Sydney Review of Books - Eda Gunaydin
"Sara Ahmed’s Complaint! is an antidote to apathy. . . . The potent reminder that Ahmed offers is that we are not the ones with the problem, that a number of voices raised up in complaint can help identify that the problem lies elsewhere."
Public Books - Ellen Mayock
"Ahmed brings great authority and gravity to Complaint!, from her own experiences (she resigned from an institution after they mishandled a series of complaints), her engagement with a “complaint collective” in the UK, and her decades-long scholarship in feminist, queer, and race studies. Black feminism and women of color feminism anchor the book. The author does not flinch at the difficult intersections where one underrepresented or traditionally marginalized group seems at odds with another; instead, she examines the effects of complaint in each area of these intersections, retaining her sharp focus on an analysis of power dynamics."
Times Higher Education - Emma Rees
"It’s feminism that isn’t out to win friends but should certainly influence people. It’s angry because anger is required. And it’s collective and inclusive. . . . ever quick to pick up on ironies and contradictions, she nails it time after time. 'Making a complaint is often necessary because of a crisis or trauma,' she writes, but 'the complaint often becomes part of the crisis or trauma.' Such phrases characterise Ahmed’s Möbius band idiolect; they hit home because of the writer’s extraordinary skill."
Anna Nguyen
"Ahmed illuminates how institutions like the university are designed for precisely the people who can and continue to flourish while miming theoretical righteousness and perpetuating violent norms."
British Journal of Sociology of Education - Gill Crozier
"This book is inspiring and a source of solidarity. It provides encouragement to protest and fight for change. And whilst no doubt a difficult read for university leaders, they should read it to help them reflect on what is happening in their institutions and learn how they can truly implement those policies and practice to bring about fair and just equality of opportunity."
Getting Lit with Linda - Linda M. Morra
"An absolutely brilliant endeavor. . . . The real nuance and sophistication of this book, written with such emotional and intellectual insight, the means by which Ahmed identifies strategies of institutional power in relation to power in relation to harassment and abuse is revelatory, thorny, painful, and very, very necessary."
Indy Week - Rebecca Schneid
"In her powerful new book . . . Sara Ahmed builds on a series of oral and written testimonies from students and employees who have complained to higher education universities about harassment and inequality. Here, she asks readers to think about some inescapable questions: What happens when complaints are pushed under the rug? How is complaint radical feminism? And, how can we learn about power from those who choose to fight against the powerful?"
Bitch - Yvette Dionne and Rosa Cartagena
"Inspired by the students she worked with, Ahmed’s new book examines the act—indeed, the feminist pedagogy—of complaining within an organization. With the help of testimonials from individuals who filed complaints of harassment, bullying, and abuse at Goldsmiths and other universities, Ahmed explores the cracks within these formal systems and illustrates the painful processes that survivors experience too often."
Kirkus Reviews
"[Ahmed] presents a strong argument that power in higher education tends to protect itself, that diversity initiatives are often nothing more than window dressing, and that those who file complaints about a hostile work environment often face accusations of disloyalty or troublemaking. . . . Most of the charges here are broad and general, but anyone who has worked in higher education will recognize much of what Ahmed brings to light. Sharp criticism of an overlooked systemic problem in higher education."
Angela Y. Davis
Sara Ahmed always has her finger on the pulse of the times as she assists us to explore the deeper meanings and philosophical nuances of quotidian concepts and practices. Beautifully written and thoroughly engaging, Complaint! is precisely the text we need at this moment as we seek to understand and transform the institutional structures promoting racism and heteropatriarchy.
Talkin’ Up to the White Woman: Indigenous Women and Feminism - Aileen Moreton-Robinson
In her latest contribution to our knowledge, Sara Ahmed gifts us with a book about the phenomenology of complaint and the layered, entangled complexity of how power works institutionally. She foregrounds that to complain is to transgress. To transgress is to become a site of negation. To negate is to trigger an institution into protecting the status quo through risk-adverse processes that are experienced as violent and exhaustive. Ahmed’s intellectually expansive book achieves two things: it exposes the meaning, experiences, and perceptions of complaint and provides testimony to the courage of those who complain, who fight, who believe justice should not just appear to be done; it must be done.
Choice
"This is another insightful book in Ahmed’s well-regarded series of considerations of what acting as a feminist in non-feminist institutions means. . . . Highly recommended. Advanced undergraduates through faculty; professionals."
Cultural Studies - Mattie Hamilton
Sara Ahmed’s Complaint! functions as a compelling testimony, delving into the intricate dynamics of how patriarchal abuses of power contribute to institutional change.
Australian Book Review - Zora Simic
"This is audacious but persuasive critique, which accrues its power by stealth. Complaint! is dense with insight, but admirably lucid."
Gender, Place & Culture - Catherine Oliver
Complaint! offers catharsis, collectivity, and care. It is an archive of complaint, it is a radical call to action, and it is a feminist record. It is also beautifully written, deeply painful, and absolutely necessary at this very moment.
From the Publisher
"This book is inspiring and a source of solidarity. It provides encouragement to protest and fight for change. And whilst no doubt a difficult read for university leaders, they should read it to help them reflect on what is happening in their institutions and learn how they can truly implement those policies and practice to bring about fair and just equality of opportunity."--Gill Crozier "British Journal of Sociology of Education" (5/25/2023 12:00:00 AM)
"Complaint! offers catharsis, collectivity, and care. It is an archive of complaint, it is a radical call to action, and it is a feminist record. It is also beautifully written, deeply painful, and absolutely necessary at this very moment."--Catherine Oliver "Gender, Place & Culture" (11/24/2022 12:00:00 AM)
"Ahmed illuminates how institutions like the university are designed for precisely the people who can and continue to flourish while miming theoretical righteousness and perpetuating violent norms."--Anna Nguyen "LSE Review of Books" (5/26/2022 12:00:00 AM)
"This is another insightful book in Ahmed's well-regarded series of considerations of what acting as a feminist in non-feminist institutions means. . . . Highly recommended. Advanced undergraduates through faculty; professionals."-- "Choice" (5/1/2022 12:00:00 AM)
"Ahmed brings great authority and gravity to Complaint!, from her own experiences (she resigned from an institution after they mishandled a series of complaints), her engagement with a "complaint collective" in the UK, and her decades-long scholarship in feminist, queer, and race studies. Black feminism and women of color feminism anchor the book. The author does not flinch at the difficult intersections where one underrepresented or traditionally marginalized group seems at odds with another; instead, she examines the effects of complaint in each area of these intersections, retaining her sharp focus on an analysis of power dynamics."--Ellen Mayock "Public Books" (3/3/2022 12:00:00 AM)
"It's feminism that isn't out to win friends but should certainly influence people. It's angry because anger is required. And it's collective and inclusive. . . . ever quick to pick up on ironies and contradictions, she nails it time after time. 'Making a complaint is often necessary because of a crisis or trauma, ' she writes, but 'the complaint often becomes part of the crisis or trauma.' Such phrases characterise Ahmed's Möbius band idiolect; they hit home because of the writer's extraordinary skill."--Emma Rees "Times Higher Education" (12/2/2021 12:00:00 AM)
"Sara Ahmed's Complaint! is an antidote to apathy. . . . The potent reminder that Ahmed offers is that we are not the ones with the problem, that a number of voices raised up in complaint can help identify that the problem lies elsewhere."
--Eda Gunaydin "Sydney Review of Books" (9/27/2021 12:00:00 AM)
"An absolutely brilliant endeavor. . . . The real nuance and sophistication of this book, written with such emotional and intellectual insight, the means by which Ahmed identifies strategies of institutional power in relation to power in relation to harassment and abuse is revelatory, thorny, painful, and very, very necessary."--Linda M. Morra "Getting Lit with Linda" (9/7/2021 12:00:00 AM)
"Inspired by the students she worked with, Ahmed's new book examines the act--indeed, the feminist pedagogy--of complaining within an organization. With the help of testimonials from individuals who filed complaints of harassment, bullying, and abuse at Goldsmiths and other universities, Ahmed explores the cracks within these formal systems and illustrates the painful processes that survivors experience too often."--Yvette Dionne and Rosa Cartagena "Bitch" (9/1/2021 12:00:00 AM)
"This is audacious but persuasive critique, which accrues its power by stealth. Complaint! is dense with insight, but admirably lucid."--Zora Simic "Australian Book Review" (9/1/2021 12:00:00 AM)
"In her latest contribution to our knowledge, Sara Ahmed gifts us with a book about the phenomenology of complaint and the layered, entangled complexity of how power works institutionally. She foregrounds that to complain is to transgress. To transgress is to become a site of negation. To negate is to trigger an institution into protecting the status quo through risk-adverse processes that are experienced as violent and exhaustive. Ahmed's intellectually expansive book achieves two things: it exposes the meaning, experiences, and perceptions of complaint and provides testimony to the courage of those who complain, who fight, who believe justice should not just appear to be done; it must be done."--Aileen Moreton-Robinson, author of "Talkin' Up to the White Woman: Indigenous Women and Feminism"
"Sara Ahmed always has her finger on the pulse of the times as she assists us to explore the deeper meanings and philosophical nuances of quotidian concepts and practices. Beautifully written and thoroughly engaging, Complaint! is precisely the text we need at this moment as we seek to understand and transform the institutional structures promoting racism and heteropatriarchy."--Angela Y. Davis
"[Ahmed] presents a strong argument that power in higher education tends to protect itself, that diversity initiatives are often nothing more than window dressing, and that those who file complaints about a hostile work environment often face accusations of disloyalty or troublemaking. . . . Most of the charges here are broad and general, but anyone who has worked in higher education will recognize much of what Ahmed brings to light. Sharp criticism of an overlooked systemic problem in higher education."-- "Kirkus Reviews" (6/25/2021 12:00:00 AM)
"In her powerful new book . . . Sara Ahmed builds on a series of oral and written testimonies from students and employees who have complained to higher education universities about harassment and inequality. Here, she asks readers to think about some inescapable questions: What happens when complaints are pushed under the rug? How is complaint radical feminism? And, how can we learn about power from those who choose to fight against the powerful?"--Rebecca Schneid "Indy Week" (6/9/2021 12:00:00 AM)
Kirkus Reviews
2021-06-25
A scholarly critique of the difficulties encountered by those who file formal complaints in the world of higher education.
In an era of Black Lives Matter, MeToo, and a host of diversity, equity, and inclusion initiatives, you might think that there would be more transparency in dealing with charges of discrimination and harassment, particularly at the university level. Not so, writes Ahmed, an independent feminist scholar who left her post at a British university over its treatment of sexual harassment. “To be heard as complaining is not to be heard,” she writes. “To hear someone as complaining is an effective way of dismissing someone. You do not have to listen to the content of what she is saying if she is just complaining or always complaining.” The author, who has gained notoriety in academic circles for Living a Feminist Life (2017) and other books, presents a strong argument that power in higher education tends to protect itself, that diversity initiatives are often nothing more than window dressing, and that those who file complaints about a hostile work environment often face accusations of disloyalty or troublemaking. Charges of racism, sexism, and other forms of discrimination, Ahmed argues, are similar from institution to institution and ubiquitous because the conditions that spark them don’t change. Those who wish to file formal complaints often find it difficult to navigate the complex procedures, only to find their paperwork buried in some cabinet or their cases adjudicated behind closed doors. Those who go public, meanwhile, face withdrawal of funding, lack of institutional support, and being passed over for promotion. In most cases, the bureaucrats who run universities are more concerned with protecting the institution than with correcting transgressions. Most of the charges here are broad and general, but anyone who has worked in higher education will recognize much of what Ahmed brings to light.
Sharp criticism of an overlooked systemic problem in higher education.
