Published at Marginalia Review of Books on June 8, 2015. Some might want to stop me right here to explain that academia is a meritocracy, in which hard work, quality scholarship, and intellect are rewarded with stable employment. Academia, you assure me, is built on merit. The deserving get tenure and all the security it […]
Published at Chronicle Vitae on June 10, 2015. That is because I emphasized respect, dignity, and empathy in our discussions of those hard topics. Sometimes, students’ feelings were hurt, and so were mine. I recognized the legitimacy of their feelings. More important, I emphasized and modeled mutual respect and empathy. I treated my students as […]
Published at Bearings on June 24, 2015. Will we really do nothing? Will we again ignore the fact that racism is embedded in our society? Will we claim that the shooter is a lone individual rather than a symptom of our white supremacist culture? Will we cluck our tongues in sympathy while ignoring the patterns of violence […]
Published at Chronicle Vitae on June 30, 2015. While I appreciate the attempt to reckon with the mysterious yet fateful nature of academic hiring, this phrase hinders more than it helps. To say you’ve won the lottery overshadows the structural realities of the job market, which are significant factors in why you won the game […]
Published at Killing the Buddha on July 28, 2015. “Coffee. Mama coffee. Hot. Burn baby,” my toddler says to me while pointing at my plain white mug. “Mama’s coffee,” I respond with a smile. He often pretends to drink coffee from his older sister’s pink Barbie mugs. My almost-two-year-old associates me with hugs, kisses, cuddles, […]
Published at Chronicle Vitae on August 19, 2015. I don’t look like a professor, or so I’ve been told in my almost 13 years in, or adjacent to, academia. Usually, that message is sent indirectly: a casual comment in the hall, a smirk, or a nicer-than-nice question regarding my hair, clothes, or tattoos. Other times, […]