A conversation with a co-learner

I came out of a lunch meeting with a fellow doctoral student in our program. I'd say she is one of the very few people (among the few folks in this program) whom I could maybe call friends. She was trying to gather data for her second year project. She asked for my help. My pleasure.

I am not being judgmental. I listened to her project description about how "responsible innovation" is conceived and the personal, social, cultural, psychological factors that contribute to the intricate imageries of "responsibility" and "innovation". She asked me if I can email her my draft for the lab study on the social consensus and categorization of data. It's not that I don't want to share my story with her. But what is the intention? How is it relevant to what she is doing? "Responsible innovation" seems to me more relevant to sociology of institutional management or sociology of business/technology than anthropology of science. Then she said it is to provide a foundational base for her narratives on "responsible innovation". Basically she wants to borrow my (unfinished and unpublished) stuff and get credit without her own hardwork. That's how I interpreted it.

The most horrible thing is that she is not listening. I was trying to be helpful rather than scornful when I suggested that she should read Donna Haraway's "Situated Knowledge" piece as the last part of Haraway's article asserted the theoretical significance of local standpoint in allocation of responsibility. To this she speedily said that time scarcity forbade her reading everything related to the project. That moment I understand Tillman's and Maienschein's admonition on the importance of being earnest and non-defensive. It is clear that she simply does not respect my credibility and contribution. There is no way but to walk away after your sincere contribution was dismissed unreflexively.

Thank you, co-learner. This little role-play exercise sharpens my intellectual and reflexive hone. I should remember not to repeat her mistake of not listening to academic advice (keep your laziness and dyslexia to yourself, how long does it take to read "Situated Knowledge" anyway?). The danger of detachment from scholarship is that ultimately it kills not just your academic competence but what makes you human.