I’m so glad you read the book! I hope you loved it. Everybody should read it, it’s a masterpiece.
If you are in the US and you are invited into a struggle session, I recommend immediately to contract a lawyer and request that the administration deal directly with your legal representative. College administrations are terrified of legal threats. I have witnessed unsavory personalities wheedle the most outrageous things out of the administration by lawyering up. Don’t say a word, don’t go to any committees, everything through a lawyer.
I understand that the events in the novel are set in Cape Town, and I don’t know how things work there. The professor in Disgrace did the next best thing to finding a lawyer. He refused to engage beyond the bare minimum. That’s always the correct behavior in any workplace spat. Whoever says the least, wins. Never ever ever do point-by-point rebuttals. Limit your responses to a difficult colleague to one sentence.
I’ve felled absolute wild beasts of prey who had made life impossible to generations of administrators before me by using this strategy. Don’t give them any time and, most importantly, any of your mental space. Pray, meditate, do whatever you need to not dwell. One sentence responses that are declarative (not questions). “I understand your position but I disagree.” “Please proceed as instructed previously.” That’s it, you are done, move on.
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