My previous posts addressed racism in university contexts. Just several days after I published the latest one, I was informed that a lecturer in my philosophy department used racist language in his seminar, without any critical discussion and even though several students asked him to stop. In response, he began a long monologue trying to justify his racist language, bringing several dummy arguments that I don’t want to reconstruct here. He muzzled the students and made any critical discussion impossible. This was especially easy to achieve since he, as the lecturer, is in a position of greater power and thus able to determine who gets to speak in his seminar and for how long.

Further, chances are good that our efforts to file an official complaint against him remain fruitless. At least in my case, when I was sexually harassed by a professor of the same department, the complaint had no consequences. He is still teaching. There have also been complaints against the racist lecturer (who – surprise – has also been sexually harassing) one year ago and yet, here we are again still.

How can it be that university employments are so secured that complaints about sexual harassment and racism are unable to get a person fired? How can sexual harassment and racism not be regarded as sufficient to get a person fired? Why isn’t it the case that an institution committed to knowledge, diversity, inclusion and a philosophy department don’t want to distance themselves from racist and sexist people?

What makes me especially mad is the fact that the racist/sexist lecturer continues to be the liaison lecturer for one of Germany’s major gifted funding agencies. How can someone racist and sexist continue to be in a position to determine who receives intellectual and financial support?* How can they get in such a position in the first place?

Of course it has to be the students negatively affected by their lecturers‘ behaviour who have to take action against them. Why can’t an institution do what they are (in Germany) legally required to do and employ preventative measures that ensure equal treatment?

That’s tiresome

* Thanks to Cara for bringing this to my attention.