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 Moebius 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 *
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