MAIS 601

As someone who holds the most privilege in terms of race, gender, age, and socioeconomic status, I should be someone who upholds the institutional norms that ushered me here. However, working with minoritized individuals, I have found that I can use this privilege for the betterment of others. Upon reading Sara Ahmed’s “The Language of Diversity”, the conclusions that she arrived at were eerily similar to the journey I have taken. In agreeance with Ahmed, I would argue that diversity and equity work need to establish an interdisciplinary approach to garner any success.

            As the Equity Coordinator for a mid-sized school division, I am the lone “equity champion” (Ahmed, 2007). This sentiment is none more prevalent than the quote shared by Ahmed, “Having an equity [coordinator] can allow the refusal of a more collective sense of responsibility…” (Ahmed, 2007) As the sole pursuer of social justice, the marketability of my institution goes up; however, as Ahmed states, “… being diverse’ does not necessarily translate into ‘doing diversity’” (Ahmed, 2007). This crossroads highlights the need for an interdisciplinarian approach to not only diversity work but equity work as a whole.

            As specialized educational departments operate at arm’s length from each other, a cross-disciplinary approach to education seems like a far cry from reality. Although equity work can inform literacy, numeracy, human resources, and curriculum development, it is not a focal point in these venues. However, perpetuating the terms of equity and diversity coupled with inaction leads to “equity fatigue” (Ahmed, 2007). As I have come to understand through Ahmed’s work, “Diversity work is after all emotional work” (Ahmed, 2007), even if those emotions may be akin to languishing. Regardless of this malaise around equity work, an interdisciplinary approach that disrupts our current systems will not only lead to an image of diversity at work but remove the need for an equity-based interdisciplinarian.

            Julie Thompson Klein, in her work “Interdisciplinarity and the Prospect of Complexity: The Tests of Theory,” suggests, “All interdisciplinary work will be improved by more self-conscious focus on the process of integration.” (Thompson Klein, 2001) The interdisciplinary work of someone like me, an Equity Coordinator, then needs to take the path of self-elimination. Coupling Klein’s statement with Ahmed’s statement, “… postcolonial work happens in such times and spaces: in the flesh of the organizations we inhabit.” (Ahmed, 2007). I have come to realize that instilling institutional changes, and a self-conscious equitable approach in all professionals is the ultimate goal. As my role is to instill change within a system, I come to the same conclusion that Ahmed arrives at, “… diversity work might work only when the terms get ‘taken up’ by those who have the most capacity to affect change within the organization.” (Ahmed, 2007)

Ahmed, S. (2007). The Language of Diversity. Ethnic and Racial Studies, 30(2), 235-256.

Thompson Klein, J. (2001). Interdisciplinarity and the Prospect of Complexity: The Tests of Theory. Issues in Integrative Studies, 19, 43-57.