“If complaint collectives are formed to keep a complaint going, complaint collectives can keep us going” (Sara Ahmed)

“Collectivity was a way to share the cost of complaint. Rather than each of us being on her own, we would stand together” (Leila Whitley, Tiffany Page and Alice Corble, with Heidi Hasbrouck, Chryssa Sdrolia and others)

Please join us for a virtual launch of Sara Ahmed’s new book, Complaint! published by Duke University Press in September 2021. The book draws on oral and written testimonies given by academics and students who made, or considered making, complaints about abuses of power or unequal working conditions at universities. The book has two conclusions. The first, “Collective Conclusions,” is co-authored by Leila Whitley, Tiffany Page and Alice Corble, with support from Heidi Hasbrouck, Chryssa Sdrolia and others. It is about their experience of working as a collective to challenge sexual harassment and sexual misconduct in the department in which they had been PhD students. The second, “Complaint Collectives,” by Sara Ahmed reflects on how in making a complaint we become part of a long collective struggle; we can meet in an action without meeting in person.

In this launch, we will reflect together on the role of complaint collectives. This launch will be a complaint collective. You are invited to become part of that collective, and to honour, remember and appreciate the work of those who complain for a more just world.

With Sara Ahmed, Sirma Bilge, Heidi Mirza, Tiffany Page and Leila Whitley, chaired by Chandra Frank.

October 20th 2021, 6-7.30pm (BST), 10-11.30 am (PST).

Hosted by Critical Gender Studies and Ethnic Studies, UC San Diego

Register here: https://ucsd.zoom.us/webinar/register/WN__9gsBX0IRA2XbIZH_W9mCw

You can purchase Complaint! from Duke University Press (https://www.dukeupress.edu/complaint) or Combined Academic Publishers (https://www.combinedacademic.co.uk/9781478017714/complaint/) for a 50 percent discount until October 15, 2021 using the code FALL21. From October 20-25, use the code AHMED50 for a 50 percent discount.