Reflections on Repair Praxis in Academic Spaces

Having conducted research and taught courses in political anthropology for several decades, particularly on nationalism, populism, and ethnonational conflict, I have initiated, facilitated and been caught up in many difficult conversations on issues including identity (politics), rights, conflict and justice with my students and colleagues. My research on the dissolution of the former Yugoslavia and the Kitchener-Waterloo Mennonite Victim-Offender Reconciliation Program has taught me valuable lessons on how practices of repair have been embedded or emerged in response to tensions, conflict and trauma-induced experiences, histories and lived realities. These lessons have become especially relevant in the context of recent challenges to academic freedom that have emerged in response to the ongoing war in Palestine/Israel. Suspensions, censure and surveillance are some of the troubling consequences, which combined have had an enormous impact on pedagogy and scholarship, affecting faculty and students alike. In this context, I argue that practices reflecting the centrality of (and urgent need for attention to) academic freedom are enhanced through pedagogical instruction and illustrate several strategies I use in classroom settings. I also discuss how despite the fractious environment created, and in some cases inflamed by the ongoing conflict, faculty and student groups are endeavouring to create and test out safe and respectful spaces for critical thinking, vigorous debate, as well as sharing and listening. These and other locally inspired initiatives are important to building networks based on thoughtful discussion and analysis, allyship, activism and more. I conclude by reflecting on anthropological research on the ethics of repair and its potential to inform pedagogical strategies aimed at navigating increasingly fraught and vulnerable academic spaces.