DEPARTMENT OF LINGUISTICS

The Northwestern Linguistics Department is committed to civility; we want to foster a safe and welcoming environment where all members of our community are able to fully and freely participate in all department activities. Part of this commitment means protecting department members from instances of incivility in or related to these activities. These guidelines are intended to outline behaviors that we as a community agree are and are not acceptable in serving this commitment, and to outline mechanisms for helping community members address instances of incivility.

Our intellectual community includes many people: graduate students pursuing a degree in our department; undergraduate majors and minors; students in our courses; undergraduate research assistants working with graduate students, staff, and faculty; teaching-line, tenure-line, affiliated, and adjunct faculty; administrative and technical staff including postdoctoral researchers; visiting scholars; members of qualifying paper and dissertation committees; any participants in research group meetings; and other individuals that have significant interactions with our department.

As guidelines for civility within our intellectual community, they apply in many professional contexts, with and without social components. These include on and off-campus events held by the department, linguistics courses, and work-related meetings among department members (including research group meetings). They also extend to many professional activities that department members host and participate in, as well as events that are otherwise sponsored by the department (e.g., academic conferences and workshops, both on and off campus). Of course, there is a considerable overlap between purely professional and purely personal events (e.g., an off-campus party where most guests are affiliated with the department). Nevertheless, all community members should be mindful of the potential for uncivil behaviors involving members of our department in any context to impact the work or academic life of members of our department.

Civil behavior is verbal, written, and other communication that fosters, in both style and content, the conditions for free academic exchange: environments in which individuals are heard, valued, taken seriously, and treated with respect. The behaviors covered by Northwestern policies (sexual harassment, sexual misconduct, discrimination, violence) clearly work against free academic exchange. Additionally, behaviors more subtle than these more extreme cases can have the effect of undermining the goal of an open, respectful, and non-prejudicial academic environment. Importantly, these can occur even in the absence of malicious intent.

Although this type of behavior may, at times, be more difficult to identify than behaviors covered by the Northwestern policies listed above, we suggest that individuals of the Department reflect upon the questions below in assessing their own civility and the civility of others. Note that answering these questions can be challenging, and often relies on subjective assessments. For this reason, discussions with your colleagues are an important part of addressing civility issues.

• Does the tone, style, and content of the communication encourage participation of all of your colleagues?
• Is the communication free of presuppositions that your colleague's competence, knowledge, or merit derive from their social background, identity, or group membership?
• Does the communication limit free contributions by making other individuals feel unheard or unwelcome?

To be clear, these questions are intended to spark conversations rather than cut off academic exchanges.

If you feel that people are working against our goal of fostering a civil department culture, either because you have directly experienced it or directly witnessed it, and if you feel that you are unable to resolve the matter through discussions of your own, you should speak with a faculty member (or, in the case of staff, the department administrator). Depending on your role in the Linguistics department, we suggest you consult faculty in the order given below. However, you should free to reach out to the person you are most comfortable speaking with about the issue.

Undergraduate students:

1. Course instructor and/or faculty advisor
2. Director of Undergraduate Studies
3. Department Chair

Graduate students:

1. Faculty advisor and/or course instructor:
2. Director of Graduate Studies
3. Department Chair

Research staff (including postdoctoral fellows and visitors):

1. Faculty advisor / principal faculty contact
2. Department Chair

Other staff:

1. Department Administrator
2. Department Chair

Faculty (including adjunct, teaching-track, and tenure-line):

1. Department Chair

Retaliation for reporting or discussing uncivil behavior is inherently uncivil, compounding the negative impacts of the initial issue. Northwestern’s Policy on Non-Retaliation provides broad protection for reporting activities that are “wrongful or unlawful.” This explicitly includes reporting of discrimination, harassment, sexual harassment, or sexual misconduct (as protected by federal law) as well as reporting of wrongful activities to a immediate supervisor or department chair. The faculty will work proactively to minimize possibilities for retaliation by maintaining confidentiality to the greatest extent possible.

Violence or imminent threats of violence

• Guidelines on issues involving violence
• Workplace violence: Steps to prepare yourself
• Get help: Non-emergency threats or threatening behavior
• Get help: Imminent threats, emergencies

Counseling and Support Resources

• Counseling and Psychological Services (CAPS)
• Employee Assistance Program
• Faculty Wellness Program

Discrimination and Harassment, including Sexual Misconduct

Including sexual assault ( sexual penetration without consent, sexual contact without consent,
statutory rape), sexual exploitation, stalking, dating/domestic violence, sexual harassment

• Policy on Discrimination and Harassment
• Sexual misconduct policy
• Consensual romantic or sexual relationships between faculty, students, and staff policy
• Student code of conduct: Discrimination and harassment, hazing, disruption and
  demonstration
• Get help
• The Center for Awareness, Response, and Education (CARE) : a confidential space for
  students impacted by sexual violence, relationship violence or stalking, including friends
  or partners of survivors

Northwestern’s General Civility Policies

• Civility and mutual respect: Faculty, staff, and students
• Guidance on civility: Where to get help
• Northwestern's Policy on Non-Retaliation