Acknowledgments xi
Introduction: Hearing Complaint 1
Part I. Institutional Mechanics 27
1. Mind the Gap! Policies, Procedures, and Other
Nonperformatives 29
2. On Being Stopped 69
Part II. The Immanence of Complaint 101
3. In the Thick of It 103
4. Occupied 137
Part III. If These Doors Could Talk? 175
5. Behind Closed Doors: Complaints and Institutional Violence
179
6. Holding the Door: Power, Promotion, Progression 220
Part IV. Conclusions 257
7. Collective Conclusions by Leila Whitley, Tiffany Page, and Alice
Corble, with Heidi Hasbrouck, Chryssa Sdrolia and others
261
8. Complaint Collectives 274
Notes 311
References 343
Index 353
Sara Ahmed is an independent scholar and author of What's the Use?, Living a Feminist Life, and other books also published by Duke University Press.
“Sara Ahmed always has her finger on the pulse of the times as she
assists us to explore the deeper meanings and philosophical nuances
of quotidian concepts and practices. Beautifully written and
thoroughly engaging, Complaint! is precisely the text we need at
this moment as we seek to understand and transform the
institutional structures promoting racism and heteropatriarchy.” -
Angela Y. Davis “In her latest contribution to our knowledge, Sara
Ahmed gifts us with a book about the phenomenology of complaint and
the layered, entangled complexity of how power works
institutionally. She foregrounds that to complain is to transgress.
To transgress is to become a site of negation. To negate is to
trigger an institution into protecting the status quo through
risk-adverse processes that are experienced as violent and
exhaustive. Ahmed’s intellectually expansive book achieves two
things: it exposes the meaning, experiences, and perceptions of
complaint and provides testimony to the courage of those who
complain, who fight, who believe justice should not just appear to
be done; it must be done.” - Aileen Moreton-Robinson, author of
(Talkin' Up to the White Woman: Indigenous Women and Feminism)
"[Ahmed] presents a strong argument that power in higher education
tends to protect itself, that diversity initiatives are often
nothing more than window dressing, and that those who file
complaints about a hostile work environment often face accusations
of disloyalty or troublemaking. . . . Most of the charges here are
broad and general, but anyone who has worked in higher education
will recognize much of what Ahmed brings to light. Sharp criticism
of an overlooked systemic problem in higher education." (Kirkus
Reviews) "In her powerful new book . . . Sara Ahmed builds on a
series of oral and written testimonies from students and employees
who have complained to higher education universities about
harassment and inequality. Here, she asks readers to think about
some inescapable questions: What happens when complaints are pushed
under the rug? How is complaint radical feminism? And, how can we
learn about power from those who choose to fight against the
powerful?" - Rebecca Schneid (Indy Week) "This is audacious but
persuasive critique, which accrues its power by stealth. Complaint!
is dense with insight, but admirably lucid." - Zora Simic
(Australian Book Review) "Inspired by the students she worked with,
Ahmed’s new book examines the act-indeed, the feminist pedagogy-of
complaining within an organization. With the help of testimonials
from individuals who filed complaints of harassment, bullying, and
abuse at Goldsmiths and other universities, Ahmed explores the
cracks within these formal systems and illustrates the painful
processes that survivors experience too often." - Yvette Dionne and
Rosa Cartagena (Bitch) "An absolutely brilliant endeavor. . . . The
real nuance and sophistication of this book, written with such
emotional and intellectual insight, the means by which Ahmed
identifies strategies of institutional power in relation to power
in relation to harassment and abuse is revelatory, thorny, painful,
and very, very necessary." - Linda M. Morra (Getting Lit with
Linda) "Sara Ahmed’s Complaint! is an antidote to apathy. . . . The
potent reminder that Ahmed offers is that we are not the ones with
the problem, that a number of voices raised up in complaint can
help identify that the problem lies elsewhere."
- Eda Gunaydin (Sydney Review of Books) "It’s feminism that
isn’t out to win friends but should certainly influence people.
It’s angry because anger is required. And it’s collective and
inclusive. . . . ever quick to pick up on ironies and
contradictions, she nails it time after time. 'Making a complaint
is often necessary because of a crisis or trauma,' she writes, but
'the complaint often becomes part of the crisis or trauma.' Such
phrases characterise Ahmed’s MÖbius band idiolect; they hit home
because of the writer’s extraordinary skill." - Emma Rees (Times
Higher Education) "Ahmed brings great authority and gravity to
Complaint!, from her own experiences (she resigned from an
institution after they mishandled a series of complaints), her
engagement with a “complaint collective” in the UK, and her
decades-long scholarship in feminist, queer, and race studies.
Black feminism and women of color feminism anchor the book. The
author does not flinch at the difficult intersections where one
underrepresented or traditionally marginalized group seems at odds
with another; instead, she examines the effects of complaint in
each area of these intersections, retaining her sharp focus on an
analysis of power dynamics." - Ellen Mayock (Public Books) "This is
another insightful book in Ahmed’s well-regarded series of
considerations of what acting as a feminist in non-feminist
institutions means. . . . Highly recommended. Advanced
undergraduates through faculty; professionals." (Choice) "Ahmed
illuminates how institutions like the university are designed for
precisely the people who can and continue to flourish while miming
theoretical righteousness and perpetuating violent norms." - Anna
Nguyen (LSE Review of Books) “Complaint! offers catharsis,
collectivity, and care. It is an archive of complaint, it is a
radical call to action, and it is a feminist record. It is also
beautifully written, deeply painful, and absolutely necessary at
this very moment.” - Catherine Oliver (Gender, Place & Culture)
"This book is inspiring and a source of solidarity. It provides
encouragement to protest and fight for change. And whilst no doubt
a difficult read for university leaders, they should read it to
help them reflect on what is happening in their institutions and
learn how they can truly implement those policies and practice to
bring about fair and just equality of opportunity." - Gill Crozier
(British Journal of Sociology of Education) “Sara Ahmed’s
Complaint! functions as a compelling testimony, delving into the
intricate dynamics of how patriarchal abuses of power contribute to
institutional change.” - Mattie Hamilton (Cultural Studies)
![]() |
Ask a Question About this Product More... |
![]() |