The role of ignorance in student-faculty partnerships

Co-designing an equity, diversity, and inclusion (un)conference by and for staff and students

“…As a student partner remarked: "the extent to which I was able to fully participate in communities such as professional conferences often depended on faculty members other than my partners taking me seriously as a scholar" (Meacham et al, 2013, p. 9). This echoes Mercer-Mapstone et al's (2017) and Abbot's (2021) thoughts that students need to justify their presence within a conference environment to gain legitimacy for their contribution. Hence, a known power hierarchy is developed within the conference space that needs to be acknowledged in the first instance and explicitly stated and dismantled within conferences in the second.…”

“…The student-led conference space is often aimed at other students, with staff acting as moderators and facilitators to the broader design of the conference. There is a paucity of research on student and staff-led conferences that serve the interests of both staff and students (Abbot, 2021). There is even less research into conferences in the EDI space (Mercer-Mapstone & Bovill, 2020), especially those that go beyond cosmetic diversity (Hoffman & Mitchell, 2016).…”

Design thinking and shared ignorance as a framework for student-faculty partnerships

“…Ignorance in student-faculty partnerships serves as both a barrier and a positive catalyst for collaboration. Sophia Abbot's (2021) opinion piece, "The Role of Ignorance in Student-Faculty Partnerships," discusses this dual role, building on the work of Nancy Tuana (2006). Abbot differentiates between those whose knowledge is valued ("knowers") and those whose knowledge is not ("not-knowers").…”

“…Differences in valuation can act as a barrier for student-faculty partnerships by dismissing the perspectives and knowledge of the students by defining them as not-knowers. Abbot (2021) identifies a positive aspect of ignorance through how people of different social identities can acknowledge their ignorance of their differences, which allows them to arrive at a so-called "loving ignorance." Here, we aim to further explore ignorance as an enabler of partnerships.…”