Call-Out vs. Call-In
Sometimes called “cancel culture,” the use of “calling out” instances of harm and oppressive or politically contentious language and behaviour is a widely used strategy in social and political spaces, particularly when a marginalized group is addressing those in positions of power (e.g., politicians, authority figures, etc.)
Call-outs are justified to challenge provocateurs who deliberately hurt others or for powerful people beyond our reach. Effectively criticizing such people is an important tactic for achieving justice. But most public shaming is horizontal and done by those who believe they have greater integrity or more sophisticated analyses. They become the self-appointed guardians of political purity.
Call-outs can also emerge in the classroom, directed at fellow students, faculty, staff, and guest speakers. The practice of calling out is usually deployed as an intervention in manifestations of (intentional or unintentional) violent, harmful, or oppressive behaviour. The goal of a call-out is to interrupt harm that is currently occurring or to hold people and institutions accountable for past harm(s). Call-outs may be effective political strategies, but they can also be used against people with little access to power in ways that can shame and undermine transformation, learning, and conflict resolution. As such, there is a risk that call-outs can be used as a tool of lateral violence.
Calling-In
Because the classroom is an environment where students cannot be expected to come with the same levels of knowledge, experience, or skills in navigating politically charged material, calling out is generally discouraged in the classroom, except in circumstances where overtly violent or continuous harmful language and behaviour persists after attempts are made to encourage modifying this behaviour. When call-outs are directed at a teacher, the cause may be that students can have greater expectations of faculty to model inclusive language and behaviour, and thus call-outs may be directed towards teachers for not meeting student expectations or requests for modifications in class.
Calling in has been proposed as an alternative to calling out: calling in means speaking privately with an individual who has done some wrong in order to address the behaviour without making a spectacle of the address itself. In the context of call-out culture, it is easy to forget that the individual we are calling out is a human being and that different human beings in different social locations will be receptive to different strategies for learning and growing.
Strategies for Managing Call-Outs
Call-Outs Directed at Students:
Deindividualize the call-out
Unless a specific student has intentionally caused harm, a call-out can be a learning opportunity for all students in the classroom to collaboratively reflect on how oppressive systems take shape in our everyday interactions.
Discourage a back-and-forth debate between students
Intervene in a highly p