Constant civility as corrosion of the soul: surviving through and beyond the politics of politeness

Abstract

ABSTRACT Survival for marginalized folks requires communication skills and understanding power dynamics in ways that often result in polite and/or civil discourse. This essay examines how we survive through politeness, the consequences of such politeness, and how politeness is policed through power structures in academia that relate to privilege, merit, tokenism, whiteness, maleness, straightness, and other forms of power.