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ebigeylwells's review
my first ahmed book!! everyone should get their hands on this
moonstruck2055's review
Important information in this book but repetitive style was more than I could absorb after about the first third.
skyeyks's review
challenging
sad
tense
medium-paced
3.0
There's a truism in therapy that feelings aren't facts. But maybe it's better to say that feelings aren't all the facts. There's a lot in this book that rings true and there's a lot that feels disappointingly rhetorical, repetitive, and, perhaps, overstated. It seems designed to make me angry, which it did. But the bit that really worries me is that it paints the people lodging complaints as without agency and the people with whom they have complaint as powerful. I get that we have inert and entrenched structures, and that people are regularly complicit in this, but I'm not sure that the personal warring (or the insistence on using the master's tools) is the way forward.
'A complaint is heard as making waves, as stopping things from being steady. The implication here is that rocking as a motion is more dangerous for those with less stable footing. Warnings can be used to remind people of the precarity of their situation.'
'A complaint is heard as making waves, as stopping things from being steady. The implication here is that rocking as a motion is more dangerous for those with less stable footing. Warnings can be used to remind people of the precarity of their situation.'
bettenboujee's review
3.5
I thought this was really interesting - I've never pictured the complaint system specifically as a way of "recognizing" and then diminishing attempts to challenge the current (more often than not, oppressive) process in place. I did find this a bit slow, but still valuable.
eekhoorn's review
3.0
things can be other things BUT THAT DOES NOT MAKE Them good arguments or even good metaphor SARA AhMED
I'm so annoyed with the stylistic choices that were made here (maybe a smarter person can explain to ke why they were necessary Im open to hear it) because the content is so good and so importanf and I think many in academia, and also people outside of it, could benefit from it. And I think it is important to seriously consider and think about critical forms of communication we tend to disregard, when thinking about power relations; such as complaints. (Formal and informal). Also it was just comforting (in a sad way) reading this with my own experiences of attempting to complaint in a university context in mind. There were some incredibly powerful passages as well. Bit oh boy did iI get tired of tBut oohh boy did I get tired of the style in this one
I'm so annoyed with the stylistic choices that were made here (maybe a smarter person can explain to ke why they were necessary Im open to hear it) because the content is so good and so importanf and I think many in academia, and also people outside of it, could benefit from it. And I think it is important to seriously consider and think about critical forms of communication we tend to disregard, when thinking about power relations; such as complaints. (Formal and informal). Also it was just comforting (in a sad way) reading this with my own experiences of attempting to complaint in a university context in mind. There were some incredibly powerful passages as well. Bit oh boy did iI get tired of tBut oohh boy did I get tired of the style in this one
schildpad's review
3.0
things can be other things BUT THAT DOES NOT MAKE Them good arguments or even good metaphor SARA AhMED
I'm so annoyed with the stylistic choices that were made here (maybe a smarter person can explain to ke why they were necessary Im open to hear it) because the content is so good and so importanf and I think many in academia, and also people outside of it, could benefit from it. And I think it is important to seriously consider and think about critical forms of communication we tend to disregard, when thinking about power relations; such as complaints. (Formal and informal). Also it was just comforting (in a sad way) reading this with my own experiences of attempting to complaint in a university context in mind. There were some incredibly powerful passages as well. Bit oh boy did iI get tired of tBut oohh boy did I get tired of the style in this one
I'm so annoyed with the stylistic choices that were made here (maybe a smarter person can explain to ke why they were necessary Im open to hear it) because the content is so good and so importanf and I think many in academia, and also people outside of it, could benefit from it. And I think it is important to seriously consider and think about critical forms of communication we tend to disregard, when thinking about power relations; such as complaints. (Formal and informal). Also it was just comforting (in a sad way) reading this with my own experiences of attempting to complaint in a university context in mind. There were some incredibly powerful passages as well. Bit oh boy did iI get tired of tBut oohh boy did I get tired of the style in this one
annayahp's review
4.0
Unfortunately I had to read this one quickly to get back to the library on time! I definitely will purchase this to refer back to in the future. This is a book worth spending plenty of time with if you're someone in academia or someone who is interested in how organisations can weaponise the very systems 'designed' to protect.
This was an incredible book that gave voice to so many important stories in a very clear, yet lyrical way. Lots of helpful insight about structure and organisations in a sociological/political sense, but plenty of heartbreaking personal testimony to bring the points home. Throughout the book, Ahmed and their collaborators noted plenty of helpful strategies for managing the personal and collective toll that complaining can bring. The final two chapters about complaint collectives were particularly poignant. I don't think a more beautiful and helpful book could be written about this subject matter. I always love Ahmed's writing and this was no exception.
This was an incredible book that gave voice to so many important stories in a very clear, yet lyrical way. Lots of helpful insight about structure and organisations in a sociological/political sense, but plenty of heartbreaking personal testimony to bring the points home. Throughout the book, Ahmed and their collaborators noted plenty of helpful strategies for managing the personal and collective toll that complaining can bring. The final two chapters about complaint collectives were particularly poignant. I don't think a more beautiful and helpful book could be written about this subject matter. I always love Ahmed's writing and this was no exception.