea
    • President’s Column: The Butterfly Effect
      President’s Column: The Butterfly Effect
    • Administrators shocked to learn that students dislike being left in dark
      Administrators shocked to learn that students dislike being left in dark
    • 50 Lies You Tell Yourself in Order to Survive Until Graduation
      50 Lies You Tell Yourself in Order to Survive Until Graduation
    • The Dose
    • The Olive Branch
    • Multimedia
      • Galleries
      • Infographics
      • Videos
By Julie Matthaei: Professor of Economics Letters to the Editor, OpinionsSeptember 13, 2015

Letter to the Editor

To the Editor,

At her Convocation Speech last week, President Bottomly spoke eloquently about the need to cultivate civil discourse at Wellesley, “our responsibility to engage in and promote open discourse in all that we do.” Civility, she argued, must be a key part of our liberal arts education of women for “noblest usefulness.”   

I could not agree more. As a long-time (37 years!) professor here at Wellesley, who teaches about race and class inequality and oppression in seminar format, I have dealt with the challenge of promoting civil discourse on these challenging and potentially divisive topics. It is always tempting to shy away from hot button issues such as affirmative action and welfare policy, where there are strong opinions on both sides which often coincide with race and class position. Discussions can easily degenerate into name-calling, and can be extremely painful, undermining the good will necessary for learning together. Students who hold non-dominant opinions or perspectives can easily lose faith, and stop participating, depriving the classroom of a key source for learning.   So, over the years, I began to try to develop ground rules for discussion, with the goal of encouraging discussion across differences in a way that promotes mutual respect, connection, trust, and community.    

Last fall, at the National Women’s Studies Association annual conference, I heard a presentation by a professor who had her students agree to a Beloved Community statement at the beginning of the semester. Beloved Community is a concept referred to by Martin Luther King which denotes a diverse community committed to justice and peace for all. I embraced this practice, adapted my ground rules, and brought a statement to my first “Political Economy of Gender, Race and Class” seminar meeting. They discussed it in small groups, made revisions and additions, and we agreed upon the following statement. This semester’s Feminist Economics students read it last week, and agreed, without revision. Realizing it might be helpful to others working on building Beloved Community at Wellesley, I share it below.

I am committed to striving to create beloved community in our classroom. By beloved community, we mean a community based on love, peace, and trust, which celebrates diversity and dialogue, and works to create solidarity and justice.

Learning and Unlearning: Having grown up in the inequality paradigm, I know that I unconsciously internalize aspects of it. However, I am consciously committed to unlearning my subconscious biases, and to learning to speak and practice equality and solidarity in all dimensions – gender, race, class, sexual preference, ability/disability, religion, country, etc. – in our class. Throughout the class I will adapt a growth mindset and encourage others to do the same.

Diversity and Dialogue: I realize that a diversity of truths exists, and that expressions of different points of view are key to healthy dialogue and learning, especially among people who have different relationships to the inequality paradigm. During our discussions both in the classroom and online, I will strive to resist the pressures of group think by encouraging myself to speak up when I disagree, and by working to be open-minded and judgment free towards fellow students who think differently from me.

Values: I will value my classmates’ as well as my own lived experiences and emotions. At the same time, I will try not to universalize these experiences. I will strive to value emotions and experiences in the same way I value quantitative and statistical measures.

Confidentiality: In order to foster trust and openness, I agree to keep our class discussions confidential. While I can talk to others about what happened in our class, I agree to do so only in ways that do not allow listeners to identify the particular students involved.

In the spirit of civil discourse, I invite comments, additions, and suggestions.

Julie Matthaei

Professor of Economics

Share on

  • Facebook
  • Twitter
  • Pinterest
  • Google +
  • LinkedIn
  • Email
Previous articleDecriminalize sex work and prostitution
Next articleEditorial: Work study for newspaper staff would level playing field

You may also like

The News in Conversation: Wellesley Against Mass Incarceration

Editorial Board calls for keeping up trans flag murals

No, Elon Musk’s Twitter will not restore free speech

2 Comments

  • Jerry Wechsler says:
    September 14, 2015 at 10:50 AM

    Good idea, in my opinion. This emphasizes Mutuality as the underpinning of educational goals. Mutual respect is an important part of the quest for Truth, whether in the classroom, in politics, in scientific research or in religious institutions. Without an understanding of society as a mutual endeavor, it becomes a collection of individuals, isolated and disparate, unconnected to one another. This is not only unhappy, but also inefficient. A profound awareness of the Mutuality of human activity underpins civilization, I think.

    Reply
  • Tucker Farley says:
    September 14, 2015 at 12:23 PM

    Exemplary! Suggestion: strike “fellow” (students by itself is more inclusive)

    Reply

Leave a Reply Cancel reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

Email Newsletter

Sign up to receive our weekly digest in your inbox

* indicates required

Top Articles

Sorry. No data so far.

Recent Tweets

Tweets by @Wellesley_News

The independent student newspaper of Wellesley College since 1901.

Sign up to receive our weekly digest in your inbox

* indicates required

  • About
  • Editorial Board
    • Staff Writers
  • Advertise
  • Join Us
  • Archives
COPYRIGHT © 2022 THE WELLESLEY NEWS
Back to top