A very interesting article by Garga Chatterjee on the responsibility of scholars to make sense to the wider public especially when they claim to speak for/represent that very public. I agree with it when it comes to the need to challenge the politics of privilege and exclusivity within academia and the desirability of making efforts to be intelligible. That is being responsible. My own position on this is simple. I try to make sense. But, I do no patronise people by assuming that I have to always speak in a manner that has to be understood by grandfather or grandson. Conversation is mutual. I would try to be intelligible to you but at the same time I would expect you to make efforts in understanding me. We both need to push our boundaries of comfort. Complicated ideas sometimes require complicated language. And let us not forget, this demand for intelligibility is often used by dominant discourses to reject critical voices completing ignoring the power-laden process through which something has been made intelligible. And there is no reason why the demand for accountability and intelligibility should be confined to those dealing with people. Given the important impact sciences have on our daily lives, it is equally, if not more, important for them to be accountable.
Posted on: Tue, 20 Aug 2013 03:29:46 +0000
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