314: Pushing back Against the Zeitgeist with Dr. Chantelle Jessica Lewis and Jason Arday

Chantelle Lewis and Jason Arday, co-authors of the book We See Things They'll Never See, join the show to discuss their work. Arday, a professor of sociology of education at the University of Cambridge, and Lewis, an Andrew W. Mellon Postdoctoral Research Fellow in Black British Studies at Pembroke College, the University of Oxford, delve into how their experiences as Black, neurodivergent academics influenced their book. Together, they share the motivation behind their work, highlighting the importance of challenging societal infringements and advocating for marginalized communities. Here are my favorite takeaways: We discuss the importance of showing compassion and empathy, especially to those who seem to deserve it the least. As Arday states, "sometimes when people least deserve it, that's when they deserve the most compassion". Lewis explains the book's critical look at the workplace, where neurodivergent individuals are sometimes seen as "superhumans" who can produce more for a capitalist system. This creates a system in which their marginalization is used to uphold a system of oppression. "The way we are marginalized can also be used as a way to keep this system in place," Lewis says. Arday and Lewis propose that to improve society, there must be a move away from the current educational model. This includes the abolition of exams, as they are not necessarily correlated with future success or positive academic outcomes. Lewis argues that "we need to stop measuring education outcomes by just test scores." Follow Dr Chantelle Jessica Lewis' research at Pembroke College, University of Oxford, podcast Surviving Society