YUFA
Publications
The last edition of Active Voice (April 2002) contained a brief article entitled "South Asian Religions and Cultures Short-list Protested," submitted by members of the South Asian Program Executive. As the title makes clear, the writers were unhappy about a short list of four Canadian women, none of South Asian origin, chosen by the Recruitment Committee in the Division of Humanities. In fact, this committee worked hard and carefully to draw up a short list the candidates whose qualifications best met the specifications of the ad. It also followed all the new Affirmative Action procedures dealing with the specified Affirmative Action groups and with citizenship guidelines. However, after interviewing the candidates, the committee chose not to recommend an appointment this year; it felt that none of the three candidates (one had withdrawn because of illness) fit all their expectations for the position.
Readers of the article by Professors Bannerji, Gururani, Mukherjee Reed, and Smith could be forgiven for taking away the impression that the South Asian Religions and Cultures position was an appointment in the South Asian Program, which Humanities somehow had in its gift but then refused to deliver as planned. The first paragraph of the article states that "we" (the South Asian Program, I presume) had used the phrase "broadly interpreted" to ensure that "social and cultural issues and comparative religions of the region" were central concerns of any successful candidate. The candidates who were short-listed are coruscated for doing "Hindu scriptural, or Vedic, Studies." The article does not mention how members of the South Asian came to influence, by the addition of this phrase, the wording of this ad nor why they were involved in the search.
Furthermore, no where does the article allude to the fact that the appointment in South Asian Religions has long been on the hiring priority list of the Division of Humanities (even before the South Asian Program came into being) because of its importance for the Religious Studies Program housed in the Division. At times, interdisciplinary programs at York have difficulty getting their hiring priorities recognized and acted upon because they have to depend on divisions or departments in order to support suitable hirings. But in this case the Division of Humanities did accept a recommendation from the Religious Studies Program, supported by the Division as a whole, to make an appointment in South Asian Religions and Cultures.
Furthermore, the Division and the Religious Studies Program wanted to work with the South Asian Program, understanding that courses taught by the new appointee could well become available to students in that program. They therefore invited members of the South Asian Program to meet with the chair of the Division and the chair of the Recruitment Committee. At the end of the meeting, we agreed that the South Asian Program could appoint a member of their choice to our hiring committee - which they did. This was not tokenism, at any level, but reflects the desire of the Division of Humanities and the Religious Studies Program to cooperate in appointments of importance to different programs at York.
We recognize that a search like this one - which, happily, will be taken up again in the fall - has a particular social and pedagogical importance. That is why the Religious Studies Program and the Division of Humanities want to make the best possible hire. When the process does resume, this fall, we will welcome the presence and comments of all colleagues and students at York in order to make an appointment that serves the needs of the Division of Humanities and the Religious Studies Program, as well as York as a whole.
Doug Freake
Chair, Division of Humanities