A Harvard College student submitted a 47-page land acknowledgment to the instructor of Economics 10b last Tuesday before delivering a three-minute presentation on the efficiency of competitive markets. The presentation included two slides. The acknowledgment included four appendices and a personal bibliography.
The acknowledgment, titled Toward a More Complete Reckoning: A Preliminary Framework for Situating the Following Presentation Within Its Full Historical, Geographical, Ecological, Spiritual, and Economic Context, opens with a general acknowledgment of the Massachusett, Wampanoag, and Nipmuc peoples, proceeds through a 12-page analysis of land dispossession and the emergence of market economies, and concludes with a six-page personal reflection on the student’s positionality as someone who benefits from competitive markets while critiquing their historical conditions of possibility. Appendix D contains a map.
The student noted that an earlier draft had been 94 pages. The shorter version had been achieved through ruthless editing. The student expressed pride in having brought it under 50 pages.
The instructor, reached for comment, said she had read through page 14 and was “making progress.” She had not yet graded the presentation, as she was uncertain whether the acknowledgment was part of the presentation, a separate submission, or a course requirement she had inadvertently created. She said she was “looking into it.” The end of term is in April.
The Economics Department does not have a formal policy on the maximum permissible length of a land acknowledgment submitted in connection with a three-minute presentation. A subcommittee may be formed. The administrator noted that forming a subcommittee would first require a preliminary discussion about whether land acknowledgment policy falls within the Department’s purview or should be referred to the Office of Diversity, Inclusion, and Belonging, which has its own subcommittee on acknowledgment practices that last met in November.
The student received an A minus. The grade is under appeal on the grounds that the acknowledgment had not been fully considered in the assessment. The appeal is under review. The grade remains an A minus.
The student has begun work on the land acknowledgment for next week’s presentation, which concerns price elasticity. A preliminary outline has been completed. It is 23 pages. The presentation is three minutes. The student considers this proportionate.