What is MAP?
MAP stands for Minorities and Philosophy, a worldwide initiative, supported by students from 160 philosophy departments (see www.mapforthegap.com). MAP's mission is to identify and tackle structural injustice in academic philosophy. In particular, MAP wants to make academic philosophy accessible and attractive to members of marginalized groups. MAP Antwerp endorses the objective of making academic philosophy more inclusive and the student population more diverse, based on the belief that there are several obstacles that hinder the participation of marginalized groups. MAP Antwerp wants to investigate these obstacles, specifically for the context of Antwerp / Flanders, and actively contribute to the diversification of (academic) philosophy.
What does MAP do?
MAP aims for inclusivity: an academic climate in which everyone feels at home. We combat implicit and explicit exclusion based on gender, race, validity, neurodiversity, sexual identity or class. The emphasis lies, thus, on becoming more inclusive towards minorities, not on diversity in ideologies.
MAP Antwerp endorses that within academic philosophy a certain identity is overrepresented: the predominant norm is cisgender, able, neurotypical, heterosexual, white, male and of a certain economic class. A minority group is a group that falls outside this norm. MAP is concerned with the following goals:
create awareness of this norm
questioning this standard
diversifying this standard
Thinking about structural injustice in academic philosophy goes hand in hand with research that takes place in the philosophy of gender, race, class, sexual orientation, disability, language and epistemic injustice. In addition to sharing theoretical knowledge, MAP Antwerp also wants to bring about practical change by organizing reading groups, workshops, lectures, panel discussions or film screenings, providing a platform for philosophers from minority groups. MAP Antwerp develops initiatives that enrich academic philosophy with the contributions of people from historically and / or socially disadvantaged groups.
MAP organizes activities that include (but are not limited to) the following themes: anti-racism, decolonization, non-Western perspectives on philosophy, feminist philosophy and neurodiversity.
By and for whom?
MAP offers support and assistance to students who want to develop initiatives that fit its mission. In addition, MAP aims to create awareness in the wider community of academic philosophers on problems of structural injustice perpetuated in academic philosophy worldwide.
MAP Antwerp is a point of contact for:
Students and staff who identify as belonging to a minority group. These are students and staff that do not identify with the dominant norm - cisgender, able, neurotypical, heterosexual, white, male, of a certain economic class - within academic philosophy. MAP Antwerp lets people define themselves.
Anyone who wants to contribute to the mission of MAP Antwerp.
MAP aims to provide philosophy students with an environment free from stereotypes, epistemic injustice, and racist and sexist ideologies, as well as a platform to discuss the work of philosophers from underrepresented groups, and literature on the philosophy of race, sex, gender, class and disability. MAP Antwerp hopes to contribute to these aims by facilitating a philosophical dialogue concerning these topics, by participating in public philosophy and by doing outreach work on our campus and in our community at large.
MAP Antwerp was founded in 2021 by several doctoral students from the Department of Philosophy at the University of Antwerp. Anyone who subscribes to our mission is welcome at our activities or organization.
MAP Antwerp maintains contact with similar initiatives from other departments at the UA, as well as MAP chapters from other universities.
Creating a ‘principled space’
MAP Antwerp aims to provide a safe and respectful environment with a few guiding principles. When engaging with any MAP-related activities, one is expected to have read these principles, to be committed to them, and understand that violating them will result in being removed from the activity or meeting.
When discussing historically and emotionally charged topics such as decolonization, a lot of organizations use the idea of the ‘safe space’. Although this has proven to be an important concept, we think artist and activist Hanalei Ramos and the BARC Collective (Building the Anti-Racist Classroom) rightfully point out that complete safety is difficult to guarantee. Instead, they propose to create a respectful atmosphere by means of a ‘principled space’: a set of fundamental values all participants are expected to honor.
MAP Antwerp follows their line of argument and will work with the following principles:
Any type of harassment – be it on the basis of ethnicity, race, sex, gender identity, gender expression, sexual orientation, religion, physical appearance, disability, age, name, nationality, technology choices, camera background, etc. – has no place in MAP. Failure to commit to this principle will result in immediate removal from activities and organisation. This goes for both the direct harassment of other participants as individuals, and the inappropriate stereotyping by reference to social groups.
Be aware of your own privilege, consciously challenge implicit hierarchies, and take a step back so marginalized people can lead. Refrain from interrupting other participants or speaking on their behalf.
Believe people in their account of personal experiences of marginalization, and be mindful of people’s vulnerability in sharing these stories. Do not dispute lived experiences of other participants, keeping in mind at all times the second principle.*
All group members are to engage with mutual respect, and to uphold the “principle of charity” as we’re taught to do with canonical philosophers.
When engaging in group participation one is expected to recognize and support each member’s self-identity.
Experiences that are shared with other participants may be deeply personal and should be treated in confidentiality. Any personal story that is being shared is confidential, unless explicit consent is given by the person sharing the story. This confidentiality includes upholding university policy when engaging with student’s work through peer review, forums, and workshops. In particular, all group members are expected to refrain from plagiarizing any philosophical works showcased through group channels.
We encourage lively debate and the posing of difficult questions. However, in these times of physical distance, keep in mind that your interlocutors are fellow human beings. Everybody is on a learning trajectory and everybody is allowed to make mistakes. Be generous towards yourself and other participants, and be aware that it is a sign of generosity (rather than accusation) when someone points out how your reasoning/question might be carrying traces of racism, sexism, ableism, etc.
As the topics that will be discussed might sometimes hit close to home, everybody is entitled to their own affective states. However, we like to emphasize that the expression of emotions itself is deeply cultural and political. Be mindful that some participants’ lives might be closely tied to power relations (such as imperialism, white supremacy, patriarchy, capitalism), and that philosophical investigation should not take place at the emotional expense of other participants. Simultaneously, we invite privileged participants to refrain from expressing their (no doubt, genuine) emotions in a manner that recenters their own story, while eclipsing the reality of those power relations, or how other participants and social groups have to bear the brunt of these realities.
While these principles are intended to apply to all, they are written in recognition of existing power structures that continue to marginalize particular groups. This should be kept in mind when engaging in any MAP activities.
As discussions might take many directions, it is important to acknowledge that complete safety is difficult to guarantee. Therefore, we encourage making selfcare a priority. Especially for privileged participants, we would like to point out that safety does not equal comfort. Working towards diversifying the university might at times feel uncomfortable and trigger feelings of guilt, shame, anger, disbelief, or grief. We invite you to allow those feelings in yourself, and embrace them as growing pains on your learning trajectory, instead of smothering the source of these feelings and seeking comfort in the perpetuation of what might be oppressive thought.
We hope you will agree with us in endorsing these principles, and will help us in creating and maintaining our principled space.
Some of these principles are borrowed either literally or in paraphrased form from the website of the BARC Collective: https://barcworkshop.org/resources/principled-space/.
This is a "living" document that changes as MAP Antwerp grows as an organization. We are open to suggestions by all those supporting our mission.