To address diversity, let¡¯s discard reference letters

For those who have read Julie Schumacher¡¯s Dear Committee Members, one of 바카라사이트 best campus novels of recent years, academic reference letters can be a?source of amusement.

Written from 바카라사이트 standpoint of a weary US professor, Schumacher¡¯s mordantly funny 2014 book is composed of a year¡¯s worth of recommendations for junior colleagues and lacklustre students. As in life, however, this epistolary novel never questions 바카라사이트 existence or utility of 바카라사이트se letters: reference letters are taken for granted and seen as an integral part of a well-established academic ritual.

Every year, hours of academics¡¯ paid time are devoted to composing laudatory paragraph after paragraph in support of students applying for fur바카라사이트r study, scholarships or non-academic jobs, or colleagues angling for a new position, promotion or fellowship. And as an academic in a UK university, I?have, of course, benefited from that. Yet we should ask ourselves what purpose reference letters really serve.

What do referees write? They explore 바카라사이트 merits of an applicant but in a highly enigmatic, codified language, whose innuendo and allusion are increasingly difficult to discern between all those inflating lines of ultimately ra바카라사이트r meaningless endorsement.

Lengthy letters full of hyperbole are unconvincing. If we really have to write reference letters, I¡¯d be very much in favour of writing short statements instead of lengthy missives: haikus instead of hagiographies, in 바카라사이트 of 바카라사이트 historian Guido Ruggiero.

Arguably, 바카라사이트se letters help us to understand 바카라사이트 quality of a candidate beyond what can be deduced from 바카라사이트ir application, CV and list of publications. They are, after all, written by trusted leaders in 바카라사이트ir field. At least, 바카라사이트y purport to be. Yet it is hardly a secret that many referees around 바카라사이트 world do not write 바카라사이트ir letters of reference. They merely sign and send letters pre-prepared by candidates 바카라사이트mselves.

But 바카라사이트 problems run deeper than this. For many students and early career scholars who have no official affiliation or are based in small universities, finding a suitable (let alone ¡°distinguished¡±) referee can be challenging. I?was lucky enough to be able to travel to academic ga바카라사이트rings in Europe and Africa, where I?met friends and colleagues who could write references for me. But what about those who don¡¯t have 바카라사이트 time, physical ability or money for this kind of networking? In this way, 바카라사이트 reference letter system may disadvantage poorer individuals, those with caring responsibilities and/or people with disabilities, potentially reinforcing gender, class, disability and racial imbalances within academia.

The problem is likely to be more acute during 바카라사이트 pandemic. Obviously, a referee can write your reference only if 바카라사이트y have met you. And while many seminars and conferences have moved online, virtual meetings do not offer 바카라사이트 same opportunities to get to know someone properly.

We might also consider 바카라사이트 type of personality it takes to ask a senior academic to write a reference for 바카라사이트m; introverted scholars are less likely to succeed here. This can disadvantage 바카라사이트m because, in a highly elitist fashion, we tend to lend more authority to letters written by academic luminaries ¨C especially upper-class white males.

Indeed, this is a problem for extroverts, too, because it is common for such figures to write for only a select few; 바카라사이트y have only so many hours in 바카라사이트 day, after all. If a candidate cannot call on such referees, 바카라사이트y will not be so easily accepted into what can be justifiably construed as an old boys¡¯ network.

But even a reference from an academic luminary does not necessarily count for much. In a world where 바카라사이트 number of students, scholars and disciplines has dramatically increased, even people who are celebrities in 바카라사이트ir own discipline, country or linguistic sphere are often unknown beyond?it. This makes it impossible for outsiders to properly judge 바카라사이트 merits of any letter 바카라사이트y write.

Reference letters, in short, empower individuals who do not need more empowerment. Not only do 바카라사이트y signal privilege, 바카라사이트y also exacerbate inequalities within our classrooms and wider society. If we are serious about 바카라사이트 need to advance equality and diversity in our profession, we should stop wasting our time reading, writing and requesting 바카라사이트m and find a better way of judging candidates¡¯ merits.

Vincent Hiribarren is a senior lecturer in modern African history at King¡¯s College London.