stephaniemasta

The Tenure Timeline

On Friday, April 9, 2021 Purdue University awarded me tenure. I feel like tenure is one of those processes that is both very specific and also mysterious. There are reasons for this (like most things, I both agree and disagree with these reasons), but it still makes the experience of going through it challenging. SoContinue reading “The Tenure Timeline”

What I Read — March 2021

April is affectionally dubbed “dissertation season.” Various deadlines of the graduate school makes April a busy month for proposal and dissertation defenses. Not sure how much I’ll be able to read outside of the *six* proposals/dissertations on my calendar this month. But I’ll try. I highly recommend each book this month. An Anonymous Girl isContinue reading “What I Read — March 2021”

Reflections on Classrooms as Counterspaces

Last week my latest publication, Classroom Counterspaces: Centering Brown and Black Students in Higher Education came out (50 free copies are available for download–if you want it and it’s not free anymore, let me know). In this article, I use the concepts of bridges and islands, which are drawn from Borderlands theory, to understand theContinue reading “Reflections on Classrooms as Counterspaces”

What I Read — February 2021

This was a slow reading month–although I did revise and resubmit two manuscripts and read two dissertations! Books Power/Knowledge: Selected Interviews and Other Writings 1972-1977 by Michel Foucault. Foucault’s work on discipline and surveillance is the center of one of my research projects. Black Feminist Thought by Patricia Hill Collins. Two of my projects drawContinue reading “What I Read — February 2021”

Celebrating Survival of Indigenous Culture, Knowledge, and Values in Educational Spaces: Foregrounding the Voices of Indigenous Girls and Women

Call for Book Chapters For a PDF version of the call, click here. Historically, Indigenous women and girls, have not been positioned as creators or holders of knowledge within academic spaces. Scholars of critical race feminism have argued that racialized, gendered, classed, and otherwise marked histories, provide distinct and valuable sources of knowledge that areContinue reading “Celebrating Survival of Indigenous Culture, Knowledge, and Values in Educational Spaces: Foregrounding the Voices of Indigenous Girls and Women”

Please Engage With Your Whiteness

I am someone who spends a lot of time thinking and writing about race. I am also someone who finds themselves in conversations (in-person, virtually) with white people on race. And while these conversations can sometimes be intellectually engaging, they are often frustrating and unproductive. These types of questions (“why do I find something toContinue reading “Please Engage With Your Whiteness”

What I Read — January 2021

The the end of each month, I plan to post the things I read. If you’re interested in an article and it’s behind a paywall, let me know and I’ll get it for you. Happy reading! Books How To Be An Anti-Racist by Ibram X. Kendi [completed as part of the The Literary Life 19Continue reading “What I Read — January 2021”

What Tomorrow Brings

Today is the Inauguration. Monday was Martin Luther King, Jr. Day. As a scholar of race and equity, I have complicated feelings about both, particularly around how people choose to recognize them. The mixture of capitalism and nationalism and calls to action feel out of touch with the lived experiences of so many people inContinue reading “What Tomorrow Brings”

The Case for Rest

I had every intention of making this winter break restful–not checking email, not working, and reading a lot. Unfortunately, I had manuscript revisions to complete and given the state of the world, they took almost the entirety of break. So rather than rest, I worked. I recognize that the idea of having rest is oneContinue reading “The Case for Rest”

So Long, 2020!

I’ve only worked for colleges and universities in my adult life, so I am very attached to the academic calendar and how the ebbs and flows of the semester signpost the timing of my life. The actual year might have 16 days left (what?!) but after I submit grades in a few hours, my yearContinue reading “So Long, 2020!”