As this community grows so does my gratitude.
In black is something from this space : In blue are my musings into the void…
IEH table, “design thinking” : I tense up at “design thinking” because we assume we know the end user we are designing for, or we assume we are aware of the inequities. We do not: We will become more aware, but then there are other inequities and oppression hiding beyond our “horizon”, that we might see as we move or turn our head. Perhaps brown’s “intentional adaptation” addresses that in practice. I haven’t read her book… yet. 🙂 The word that popped into my mind was “cultural humility” – realizing that you will never know the end user you are designing for, you can’t see beyond your horizon.
IEH quadrants : I LOVE a good quadrant. I appreciated the group’s discussion around it: Highlighting How it is dynamic, and Which scale to apply it at, and When to apply it.
This morning I tried to think of a situation that would “break” the quadrants… but I couldn’t. I was thinking about when I know I should do/say/change something, but: I am afraid! I don’t know what to do! I might make it worse, so I stall, I missed the opportunity. But this (dare I say) common experience does not break the quadrant. I think it falls into “intentional inequity”.
But this sounds so evil! But I’m not evil! I am not intentionally being inequitable/inhospitable to hurt someone… but rather to protect myself. Maybe it straddles the “action” axis at the center. If after that situation I stay quiet – then ultimately I fall on the evil side… but if I build up courage to try to correct it, to go say something after the fact… maybe that pushes me over the axis into the not-evil side.
(Thanks for listening, void)
The concept of "cultural humility" comes from the health care sector Tervalon, M., & Murray-García, J. (1998). Cultural Humility Versus Cultural Competence: A Critical Distinction in Defining Physician Training Outcomes in Multicultural Education. Journal of Health Care for the Poor and Underserved, 9(2), 117–125. https://doi.org/10.1353/hpu.2010.0233 AND The concept of "horizons" comes from hermenuetic qualitative inquiry Gadamer, H.-G., Weinsheimer, J., & Marshall, D. G. (2004). Truth and method (2nd, rev. ed ed.). Continuum.
I think it is so important not to consider “intentionally inequitable” as “evil” per se. If we unpack why someone might be aware but inactive, I am calling the Quadrant “resistant” but resistant may be coming from structural constraints, or from fear, or from lack of confidence in whether it is the right action?