There will be no names in this item but it happened to me, so I am reporting it. I was asked to be on a panel about an interesting and occasionally contentious issue in academic life. The panel was to be me and a senior scholar, much respected. Plus a moderator. A committee invited me; an individual on that committee approached me. I was honored to be asked. Dates were proposed and chosen. A venue was found, everything was set. Then a few days ago I received an email relaying the following facts: Someone else on the committee invited a third person, also senior, also respected. Which was 100 percent fine with me. But it was not fine with the other scholar on the panel, I was told. I dont know why. Possibly someone reviewed someones book negatively, or there is an ideological gulf of some kind. Also, not everyone on the committee was aware of this invitation to a third scholar. So there was talk of disinviting her. But the first scholar did not want to be responsible for that, so she withdrew instead. Now people who wanted her were dissatisfied. There was back and forth. Unable to resolve its differences, unable to move ahead, the committee canceled the event. It slips into history as one of those things that never happened.
Posted on: Fri, 19 Dec 2014 17:12:56 +0000
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