Efforts to address sexual assault should focus on the most marginalized communities and consider how multiple forms of oppression intersect with sexism, argues Nadeeka Karunaratne.
Conditionally Accepted
Many individuals are drawn to higher education, including academic careers, because of academe’s potential for change. Countless prospective and current graduate students note that their desire to make a difference in their communities or society in general was their primary decision to attend graduate training. Unfortunately, many colleges and universities in the U.S. have practiced outright discrimination and exclusion throughout history, particularly against women, people of color, and disabled people/people with disabilities.
Today, academe — like every social institution — is structured hierarchically, producing numerous professional and personal obstacles for academics from marginalized backgrounds. Scholars who are women, of color, lesbian, trans, bisexual, gay, queer, disabled, working-class or poor, immigrants, fat, religious and non-religious minorities, and/or single parents are faced daily with the difficult tension between academe's narrow definition of success and their own politics, identities, needs, happiness, and health.
Conditionally Accepted was created as a freestanding blog in July 2013 as an online space for scholars on the margins of academe. It has steadily grown since, becoming a career advice column for Inside Higher Ed in January 2016. In this column, we provide news, information, personal stories, and resources for scholars who are, at best, conditionally accepted in academe. Conditionally Accepted is an anti-racist, pro-feminist, pro-queer, anti-transphobic, anti-fatphobic, anti-ableist, anti-ageist, anti-classist, and anti-xenophobic online community.
You can also like us on Facebook here and follow us on Twitter @conditionaccept.
To reach this column, click here.
Conditionally Accepted Archive
Jackson Wright Shultz provides suggestions on how to support LGBTQI students who disclose experiences of sexual or intimate partner violence.
Irene Sanchez pays tribute to the person who saw something in her on the days that she couldn’t see it in herself anymore.
How we as teachers look and comport ourselves can impact the learning experience, and as an adjunct, I do not feel safe bringing my sexuality into the classroom, writes Jeana Jorgensen.
As academics, in privileging certain forms of speech over others, we denigrate the possibility of thinking outside our own norms, argues A. W. Strouse.
Chavella T. Pittman gives advice to help make teaching less stressful and more successful in the upcoming academic year.
Few resources exist that specifically deal with relationship violence within LGBTQI college populations, writes Jackson Wright Shultz, who provides advice to help change that situation.
While institutions must investigate and respond to sexual assaults in an efficient and consistent way, we would do well to focus more time and energy on prevention and education, write Brian Van Brunt and Amy Murphy.
Universities should take concrete actions to end campus sexual violence, argues Irene Shankar.
Change must begin with the administration, writes Stacy Jane Grover.
Pages
AUTHORS
Dr. Victor Ray, editor, I am an assistant professor of sociology at the University of Tennessee Knoxville. My research interests included race and organizations, critical race theory, and how formal organizational processes reproduce social inequalities. I am mixed race (black and white) but not tragic. And I am just as -- if not more -- objective than your average white scholar. In addition to my scholarly work and blogging, I have written about race for publications including Newsweek, Gawker, and Boston Review, and Seven Scribes. I occasionally tweet at @victorerikray.
Dr. Eric Anthony Grollman, founder, former editor and regular contributor, I speak as a black queer non-binary intellectual activist. I am currently a tenure-track professor in sociology at University of Richmond in Virginia. An “activist gone academic,” I pursued a Ph.D. in sociology at Indiana University to become a better activist. To my surprise, graduate training is designed to “beat the activist” out of grad students. Thus, I was traumatized in the process of earning my Ph.D. Those experiences led me to create Conditionally Accepted after I graduated in 2013 to make visible the scholars, perspectives, experiences, advice and resources that were not available to me. I write regularly, interweaving my personal experiences with my research (i.e., prejudice and discrimination) and current events, to reflect on the practices and policies that keep many scholars on the margins of academe. You can follow me on Twitter at @grollman.
Alicia Reyes-Barriéntez is an assistant professor of political science at Texas A&M-San Antonio. Her research examines the intersection of Latinx faith and politics. She earned a Ph.D. in political science from Duke University in 2016. While at Duke, she received the National Science Foundation Graduate Research Scholarship and Ford Foundation Dissertation Fellowship, two of the nation’s most prestigious fellowships awarded to doctoral students. She has a B.A. in Spanish and Latin American Studies (2005) and a M.A. in Spanish (2007) from Baylor University. She is also a Fellow at the J.G. Tower Center for Political Studies at Southern Methodist University. She has published in Politics & Identities and has a forthcoming article in Social Science Quarterly. Dr. Reyes-Barriéntez is a proud child of the U.S.-Mexico borderland colonias. She is a first-generation college graduate from a Mexican working-class immigrant family, and she calls Laredo, Texas home.
Alicia M. Reyes-Barriéntez, Ph.D.
she/her/hers
Assistant Professor of Political Science
Texas A&M University-San Antonio
One University Way
San Antonio, Texas 78224
CAB 338
(210) 784-2260
Dr. Alvaro Huerta, Regular Contributor, I hold a joint faculty appointment in Urban & Region Planning (URP) and Ethnic & Women’s Studies (EWS) at California State Polytechnic University, Pomona. As an interdisciplinary scholar, I teach and conduct research on the intersecting domains of community & economic development, Chicana/o & Latina/o studies, immigration & Mexican diaspora, social movements, social networks and the informal economy. I’m the author of the book Reframing the Latino Immigration Debate: Towards a Humanistic Paradigm and the forthcoming book Latina/o Immigrant Communities in the Xenophobic Era of Trump and Beyond. Prior to becoming a scholar-activist, I was a leading community activist in Los Angeles and beyond. As a son of Mexican immigrants, first generation graduate (with advanced degrees from UCLA & UC Berkeley) and product of violent and impoverished neighborhoods, among the aforementioned fields, my scholarly and public scholarship include issues related to immigration, race and class in higher education. Overall, I’m interested in the plight of the marginalized, excluded and demonized—where I come from.
BLOGROLL
There are many, many blogs for and/or by scholars on the margins of academia. Below, you will find a general list of blogs, followed by those of particular social locations (e.g., women of color). Please note that we do not wish to (mis)place people into identity boxes; rather, we offer loose categories to guide particular interests of our readers.
This is a growing list, so please let us know of others that we have missed!
Critical Blogs:
- The Academic Activist
- Rebel Research Collective
- Dr. Sarah Kendzior’s blog
- Pan Kisses Kafka (Rebecca Schuman)
- Faculty Orientations
- Postadrianism (Glen Jankowski)
- The Homeless Adjunct
- Write Where It Hurts
Women of Color:
- Refuse the Silence
- the other class (Manya Whitaker)
- Fight the Tower
- Aware of Awareness (Crystal Fleming)
- Margaria Aziza, Reflections at the Intersection of Islam, Race, and Gender
- The Feminist Wire
- The Feminist Griote
- tressiemc (Tressie McMillan Cottom)
- No Extra Credit (Nyasha Junior)
- Crunk Feminist Collective
- 2 Dope Sistahs
- Isis the Scientist
- Latinas Completing Doctoral Degrees
Fat Women:
- The Fat Chick Sings
- Two Whole Cakes
- Dances With Fat
- Friend of Marilyn
- The Rotund (Marianne Kirby)
- Obesity Timebomb (Charlotte Cooper)
- Badass Fatass (Michaela A. Nowell)
Women:
- Jeana Jorgensen, Ph.D.
- College Ready Writing (Lee Skallerup)
- Tenure, She Wrote
- Female Science Professor
- Academic Jungle
- University of Venus
- Hook and Eye
- Thus Spake Zuska
- Feminist Philosophers
- TrowelBlazers
- Female Computer Scientist (also, here)
- American Association of University Women (AAUW)
- Feministing
- Reassigned Time 2.0
- The Brain That Wouldn’t Die
- Rogue Cheerios
- Balancing Jane
- Scientist Mother
- Surviving Academia
- mitacoach (“Mothering In the Academy” Coach)
- feMOMhist
- #HopeJahrenSureCanWrite
- Blue Lab Coats
- The Tight Rope
- What is it Like to be a Woman in Philosophy?
- The Feminist Wire
- Gender and Society Journal blog
- Girl w/ a Pen (The Society Pages)
- Feimineach.com
- The Saucy Scholar (Meredith Heller)
- Women in Astronomy
People of Color:
- Racism Review
- The Color Line (The Society Pages)
- Mentoring Blog (ASA Section on Racial and Ethnic Minorities)
- Racialicious
- JAPAN Sociology
- Black In Blue (Tony Gaskew)
LGBT and Queer People:
- Social (In)Queery (CJ Pascoe, Jane Ward, Tey Meadows, and others)
- Queer Metropolis (Jason Orne)
- Queer(ing) Law (Jeff Kosbie)
- The Network for LGBT Health Equity
- Criticality (Michael Broder)
- Center of Gravitas
- The Lab and Field (Alex Bond)
- Denim and Tweed (Jeremy Yoder)
Trans* and Gender Non-Conforming People:
- The Intersex Roadshow (Cary Gabriel Costello)
- TransFusion (Cary Gabriel Costello)
- Trannysaurus Wrex (joe l. simonis)
LGBT and Queer People of Color:
- QueerBlackFemininst (Andreana Clay)
- Sista Outsider
- Voice of Consciousness (Abigail A. Sewell)
- Black Girl Dangerous
- blac (k) ademic (Kortney Ryan Ziegler)
Lesbian, Queer, and Bisexual Women:
- Feminist Pigs (Jane Ward)
- Lesboprof (The Chronicle)
- The Madwoman With a Laptop (Marilee Lindemann)
- Tenured Radical (Claire Potter)
- Bricolage (Michelle Kweder)
- Balanced Instability
- Hunter of Justice (Nan Hunter)
- Autostraddle
- Your Queer Prof (D’Lane Compton)
- Marx In Drag (Mimi Schippers)
Disabled People/People with Disabilities:
- Disabled Philosophers
- Where’s Lulu?
- Lefty by Default (Laura Overstreet)
- Adventures of a Part-Time Wheeler
- Crip Confessions (Bethany Stevens)
- PhD(isabled)
- My New Kentucky Home (Erin Breedlove)
- Rolling with the Punches
Poor and Working-Class People:
- Working-Class Perspectives
- Sociology on the Margins (Karen Kendrick)
Liberal Arts Careers:
- Small Pond Science (Terry McGlynn)
- Memoirs of a SLACer
- Soc’ing Out Loud (Bradley Koch)
Alternative Careers:
- From PhD to Life
- #alt-ac
- Alt-Ac Liberation
- Escape the Ivory Tower
- From Grad School to Happiness
- A Post-Academic in NYC
- Another Academic Bites the Dust
- Chronicles of a Recovering Academic
- Doctor Outta Here
- Beyond the Tenure Track
Contingent Faculty:
- Pan Kisses Kafka (Rebecca Schuman)
- A Year of Living Academically
- The Smart Casual
- Fugitive Faculty (Miranda Merklein)
- The Adjunct Project blog (The Chronicle of Higher Education)
- The Adjunct Crisis
- Adjunct Purgatory
- Adjunctaurus
- As the Adjunctiverse Turns
Advice Blogs:
- GradHacker blog (Inside Higher Ed)
- The Professor is In (Karen Kelsky)
- Get a Life, PhD (Tanya Golash-Boza)
- Words Are My Game (Liana M. Silva-Ford)
- PhD Talk (Eva Lantsoght)
- The Early Career Blog (University of Cambridge Career Services)
- Nick Hopwood’s blog
- The Hidden Curriculum (ASA Sociology of Education Section)
- Daren C. Brabham, Ph.D.’s blog
- #ECRChat
General Academic Blogs:
- The Chronicle of Higher Education Blogs
- Inside Higher Ed Blogs
- The Academe Blog (AAUP)
- University of Flies
- New Faculty
- Dr. Raul Pacheco-Vega’s blog
- Grumpy rumblings of the (formerly!) untenured
- Overworked TA
- Surviving Grad School
- InBetween
- Not of General Interest
- Confessions of a Community College Dean
- The Adventures of Notorious Ph.D., Girl Scholar
- xykademiqz
- The Misadventures of Dr. Beech (Megan Beech)
- 27 and a PhD
- scatterplot
- orgtheory
- a (budding) sociologist’s commonplace book (Dan Hirschman)
- what is the what (Jenn Lena)
Educational Blogs:
- Sociological Images (The Society Pages)
- Inequality by (Interior) Design (Tristan Bridges)
- Family Inequality (Philip Cohen)
- The Sociological Cinema (U. Maryland Sociology)
- Sociology Source
- Everyday Sociology blog
- Creative Sociology (Todd Schoepflin)
- SOCIOLOGYtoolbox (Todd Beer)
RESOURCES
As a part of our effort to make academic research and resources more accessible within and beyond academia, we have compiled a growing list of resources. Though there is some overlap, we have grouped them into categories for easier, quicker searches.
- Resources For Graduate Students
- Resources For Alternative And New Careers (alt-ac/post-ac)
- Resources For Tenure-Track Faculty
- Resources For Adjuncts And Other Contingent Faculty
- Resources On Sexualities And For LGBTQ Scholars
- Resources On Disabilities and For Disabled Scholars
- Resources On Gender And For Women Scholars
- Resources On Race and Ethnicity And For Scholars of Color
- Resources On Class And For Working-Class Scholars
- Resources On Fat Studies And For Fat Scholars
- Teaching and Pedagogy Resources
- Public Scholarship And Activism Resources
Sign Up / Sign In
With your existing account from...
{* loginWidget *}With a traditional account...
{* #signInForm *} {* signInEmailAddress *} {* currentPassword *} {* /signInForm *}Newsletter enrollment
Existing account found
We have found an existing account for the email address.
Please sign in to update your newsletter preferences.
{* /signInForm *}Newsletter opt-out
Edit your newsletter preferences
Account Info
Sign In
Welcome back, {* welcomeName *}!
{* loginWidget *}Sign In
Welcome Back
Account Deactivated
Your account has been deactivated.
Account Reactivation Failed
Sorry, we could not verify that email address.
Email Verification Required
You must verify your email address before signing in. Check your email for your verification email, or enter your email address in the form below to resend the email.
{* #resendVerificationForm *} {* signInEmailAddress *}Almost Done
Please confirm the information below before signing in.
{* #socialRegistrationForm *} {* firstName *} {* lastName *} {* displayName *} {* emailAddress *} {* optInIHE *} {* optIn3rdParty *} {* agreeToTerms *}Almost Done
Please confirm the information below before signing in. Already have an account? Sign In.
{* #registrationForm *} {* firstName *} {* lastName *} {* displayName *} {* emailAddress *} {* newPassword *} {* newPasswordConfirm *} {* optInIHE *} {* optIn3rdParty *} {* agreeToTerms *}Thank You for Registering
We have sent a confirmation email to {* emailAddressData *}. Please check your email and click on the link to verify your email address.
Create New Password
We'll send you a link to create a new password.
{* #forgotPasswordForm *} {* signInEmailAddress *}Create New Password
We've sent an email with instructions to create a new password. Your existing password has not been changed.
Create New Password
This email address was registered with a social account. We've sent an email with instructions to create a new password, which can be used in addition to your linked social providers.
{| current_emailAddress |}
{| foundExistingAccountText |} {| current_emailAddress |}.
{| existing_displayName |} - {| existing_provider |} : {| existing_siteName |} {| existing_createdDate |}
{| existing_provider_emailAddress |}
Sign In to Complete Account Merge
Resend Verification Email
Sorry, we could not verify that email address. Enter your email below, and we'll send you another email.
{* #resendVerificationForm *} {* signInEmailAddress *}Change Password
Create New Password
We didn't recognize that password reset code. Enter your email below, and we'll send you another email.
{* #resetPasswordForm *} {* signInEmailAddress *}Create New Password
We've sent you an email with instructions to create a new password. Your existing password has not been changed.
Edit Your Account
Profile Photo
Linked Accounts
Link Your Accounts
This allows you to sign in to your account using that provider in the future.
Password
Deactivate Account
Change Password
Deactivate Your Account
Are you sure you want to deactivate your account? You will no longer have access to your profile.
{* deactivateAccountForm *} {* /deactivateAccountForm *}