What to Expect and How to Respond

Distress and Success in Academia

Edited by Earl Wright, Thomas C. Calhoun

Publication date:

21 September 2016

Length of book:

218 pages

Publisher

Rowman & Littlefield Publishers

ISBN-13: 9781475827446

What to Expect and How to Respond offers a solutions oriented glimpse into life in academia from the vantage point of groups including students, faculty and administrators. This interdisciplinary anthology provides insight into the profession for graduate students planning on becoming academics; brings to the attention of junior faculty potential tenure and promotion pitfalls as well as strategies to successfully overcome potential obstacles; offers senior faculty strategies to improve collegiality and the workplace environment; and provides administrators with tools to proactively and effectively contend with sensitive managerial matters. This interdisciplinary anthology is useful for undergraduate and graduate students of any discipline designed to prepare them for a career in academia whether as staff, faculty or an administrator. Moreover, this volume is a fine resource for those already in academia who may be experiencing any one or number of specific challenges highlighted from which useful survival strategies could be garnered.

Table of Contents

Preface
Acknowledgments
Part One: Navigating the Academic Pipeline
Chapter 1: Cuentos and Testimonios: Professional Socialization into Academia
Alma L. Zaragoza-Petty
Chapter 2: Hanging by a Thread: International Students Reaching for the American Dream
Cristina S. Stephens and Elena Gheorghiu
Chapter 3: Gritty Tales of Tenure Track Job Seekers in Higher Education
Thomas Hochschild
Part Two: Now That You Have the Job
Chapter 4: Paperwork, Meetings, and Program Review: The Challenges of University Teaching in the 21^st Century
Deborah L. Smith and Brian J. Smith
Chapter 5: Honeymooning Alone: On the Challenges of Dual–Career Long–Distance Academic Couples
Breanne Fahs
Chapter 6: Who Publishes in Leading Sociology Journals (1965-2010)?
Robert Perrucci, Mangala Subramaniam and Carolyn C. Perrucci
Part Three: Challenges in Academia
Chapter 7: The Tyranny of the Majority: A Case Study of Intellectual Exclusion in Sociology
Joseph Michalski
Chapter 8: Two Professors and Their Stories from a Tiny College
Hamon Ha-am and Malintzin
Chapter 9: Down the Rabbit Hole: Racism and Microaggressions at a Public New England University
Shanette M. Harris and Donald Cunnigen
Part Four: Survival Techniques in Academia
Chapter 10: We are all Huskies: Constructing a Collective Memory after the Tragedy at Northern Illinois University
Bobbi A. Knapp
Chapter 11: Horror Stories from the Hallowed Halls of Academia: How Six Women Lived to Tell the Tale
Claire H. Procopio, Helen Tate, Kristina Horn Sheeler, Krista Hoffmann-Longtin, Sarah Feldner, and Karrin Vasby Anderson
Chapter 12: Turning Nightmares to Victories: Handling Promotion and Tenure Horrors
Lin Huff-Corzine and Melvin Rogers
About the Editors
About the Contributors
Index

The collection of essays assembled in What to Expect and How to Respond offers clear insight into the world of higher education as experienced from the vantage point of minority faculty and administrators, at various stages of their careers. Each compelling narrative emphasizes overcoming challenges and obstacles in “tense” and oftentimes “traumatic” environments. This unique text provides readers with a lens to deconstruct events and ways to build resilience within institutions in which they could otherwise feel defenseless.