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When I speak to women of color in the academy, regardless of their discipline, I hear similar stories. Many of us expect to deal with sexism and racism in "the academy", especially when one considers that there are so few women or people of color (much less women of color) in most departments. This knowledge does not, however, prepare us for the sense of isolation that often accompanies this reality. Last year I had the privilege of attending a Colloquium of Black Women Philosophers. Imagine that! There were enough Black women with PhDs in Philosophy to have a colloquium! When reporting on the event the Chronicle focused on the number of empty seats. I, on the other hand, was ecstatic to find that there are 30 of us in existence, and about a dozen more in the pipeline. While these are not huge numbers, the implication of our existence must not be under-estimated. The truth is that the number of women of color acquiring PhDs is increasing, so we are out there and our numbers are growing. Not only are more of us getting PhDs and faculty positions, we are also becoming deans, provosts, and college presidents.

At this critical stage, it is important for us to create networks of support, share information, and let other sisters who are in the pipeline know that they are not alone in the struggle. The possibilities of what can come out of this kind of community-building are endless. Thanks to modern technology it has become much easier to traverse the boundaries of time and space allowing us an opportunity to network in ways that may not be possible in our work environments. I will share my stories and ask you to share yours. We will raise questions and find the answers together. You should also feel free to post information about conferences, job opportunities and any other information that you think might be useful to the community. Happy Posting!

Topic of the Week

Please share stories of your graduate school experience. Whether you have crossed that river or are just wading in, there are lessons to be learned from our collective struggles. You are not alone!

Saturday, February 7, 2009

What is at stake?

I have been procrastinating over writing a paper for this conference that I am going to in March. I actually won a travel grant to attend this conference so I do have a proposal...just not an actual paper yet. It's funny, I have this real ambivalence about being an academic. As much as I love conferences, I find myself feeling almost guilty. I ask myself, with the state of the economy and the perils that so many are facing wouldn't it be so much more fruitful to give the tens of thousands that will be generated to hold a conference on community literacy to community literacy programs? As I sit and try to think of what I want to share at this conference I keep thinking, what is at stake? What is at stake in writing this essay, in doing this presentation...what am I trying to do? I often ask myself these kinds of questions because they keep me on track. In a discipline like philosophy it can really be important for a person like me to check in like this every so often. I do think that it is very important for people to think and write and to share their ideas. I get that one of the reasons that conferences like this are important is because people's minds must be changed. I get that there have to be people talking, thinking, and writing about our social ills if there is to be progress made. Arguments must be made to college administrators for the continued funding of community literacy programming and diversity initiatives. There must be mechanisms that validate this kind of work, like conferences and journals... I get that. I also get that colleges and universities are major players in the political, economic, and cultural sphere. For example, the University of Pennsylvania is one of the largest employers in Philadelphia. This means that the way that the institution thinks, its values, and the way that it is run has a major impact on the entire city. This is what keeps me going as an academic. I understand that what we do is not just about filling up libraries with a bunch of long-winded exegesis that no one will ever read. If the work is done "right", there is actually a great deal at stake.
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