[MIT CSSA Outreach] Summary about the "Visualizing Culture" issue

[Huan Zhang]

Dear All,

During the last two weeks, CSSA has been focused on addressing the 
"Visualizing Cultures" issue through communication with the Professors, the 
MIT administration, and the research team. After serious discussion with 
all parties involved, we have been able to reach an agreement and have also 
worked constructively with the research team to better put those materials 
into context. In this process, a lot of people have raised interesting and 
constructive points to solve the problem. Your support has been tremendous. 
We thank you very much for that. Here we would like to take this 
opportunity to summarize what we did and what we have accomplished in order 
to give you a complete picture.  Details on letters and statements can be 
found at the end of this email.

Immediately after we received some complaints from our students about the 
MIT Spotlight on "Visualizing Cultures", we sent out an email to collect 
further response and suggestions. After we collected a lot of responses, 
CSSA board decided to present a formal complaint letter to the MIT 
administration and the professors. We did this on Tuesday. At the same 
time, we send out email to announce the progress of our dialogue with the 
professors with emphasis on the promotion of constructive dialogue. Two 
meetings took place between some students and the professors on Tuesday 
afternoon and Wednesday afternoon.  On Thursday morning, CSSA officially 
met with the professors and MIT administration to present our point of view 
and reached an agreement.  During a later meeting in the afternoon on the 
same day, CSSA worked closely with MIT and the research team on the three 
joint statements released that day.  See below for CSSA's statement and the
MIT website for statements from MIT and the research team.

On Friday, MIT's newspaper the Tech presented a misleading and biased 
reporting of the issue.  This irresponsible journalism could have a
potentially damaging effect for all parties involved.  CSSA went to talk 
with the Editor in Chief of the Tech. We finally agreed that the report had 
a serious problem and needed to be corrected, which resulted in a 
correction note and a more balanced reporting about the agreement in
Tuesday (May 2) issue. The online version of the original Friday (April 28) 
issue was also accompanied by a correction note on top of
it.

Last Thursday (May 4), we met again with the Chancellor and the research 
team. They presented the changes they made and listened carefully to our 
suggestions.  We expect the relaunch of the website very soon.  We were 
informed that very likely there would be an online feedback system on the 
website.  Also, as mentioned earlier in CSSA's statement, the Committee on 
Campus Race Relations (CCRR) is currently organizing a panel discussion on 
visual imagery on May 11th.  CSSA strongly encourages members to provide 
constructive suggestions and feedbacks via these channels upon carefully 
reviewing the materials after the re-launch.

As we emphasized many times before, we encourage healthy and open 
discussion about this issue. However, we are opposed to any irrational
behavior. Let us know if you have any further comments or questions.

Best Regards
MIT CSSA

Attachments:
1. Official Letter to the professors and MIT administration
2. Announcement about the dialogue information
3. Statement from CSSA to inform the Agreement among the parties involved

Open Letter to the Professors and MIT administration

Dear President Susan Hockfield,

Though we are the Chinese Student and Scholar Association (CSSA), we come 
from an assortment of backgrounds and cultures.  We value the diversity 
within our own group, and we are most grateful for the support and benefits 
the culturally-diverse MIT microcosm has afforded us and our 
members.  However, the "Throwing off Asia" exhibit recently Spotlighted on 
MIT's homepage has shaken our confidence in the cultural sensitivity we 
have come to associate with this accepting environment.  The exhibit has 
left us disappointed at the nonchalance with which this emotionally 
provocative and demeaning material was presented, as we struggle to 
understand how such negligence could have been overlooked at the Institute.

In particular, the vivid images of the wartime atrocities inflicted on the 
Chinese conjured up haunting emotions of loss and rage, not unlike those 
emotions people around the world feel toward the much better-known and more 
talked-about events of the Holocaust.  Already, the outcry from MIT's 
Chinese community has been thunderous, and the distress levels severe.  We 
do understand the historical significance of these wood prints, and respect 
the authors' academic freedom to pursue this study.  However, we are 
appalled at the lack of accessible explanations and the proper historical 
context that ought to accompany these images.

Phrases featured prominently at the top of the page under Old China, New 
Japan include "Still, predictable patterns give order to this chaos. 
Discipline (the Japanese side) prevails over disarray (the Chinese)," and 
"In short, the Chinese are riotous in every way disgracefully so in their 
behavior, and delightfully so in their accoutrements."  The only 
circumstance under which these very racially-charged statements might be 
possibly acceptable is if they are being used to describe the depictions of 
the images.  Yet at first glance, that purpose is far from obvious; 
instead, the text seems to suggest that it is reporting history 
itself.  The issue of the blatant racism so prominently exhibited in these 
images and descriptions is not addressed until much further down the page, 
almost at the end of the article.

In light of this, we at the CSSA would like to request the following:

1) The authors should provide the proper historical context for the prints 
as an introductory paragraph at the top of the page.  This text should 
include warnings stating that the images are graphical in nature and could 
be potentially emotionally-damaging.  This text should also address the 
racist sentiment and provide the historical perspective (the woodprints' 
wartime propaganda nature), with which it encourages readers to bear in 
mind when browsing through the pages.

2) MIT should pay special attention to the presentation of 
culturally-demeaning content, particularly to its emotionally-damaging 
potential.  As materials in MIT's lauded Open Course Ware, this online 
exhibit is accessible by anyone with a computer and an internet connection 
anywhere around the world.  Is this careless disregard for cultural 
sentiments what MIT wants the world to believe to be MIT's "visualization" 
of cultures?  Is this cultural insensitivity what MIT wants to associate 
with its quality and breadth of classes?

While we are particularly sensitive to the exhibit's contents, we are 
certainly aware of their historical significance.  We have no doubt that 
the authors do not endorse the wood prints' contents in any way beyond 
their artistic and historical value.  Nevertheless, we cannot condone the 
irresponsible nature in which such material has been presented.  An exhibit 
should provoke discussion / debate, but in this case, it could have been 
done in a more delicate manner that would not involve offending the entire 
Chinese community.  We are ready to confront the past, but we believe that 
authors have a paramount duty to delivering proper guidance as well.

We welcome continued conversations on this issue, and we eagerly await your 
response.

Best Regards

Huan Zhang, President of MIT Chinese Student and Scholar Association (MIT CSSA)
Lin Han, Vice President of MIT Chinese Student and Scholar Association (MIT 
CSSA)

04/25/2006

Website: http://cssa.mit.edu

Announcement about the dialogue information

Dear CSSA members,

As we said in the last email, CSSA is in the process of serious 
conversation with the institute administration to deal with the 
controversial homepage issues. The administration and the professors are 
taking this issue very seriously and working hard to solve the problem. As 
a student group, we appreciate the prompt action from the institute and 
would like to see this issue solved as soon as possible.

Many of you have contacted the related people to express your feelings and 
concerns, which have been well received. As you may notice, the Open Course 
Ware materials have been taken down for investigation.

However, CSSA strongly advise the participants not to use any personal 
attacks, physical threats, or irrational behaviors in tomorrow's meeting. 
On the other hand, CSSA would suggest you to express your opinion through 
proper channel by rational means.

Furthermore, the professors have informed us that they welcome any open 
discussion about this issue. As some of you might have already known, they 
will be available at 5:00PM tomorrow afternoon at 14N-310 if you want to 
have a discussion with them.

Again, as a student group, CSSA is up for rational open discussion and not 
supporting any irrational behavior. Let us know if you have any concerns.

Best Regards

Huan and Lin

Official Statement from CSSA regarding the "Visualizing Culture" issues


Dear CSSA Members and Other Members of the Chinese Community Worldwide,

Earlier this morning, the MIT Chinese Student and Scholar Association 
(CSSA) had an in-depth discussion with the MIT administration on the issue 
of the Visualizing Cultures website, specifically the "Throwing Off Asia" 
unit. This is a scholarly research project, and there is no art exhibition 
associated with it. Representatives from the President's Office, the MIT 
News Office, and the research group behind the website were all present. 
The meeting has resulted in a constructive agreement.

The research group recognized the need to contextualize these sensitive 
materials and pledged to continue a dialogue with CSSA and other groups to 
address this issue.

Professors Dower and Miyagawa have expressed deep regret over the emotional 
distress caused by some of the imagery and are genuinely sorry that the 
website has caused pain within the Chinese community.

The agreed resolution is as follows:

1. Official statements from both MIT and Professors Dower and Miyagawa, 
which will be posted as a link off the MIT home page shortly and 
permanently reside on the MIT News Office website, and distributed to the 
Chinese community worldwide.

2. Organize a public forum to facilitate a discussion on the use of 
sensitive imagery. The Committee on Campus Race Relations (CCRR) is 
currently organizing a panel discussion on visual imagery that is scheduled 
to take place in early May (date and location to be determined).

3. The Visualizing Cultures research team will address how it 
contextualizes sensitive content by providing appropriate language to 
prepare users for the graphic material depicted. The research team is 
looking to CSSA for feedback and future dialogue.

As stated previously, CSSA is strongly opposed to any irrational behavior. 
Any feedback from individuals on this issue is welcome.

Best regards,
MIT Chinese Student and Scholar Association
Huan Zhang, President
Lin Han, Vice President
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