This is a linkpost for https://acesounderglass.com/2015/06/09/interpretive-labor/
There’s a whole chain of schools that teach poor, mostly minority students business social norms, by which they mean white-middle-class norms.
Are "white middle class norms" substantially different from, um, black middle class norms, hispanic middle class norms, asian middle class norms and the like? If they are, the article should perhaps hint at this, and at some relevant evidence. If they aren't, the "white" bit seems pointlessly divisive in a rather obnoxious way. Either way, you're creating quite a bit of "interpretive debt" that the reader will have to pay down via interpretive labor.
Crucial Conversations/Non-Violent Communication/John Gottman’s couples therapy books/How to Talk so Kids Will Listen and Listen so Kids Will Talk are all training for interpretive labor.
We could add the guide to How to Ask Questions the Smart Way to this list. Pithily, the "smart way" to ask a question in a technically-complex setting is the one that minimizes interpretive debt, via adopting "tell culture" norms. There are other best practices that point in a related direction, such as, in a work environment, being very clear about whether you actually understand what's being asked of you, and whether you're taking on a serious commitment to achieve it (something that plenty of people don't seem to realize as being important).
I think a large part of the anger around the concept of trigger warnings is related to interpretive labor.
I think a large part of the anger about trigger warnings - on both sides - is no longer about sensible and effective trigger warnings. Trigger warnings make sense precisely when they shift a large interpretive or emotional burden, away from the person who is least equipped to handle it.
Are "white middle class norms" substantially different from, um, black middle class norms, hispanic middle class norms, asian middle class norms and the like?
I'm gonna try to answer this neutrally, but am worried about the risk of touching a political live wire in a context where it's likely to do little good.
The history of the British Empire and then America in the 20th Century suggests that the "middle class norms" being referred to come initially from a particular culture which was mainly made up of white people, and other ... (read more)