Transforming the Ivory Tower

Transforming the Ivory Tower

Challenging Racism, Sexism, and Homophobia in the Academy

In: Intersections: Asian and Pacific American Transcultural Studies, 24

Edited by: Brett C. Stockdill and Mary Yu Danico

University of Hawaii Press | 2012

https://doi.org/10.1515/9780824860394

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About this book

People outside and within colleges and universities often view these institutions as fair and reasonable, far removed from the inequalities that afflict society in general. Despite greater numbers of women, working class people, and people of color—as well as increased visibility for LGBTQ students and staff—over the past fifty years, universities remain “ivory towers” that perpetuate institutionalized forms of sexism, classism, racism, and homophobia. Transforming the Ivory Tower builds on the rich legacy of historical struggles to open universities to dissenting voices and oppressed groups. Each chapter is guided by a commitment to praxis—the idea that theoretical understandings of inequality must be applied to concrete strategies for change.

The common misconception that racism, sexism, and homophobia no longer plague university life heightens the difficulty to dismantle the interlocking forms of oppression that undergird the ivory tower. Contributors demonstrate that women, LGBTQ people, and people of color continue to face systemic forms of bias and discrimination on campuses throughout the U.S. Curriculum and pedagogy, evaluation of scholarship, and the processes of tenure and promotion are all laden with inequities both blatant and covert. The contributors to this volume defy the pressure to assimilate by critically examining personal and collective struggles. Speaking from different social spaces and backgrounds, they analyze antiracist, feminist, and queer approaches to teaching and mentoring, research and writing, academic culture and practices, growth and development of disciplines, campus activism, university-community partnerships, and confronting privilege.

Transforming the Ivory Tower will be required reading for all students, faculty, and administrators seeking to understand bias and discrimination in higher education and to engage in social justice work on and off college campuses. It offers a proactive approach encompassing institutional and cultural changes that foster respect, inclusion, and transformation.

Contributors: Michael Armato , Rick Bonus, Jose Guillermo Zapata Calderon, Mary Yu Danico, Christina Gómez , David Naguib Pellow, Brett C. Stockdill, Linda Trinh Võ.

Frontmatter Free access PDF PDF	i
Contents Free access PDF PDF	vii
Acknowledgments Free access PDF PDF	ix
Chapter One. The Ivory Tower Paradox: Higher Education as a Site of Oppression and Resistance Brett C. Stockdill and Mary Yu Danico Access restricted Content is available PDF PDF	1
Chapter Two. Transforming the Place That Rewards and Oppresses Us Rick Bonus Access restricted Content is available PDF PDF	31
Chapter Three. Telling Our Stories, Naming Ourselves: The Lost María in the Academy Christina Gómez Access restricted Content is available PDF PDF	53
Chapter Four. Striving to Be Queer: Challenging Inequality from Positions of Privilege Michael Armato Access restricted Content is available PDF PDF	66
Chapter Five. One Activist Intellectual’s Experience in Surviving and Transforming the Academy Jose Guillermo Zapata Calderon Access restricted Content is available PDF PDF	84
Chapter Six. Activist-Scholar Alliances for Social Change: The Transformative Power of University-Community Collaborations David Naguib Pellow Access restricted Content is available PDF PDF	106
Chapter Seven. Transformative Disjunctures in the Academy: Asian American Studies as Praxis Linda Trinh Võ Access restricted Content is available PDF PDF	120
Chapter Eight. Queering the Ivory Tower: Tales of a Troublemaking Homosexual Brett C. Stockdill Access restricted Content is available PDF PDF	145
References Access restricted Content is available PDF PDF	183
Contributors Access restricted Content is available PDF PDF	201
Index Access restricted Content is available PDF PDF	205

Transforming the Ivory Tower

Challenging Racism, Sexism, and Homophobia in the Academy

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