Today’s book is: The Diné Reader: An Anthology of Navajo Literature, which is the 2022 Before Columbus Foundation American Book Award Winner. The Diné Reader showcases the breadth, depth, and diversity of Diné creative artists and their poetry, fiction, and nonfiction prose, in a wide-ranging anthology. The collected works display a rich variety of and creativity in themes: home and history; contemporary concerns about identity, historical trauma, and loss of language; and economic and environmental inequalities. The Diné Reader developed as a way to demonstrate both the power of Diné literary artistry and the persistence of the Navajo people. The volume opens with a foreword by poet Sherwin Bitsui, who offers insight into the importance of writing to the Navajo people. The editors then introduce the volume by detailing the literary history of the Diné people, establishing the context for the tremendous diversity of the works that follow, which includes free verse, sestinas, limericks, haiku, prose poems, creative nonfiction, mixed genres, and oral traditions reshaped into the written word. This volume combines an array of literature with illuminating interviews, biographies, and photographs of the featured Diné writers and artists. A valuable resource to educators, literature enthusiasts, and beyond, this anthology is a much-needed showcase of Diné writers and their compelling work. The volume also includes a chronology of important dates in Diné history by Jennifer Nez Denetdale, as well as resources for teachers, students, and general readers by Michael Thompson. The Diné Reader is an exciting convergence of Navajo writers and artists with scholars and educators. Our guest is: Esther G. Belin, who is a Diné multimedia artist and writer, and a faculty mentor in the Low Rez MFA program at the Institute for American Indian Arts. She graduated from the Institute of American Indian Arts and the University of California, Berkeley. Her poetry collection From the Belly of My Beauty won the American Book Award from the Before Columbus Foundation. Her latest collection is Of Cartography: Poems. Our co-guest is: Jeff Berglund, who is the director of the Liberal Studies Program and a professor of English at Northern Arizona University in Flagstaff, Arizona, where he has worked since 1999. Dr. Berglund’s research and teaching focuses on Native American literature, comparative Indigenous film, and U.S. multi-ethnic literature. His books include Indigenous Pop: Native American Music from Jazz to Hip Hop (co-editor), and Indigenous Peoples Rise Up: The Global Ascendancy of Social Media Activism (co-editor). Our host is: Dr. Christina Gessler, a historian of women and gender. Listeners to this episode may also be interested in: The Institute of American Indian Arts Esther Belin’s poems on the Poetry Foundation website, including Bringing Hannah Home and When Roots Are Exposed and Blues-ing on the Brown Vibe Sherman Alexie: A Collection of Critical Essays edited by Jeff Berglund and Jan Roush This podcast with Morgan Talty discussing Night of the Living Rez This podcast with Michelle Cyca about Misrepresentation on Campus This podcast with the editor of Tribal Colleges Journal of American Indian Higher Education Welcome to The Academic Life! Join us here each week, where we learn directly from experts. We embrace the broad definition of what it means to lead an academic life, and are informed and inspired by today’s knowledge-producers working inside and outside the academy. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices Support our show by becoming a premium member! https://newbooksnetwork.supportingcast.fm/academic-life

What is the difference between global warming and climate change? This episode explores: What led Dr. Wu into STEM, and to the study of climate change. Why the term global warming is misleading, and potentially confusing. Why weather around the world is getting more extreme. What she foresees for the future, and what we can do to change that. Why human choices matter on much a larger scale than most people realize. A discussion of the article “Looking Back on America’s Summer of Heat, Floods, and Climate Change: Welcome to the New Abnormal”. Today’s article is: Looking Back on America's Summer of Heat, Floods, and Climate Change: Welcome to the New Abnormal by Dr. Shuang-ye Wu, which provides an overview of the record-breaking heat and historic floods of 2022. Dr. Wu discusses how the new abnormal is increasingly seen as the new weather pattern, why it’s dangerous to normalize this, and what we can do change it. “Welcome to the New Abnormal” was published in The Conversation on September 21, 2022. Our guest is: Dr. Shuang-ye Wu, who is a climate scientist. Dr. Wu uses climate models to project future climate change and its potential impacts on the hydrological cycle, including precipitation, extreme storms and flood risks. She also collaborates with researchers in ice core science and stable isotope geochemistry investigate climate and environmental change in the past ten thousand years. Dr. Wu received her Ph.D. from the University of Cambridge in 2000 where she studied environmental geography. She joined the University of Dayton department of Geology and Environmental Geosciences in 2004 after completing three-year post-doctoral research at Pennsylvania State University. She has published over 50 peer-reviewed articles in high-impact scientific journals, and received close to two million dollars in external funding for her research. Dr. Wu teaches a variety courses mainly in the field of climate change, environmental geosciences, and Geographical Information Systems. Our host is: Dr. Christina Gessler, a historian of women and gender. Listeners to this episode may also be interested in: The Conversation article: 2022's US Climate Disasters: A tale of too much rain and too little The Conversation article: For a Flooded Midwest Climate Forecasts Offer Little Comfort Bedaso, Z., & Wu, S. Y. (2020). Daily precipitation isotope variation in Midwestern United States: Implication for hydroclimate and moisture source. Science of The Total Environment, 713, 136631. Yuan, W., Wu, S. Y., Hou, S., Xu, Z., & Lu, H. (2019). Normalized Difference Vegetation Index‐based assessment of climate change impact on vegetation growth in the humid‐arid transition zone in northern China during 1982–2013. International Journal of Climatology, 39(15), 5583-5598. Wu, Y., Ji, H., Wen, J., Wu, S.-Y., Xu, M., Tagle, F., Duan, W., Li, J. (2018). The characteristics of regional persistent heavy precipitation events over eastern monsoon China during 1960-2013. Global and Planetary Change, 172, pp.414-427. Welcome to The Academic Life! Join us here each week, where we go inside the academy to learn directly from experts. We embrace a broad definition of what it means to lead an academic life, and are inspired by today’s knowledge-producers working inside and outside the academy. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices Support our show by becoming a premium member! https://newbooksnetwork.supportingcast.fm/academic-life

Why did thousands of workers at prestigious universities in the United States go on strike in 2022? How did we get to this historic moment, and is it really over? This episode explores: The myriad ways universities can wield power over workers and even their families. Why university workers are divided into different unions—and why some have no union representation at all. How inflation, student debt, housing shortages, health insurance access, and the constriction of the tenure-track put unbearable pressure graduate students, adjuncts, and instructors. The limitations of sympathy strikes. How higher education became a gig economy. Why this generation of students and their parents have more power to change academic inequality than they may realize. Our guest is: Trevor Griffey is a Lecturer in U.S. History at UC Irvine and in Labor Studies at UCLA. He is co-founder of the Seattle Civil Rights and Labor History Project, and co-editor of the book Black Power at Work: Community Control, Affirmative Actiton and the Construction Industry (Cornell University Press, 2010). He currently serves as the Vice President of Legislation for the University Council-American Federation of Teachers (UC-AFT), which represents non-Senate faculty and librarians in the University of California system. Our host is: Dr. Christina Gessler, a historian of women and gender. Listeners to this episode may also be interested in: This podcast on dealing with structural inequalities in the tenure pipeline This podcast with the AAUP on how the demise of the tenure system is hurting students, professors, and academic freedom The podcast on one professor's long road to the dream job in academia The Gig Academy: Mapping Labor in the Neoliberal University by Adrianna Kezar, Tom DePaola, And Daniel T. Scott State of the Union: A Century of American Labor - Revised and Expanded Edition, by Nelson Lichtenstein Nelson Lichtenstein's piece about the UC Strike in Dissent Magazine This LA Times article, which is one of many pieces in recent years about how graduate students and adjuncts cannot afford housing The Guardian's article on firings of graduate student strikers in 2020 For teaching US labor and social history, this resource which is free and available online (free registration): https://wba.ashpcml.org/  Welcome to the Academic Life! On the Academic Life channel we are inspired and informed by today’s knowledge-producers, working inside and outside the academy. Missed any of our episodes? You’ll find over 130 of the Academic Life podcast episodes archived and freely available to you on the New Books Network website. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices Support our show by becoming a premium member! https://newbooksnetwork.supportingcast.fm/academic-life

Why are women judged for their size? What if you decided that you had the right to remain fat? This episode explores: Our born desire to like ourselves as we are. How we get shamed out of that at such a young age, and so very quickly. How hard it is to re-learn how to like yourself. Why our cultural commitment to fat-phobia harms us all. A Discussion of the book You Have the Right To Remain Fat. Our guest is: Virgie Tovar, who is an author, activist, and a lecturer on weight-based discrimination and body image. She holds a Master's degree in Sexuality Studies with a focus on the intersections of body size, race and gender. She edited the anthology Hot & Heavy: Fierce Fat Girls on Life, Love and Fashion (Seal Press, November 2012), is the author of You Have the Right to Remain Fat (Feminist Press August 2018), The Self-Love Revolution: Radical Body Positivity for Girls of Color (New Harbinger Publications 2020), and The Body Positive Journal (Chronicle Books 2022). She has received three San Francisco Arts Commission Individual Artist Commissions as well as Yale's Poynter Fellowship in Journalism. Our host is: Dr. Christina Gessler, a historian of women and gender. Listeners to this episode may also be interested in: Fatty Fatty Boom Boom, by Rabia Chaudry What We Don’t Talk About When We Talk About Fat, by Aubrey Gordon Belly of the Beast: The Politics of Anti-Fatness, by Da’Shaun L. Harrison Fearing the Black Body: The Racial Origins of Fat Phobia, by Sabrina Strings The Body is Not An Apology, Second Edition, by Sonya Renee Taylor Welcome to The Academic Life! On the Academic Life channel we embrace a broad definition of what it means to lead an academic life. We view education as a transformative human endeavor and are inspired by today’s knowledge-producers working inside and outside the academy. Find us on Twitter: @AcademicLifeNBN. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices Support our show by becoming a premium member! https://newbooksnetwork.supportingcast.fm/academic-life

What is the feeling of archival kismet? And how can we reimagine the format of academic conferences to better support scholars? This episode explores: The complex feelings of finding unexpected things in an archive. Why using conference presentations as openings for scholarly conversations is important. How Dr. Thompson founded an online conference during the pandemic, and her future plans for Archival Kismet. What can make online conferences more inclusive and inexpensive. Tips for feeling comfortable presenting online, even when things go wrong. Our guest is: Dr. Courtney Thompson, who is an associate history professor at Mississippi State University, and the founder of Archival Kismet online conferences. Her research and teaching interests are centered in the history of nineteenth-century American medicine; medical humanities; history of the mind and body; history of women, gender, and sexuality; feminist science studies; history of emotions; visual culture; science and crime; psychiatry and mental illness. Our host is: Dr. Christina Gessler, a historian of women and gender. Listeners to this episode may also be interested in: The Archival Kismet Conference page This podcast on making the most of an academic conference This podcast on getting started on your research The Chronicle of Higher Ed article “How to Make the Most of a Virtual Conference” The Chronicle of Higher Ed article “How To Cope With Presentation Anxiety” The Research Companion: A Practical Guide, by Petra Boynton The Art of Creative Research, by Philip Gerald How to Read a History Book: The Hidden History of History, by Marshall Poe Where Research Begins, by Thomas Mullaney and Christopher Rea Welcome to The Academic Life! On the Academic Life channel we embrace a broad definition of what it means to lead an academic life. We view education as a transformative human endeavor and are inspired by today’s knowledge-producers working inside and outside the academy. Find us on Twitter: @AcademicLifeNBN. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices Support our show by becoming a premium member! https://newbooksnetwork.supportingcast.fm/academic-life

Why do we feel the need to belong, and what happens when we don’t? This episode explores: What it takes to belong. Why it physically hurts to be excluded. How perspective-gathering can help create more inclusion. A Discussion of the book Belonging: The Science of Creating Connection and Bridging Divides. Today’s book is: Belonging: The Science of Creating Connection and Bridging Divides, by Dr. Geoffrey Cohen, which explores how we became so alienated from one another, the physical and emotional costs of exclusion, and what we can do to create belonging even in polarized times. Dr. Cohen applies his and others’ groundbreaking research to offer solutions for improving daily life at work, in school, in our homes, and in our communities. We all feel a deep need to belong, but most of us don’t fully appreciate that need in others. Small acts of connection such as reflecting on our core values, and a suite of practices that Cohen defines as “situation-crafting,” can lessen polarization, improve performance in school and work, and unleash the potential in ourselves and in our relationships. Our guest is: Professor Geoffrey Cohen, whose research examines processes that shape people's sense of belonging and self and implications for social problems. He studies the big and small threats to belonging and self-integrity that people encounter in school, work, and health care settings, and strategies to create more inclusive spaces for people from all walks of life. He believes that the development of psychological theory is facilitated not only by descriptive and observational research but by theory-driven intervention. He has long been inspired by Kurt Lewin's quip, "The best way to try to understand something is to try to change it." Our host is: Dr. Christina Gessler, a historian of women and gender. Listeners to this episode may also be interested in: Brady, S. T., Cohen, G. L., Jarvis, S. N., & Walton, G. M. (2020). A brief social-belonging intervention in college improves adult outcomes for black Americans. Science Advances, 6(18), eaay3689. Connor, Alice. How To Human: An Incomplete Manual for Living in a Mess-up World. Frank Martela, A Wonderful Life: Insights on Finding a Meaningful Existence. Milam, L. A., Cohen, G. L., Mueller, C., & Salles, A. (2019). Stereotype threat and working memory among surgical residents (vol 216, pg 824, 2018). American Journal of Surgery, 218(3), 668. Welcome to The Academic Life! On the Academic Life channel we embrace a broad definition of what it means to lead an academic life. We view education as a transformative human endeavor and are inspired by today’s knowledge-producers working inside and outside the academy. Find us on Twitter: @AcademicLifeNBN. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices Support our show by becoming a premium member! https://newbooksnetwork.supportingcast.fm/academic-life

Why do so many difficult conversations happen over a school break, a holiday meal, or at an important family event? How can we better prepare ourselves, and start managing our expectations? This episode explores: Ways we can navigate difficult* conversations. Why we can stop trying to have the right answer. Questions to ask ourselves as we set our intentions and our boundaries. How to offer a heads up in advance of divulging surprising news. The importance of chosen families, and of friendship gatherings. Tips for helping others and ourselves, even when things go wrong. *This episode is not applicable for abusive situations. Our guest is: Lindsay Geist, who holds an MDiv and MSW, and is a Licensed Clinical Social Worker. She completed her graduate work at Duke Divinity School and UNC-Chapel Hill (according to Lindsay: “yes, you can go to two rival schools at the same time...as long as you don’t mention it during basketball season!”). She runs her own private practice; and leads trainings on mental health, addressing anxiety, and soul care. Lindsay also co-hosts the podcast, “Not Alone: Conversations on Faith and Mental Health.” Our host is: Dr. Christina Gessler, a historian of women and gender. Listeners to this episode may also be interested in: How We Show Up: Reclaiming Family, Friendship and Community, by Mia Birdsong It’s a Wonderful Life: Insights on Finding a Meaningful Existence, by Frank Martela Tw-eats: Big Feelings and Short Recipes for Those Who Cook and Eat With Love, David K. Smith Set Boundaries, Find Peace: A Guide to Reclaiming Yourself, by Nedra Glover Tawwab This podcast episode on dealing with rejection This podcast on the value of spending time outside This podcast on Cooking and Grief  Welcome to The Academic Life! On the Academic Life channel we are inspired and informed by today’s knowledge-producers, working inside and outside the academy. Find us on Twitter: @AcademicLifeNBN. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices Support our show by becoming a premium member! https://newbooksnetwork.supportingcast.fm/academic-life

When a professor is not who they say they are, what does it take to get them to resign? This episode explores: How an anonymous twitter account and a media investigation helped Ms. Cyca reveal the truth about a professor misrepresenting their identity. Why professors can fail to fully acknowledge all the harm done to the students, staff, and community even after they are exposed. A discussion of the article The Curious Case of Gina Adams: A “Pretendian” Investigation. Our guest is: Michelle Cyca, a former employee at Emily Carr University of Art and Design, who currently works as a freelance writer, editor, and content strategist. For over 15 years she has written for numerous print magazines, digital publications, brands and creators. She is the author of The Curious Case of Gina Adams, and many other articles. Our host is: Dr. Christina Gessler, a historian of women and gender. Listeners to this episode may also be interested in these other articles by Michelle Cyca: Resilience & Reconnection: Stories of Indigenous Parenting, Romper Orange Shirt Day Is Not About Buying Orange Shirts, IndigiNews Learning Cree with My Daughter, Romper Monuments to What? The Tyee Tanya Talaga Is Telling the Stories Canada Needs to Hear, Maclean’s To Honour Lee Maracle’s Life, Read Indigenous Women, The Tyee Resistance 150: Indigenous Artists Challenge Canadians to Reckon with Our History, Chatelaine Welcome to The Academic Life! On the Academic Life channel we embrace a broad definition of what it means to lead an academic life. We are inspired by knowledge-producers working inside and outside the academy. Find us on Twitter: @AcademicLifeNBN. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices Support our show by becoming a premium member! https://newbooksnetwork.supportingcast.fm/academic-life

We all know that academic integrity matters. But do we all agree on what academic integrity really is? Somewhere beyond the nuances and gray areas is blatant cheating. And that’s always wrong . . . but what if your professor asks you to cheat? This episode explores: How well students understand academic integrity. Why Dr. Heng Hartse designed a course that required cheating. What he and his students learned from it. How it feels to cheat, and why some students feel forced to do it. A discussion of the article “What Happened When I Made My Students Cheat.” Our guest is: Dr. Joel Heng Hartse, who teaches at Simon Fraser University. He wrote Sects, Love, and Rock and Roll (Cascade Books, 2010); Dancing About Architecture is a Reasonable Things to Do (Cascade Books, 2022); co-authored with Jiang Dong Perspectives on Teaching English at Colleges and Universities in China (TESOL Press, 2015); and is the author of the article “What Happened When I Made My Students Cheat,” published in Inside Higher Ed (November 9, 2022). Our host is: Dr. Christina Gessler, a historian of women and gender. Listeners to this episode may also be interested in: Intellectual Appetite, by Paul Griffiths “Dishonest Behavior in the Classroom and Clinical Setting: Perceptions and Engagement” by Emily L. McClung and Joanna Kraenzle Schneider “Literacy Brokers and the Emotional Work of Mediation,” by Ligia Ana Mihut, in Literacy and Composition Studies, volume 2, number 1 (2014) Jeffrey Moro’s blog article “Against Cop Shit” The New York Times article on the aftermath of “Harvard cheating scandal” This podcast on learning from your failed research Welcome to The Academic Life! On the Academic Life channel we embrace a broad definition of what it means to lead an academic life. We view education as a transformative human endeavor and are inspired by today’s knowledge-producers working inside and outside the academy. Find us on Twitter: @AcademicLifeNBN. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices Support our show by becoming a premium member! https://newbooksnetwork.supportingcast.fm/academic-life

Need help curating a list of Holocaust books for your students or library patrons? What’s on your shelf? What should be there? This podcast episode explores: The most commonly assigned Holocaust books. Why some of them are books you should never assign. Recommendations for books to assign, read, and share. Gaps in the literature. Gatekeepers of higher education. Susan’s wish-list. Our guest is: Susan Kusel, who is the Library Director at Temple Rodef Shalom in Falls Church, Virginia. She is also an author, a children’s book consultant and a former independent bookstore buyer. She has served on multiple book award committees including the Caldecott Medal and as the chair of the Sydney Taylor Book Award. She is a former board member of the Association of Jewish Libraries. Her debut picture book, The Passover Guest won the Sydney Taylor Book Award. Our host is: Dr. Christina Gessler, a historian of women and gender. Listeners to this episode may also be interested in: Deborah Hopkinson, We Must Not Forget Dita Kraus, A Delayed Life: The True Story of the Librarian of Auschwitz Susan Kusel, The Passover Guest Primo Levi, The Periodic Table Doreen Rappaport, Beyond Courage: The Untold Story of Jewish Resistance During the Holocaust David Safier, 28 Days: A Novel of Resistance in the Warsaw Ghetto Hana Volavkova et al, I Never Saw Another Butterfly: Children’s Drawings and Poems from the Terezin Concentration Camp, 1942-1944 Liza Wiemer, The Assignment Elie Wiesel, Night Susan’s wish list The Blog: The Sydney Taylor Schooze The Association of Jewish Libraries Sydney Taylor Book Award Welcome to The Academic Life! We reach across our mentor network to bring you podcasts on everything from how to finish a project to how to take care of your beautiful mind. On the Academic Life channel we embrace a broad definition of what it means to lead an academic life. We view education as a transformative human endeavor and are inspired by today’s knowledge-producers working inside and outside the academy. DMs us on Twitter: @AcademicLifeNBN. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices Support our show by becoming a premium member! https://newbooksnetwork.supportingcast.fm/academic-life

“I’m burned out” is a familiar phrase in higher ed these days. This episode explores: What burnout is and is not. One scholar’s personal experience with burnout. How higher ed’s culture and the “expectation escalation” encourage burnout. Academic capitalism and its relationship to faculty burnout. The missing voices from the conversation on burnout. Imposter syndrome and how it plays out for women, especially, in the academy. Our guest is: Dr. Rebecca Pope-Ruark, Director of the Office of Faculty Professional Development at the Georgia Institute of Technology. She is the author of Unraveling Faculty Burnout: Pathways to Reckoning and Renewal (Johns Hopkins University Press, 2022) and Agile Faculty: Practical Strategies for Managing Research, Service, and Teaching (The University of Chicago Press, 2017) as well as the coeditor of Redesigning Liberal Education: Innovative Design for a Twenty-First-Century Undergraduate Education (Johns Hopkins University Press, 2020). Our host is: Dr. Dana M. Malone, co-producer and co-host of The Academic Life channel. Dana is energized by facilitating meaningful conversations and educational experiences for folks across the academy and beyond. Dana is the author of From Single to Serious: Relationships, Gender, and Sexuality on American Evangelical Campuses, (Rutgers University Press). Listeners to this episode may also be interested in: This Chronicle of Higher Education article on how to cope with Covid-19 burnout. This Inside Higher Ed article on beating pandemic burnout. The Maslach Burnout Inventory for Educators (MBI-ES). This Academic Life conversation on community building and how we show up. This Academic Life conversation on being well in academia. This Academic Life conversation on finding your people and making meaningful connections. Welcome to The Academic Life! You are smart and capable, but you aren’t an island, and neither are we. We reach across our mentor network to bring you podcasts on everything from how to finish that project to how to take care of your beautiful mind. Here on the Academic Life channel, we embrace a broad definition of what it means to be an academic and to lead an academic life. We view education as a transformative human endeavor and are inspired by today’s knowledge-producers working inside and outside the academy. Wish we’d bring on an expert about something? DMs us on Twitter: @AcademicLifeNBN. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices Support our show by becoming a premium member! https://newbooksnetwork.supportingcast.fm/academic-life

Today’s book is: Where Research Begins: Choosing a Research Project That Matters to You (and the World) (U Chicago Press, 2022) by Thomas S. Mullaney and Christopher Rea, which tackles the two challenges every researcher faces with every new project: “How do I find a compelling problem to investigate—one that truly matters to me, deeply and personally? How do I then design my research project so that the results will matter to anyone else?” This easy-to-follow workbook guides you to find research inspiration within yourself, and in the broader world of ideas. Our guest is: Dr. Thomas S. Mullaney, who is Professor of History at Stanford University and Professor of East Asian Languages and Cultures, by courtesy; the Kluge Chair in Technology and Society at the Library of Congress; and a Guggenheim Fellow. He is the author or lead editor of 7 books and the forthcoming The Chinese Computer—the first comprehensive history of Chinese-language computing. His writings have appeared in the Journal of Asian Studies, Technology & Culture, Aeon, Foreign Affairs, and Foreign Policy, and his work has been featured in the LA Times, The Atlantic, the BBC, and in invited lectures at Google, Microsoft, Adobe, and more. He holds a PhD from Columbia University. Our guest is: Dr. Christopher Rea, who is a literary and cultural historian. His research focuses on the modern Chinese-speaking world, and his most recent publications concern research methods, cinema, comedy, celebrities, swindlers, cultural entrepreneurs, and the scholar-writers Qian Zhongshu and Yang Jiang. At University of British Columbia, he is a faculty member and Associate Head, External of the Department of Asian Studies; former Director of the Centre for Chinese Research; an associate of the Hong Kong Studies Initiative; and a Faculty Fellow of St. John’s College. He co-authored with Tom Mullaney, Where Research Begins: Choosing a Research Project That Matters to You (and the World). Our host is: Dr. Christina Gessler, a historian of women and gender. Listeners to this episode may also be interested in: The Craft of Research, by Wayne Booth et al The Research Companion, by Petra Boynton How to Write a Thesis, by Umberto Eco The Art of Creative Research, by Philip Gerald This podcast on learning from your failed research Welcome to The Academic Life! We reach across our mentor network to bring you podcasts on everything from how to finish a project to how to take care of your beautiful mind. On the Academic Life channel we embrace a broad definition of what it means to lead an academic life. We view education as a transformative human endeavor and are inspired by today’s knowledge-producers working inside and outside the academy. DMs us on Twitter: @AcademicLifeNBN. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices Support our show by becoming a premium member! https://newbooksnetwork.supportingcast.fm/academic-life

You’re going to an academic conference—and maybe even presenting a project! Whether you are going virtually or in person, for the first time or the tenth, presenting or just attending, you want to feel prepared. Are you? This podcast episode explores: Why we need to go to academic conferences. Why it can be difficult to navigate them. How can you get the most of out of it. Our guest is: Dr. Thomas J. Tobin, who is a founding member of the Center for Teaching, Learning, and Mentoring at the University of Wisconsin at Madison. He is an internationally recognized speaker and author on quality in technology-enhanced education. His latest book is Going Alt-Ac: A Guide to Alternative Academic Careers, written with Katie Linder and Kevin Kelly, from Stylus Publishing. You can find him on Twitter @ThomasJTobin and at his website, Thomasjtobin.com. Our host is: Dr. Christina Gessler, a historian of women and gender and an introvert, who has presented in dozens of academic conference, and like many of our listeners, she is still learning how to make the most of an academic conference. Listeners to this episode may also be interested in: The Chronicle of Higher Ed article “How to Make the Most Out of An Academic Conference” The Chronicle of Higher Ed article “How to Make the Most of a Virtual Conference” The Chronicle of Higher Ed article “How To Cope With Presentation Anxiety” This article on The Introverts’ Guide to Speaking Up Quiet: The Power of Introverts, by Susan Cain The Craft of Research, by Wayne Booth et al The Research Companion, by Petra Boynton The Art of Creative Research, by Philip Gerald Welcome to The Academic Life! We reach across our mentor network to bring you podcasts on everything from how to finish a project to how to take care of your beautiful mind. On the Academic Life channel we embrace a broad definition of what it means to lead an academic life. We view education as a transformative human endeavor and are inspired by today’s knowledge-producers working inside and outside the academy. DMs us on Twitter: @AcademicLifeNBN. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices Support our show by becoming a premium member! https://newbooksnetwork.supportingcast.fm/academic-life

How does identity and experience inform your writing? This episode explores: Professor Talty’s journey from community college student to college professor. The importance of supportive mentors and professors. Using identity and experience ethically in fiction and nonfiction. Why finding the right form for your story matters. A discussion of the book Night of the Living Rez. Our guest is: Professor Morgan Talty, who is a citizen of the Penobscot Indian Nation where he grew up. He is the author of the story collection Night of the Living Rez from Tin House Books, and his work has appeared in Granta, The Georgia Review, Shenandoah, TriQuarterly, Narrative Magazine, LitHub, and elsewhere. A winner of the 2021 Narrative Prize, Talty’s work has been supported by the Elizabeth George Foundation and National Endowment for the Arts (2022). Talty is an Assistant Professor of English in Creative Writing and Native American and contemporary Literature at the University of Maine, Orono, and he is on the faculty at the Stonecoast MFA in creative writing as well as the Institute of American Indian Arts. Professor Talty is also a Prose Editor at The Massachusetts Review. He lives in Levant, Maine. Our host is: Dr. Christina Gessler, a historian of women and gender. Listeners to this episode may also be interested in: A Calm and Normal Heart by Chelsea T. Hicks The Removed by Brandon Hobson There There by Tommy Orange Heart Berries by Terese Marie Mailhot The Lesser Blessed by Richard Van Camp Welcome to The Academic Life! We reach across our mentor network to bring you podcasts on everything from how to finish that project to how to take care of your beautiful mind. Here on the Academic Life channel, we embrace a broad definition of what it means to be an academic and to lead an academic life. We view education as a transformative human endeavor and are inspired by today’s knowledge-producers working inside and outside the academy. Wish we’d bring on an expert about something? DMs us on Twitter: @AcademicLifeNBN. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices Support our show by becoming a premium member! https://newbooksnetwork.supportingcast.fm/academic-life

Ever felt uncertain about how to manage the academic mid-career stage? This episode explores: Why the mid-career stage is so important to mid-career faculty. Strategies for taking control of your mid-career advancement plans. Equity issues surrounding women, academic mothers, and faculty of color. The importance of the department chair for mid-career faculty. Being strategic about your mentoring needs in mid-career. Two critical considerations for mid-career faculty developing programs. Our guest is: Dr. Vicki L Baker, author of Managing Your Academic Career: A Guide to Re-Envision Mid-Career (Routledge). Vicki is the E. Maynard Aris Endowed Professor in Economics and Management at Albion College and serves as the Faculty Director of the Albion College Community Collaborative (AC3), Co-Chair of the Economics & Management Department, and instructor for Penn State University’s World Campus. Prior to joining the academy as a faculty member, Vicki worked at Harvard Business School (Executive Education) and AK Steel Corporation. Vicki is the author of 90 peer-reviewed articles, chapters, invited works, and several books. Recognized as a “Top 100 Visionary” in Education by the Global Forum for Education and Learning (20-21), Vicki is at the forefront of innovation and strategy in faculty and leadership development; her goal is to help faculty members and colleges and universities thrive. She earned her PhD (Higher Education) and MS (Management & Organization) from Penn State University, MBA from Clarion University and BS from Indiana University of Pennsylvania. Vicki also holds a certificate in Human Resource Management from Villanova University and is a certified professional in HR from the Society for Human Resource Management. Our host is: Dr. Dana M. Malone, co-producer and co-host of The Academic Life channel. Dana is energized by facilitating meaningful conversations and educational experiences for folks across the academy and beyond. Dana is the author of From Single to Serious: Relationships, Gender, and Sexuality on American Evangelical Campuses, (Rutgers UP). Listeners to this episode may also be interested in: New Directions in Higher Education volume, Bridging the Research-Practice Nexus: Resources, Tools, and Strategies to Navigate Mid-Career in the Academy. Edited by Vick L. Baker and Aimee LaPointe Terosky. The Evolving Faculty Affairs Landscape - a compilation of publications from Inside HigherEd focused on faculty (several focused at mid-career). This Academic Life channel conversation with Vicki Baker on navigating mid-career choices as a faculty member. This Academic Life channel conversation with Laura Gail Lunsford on how to create a mentor network. How to Chair a Department by Kevin Dettmar (Johns Hopkins). Unraveling Faculty Burnout: Pathways to Reckoning and Renewal by Rebecca Pope-Ruark (Johns Hopkins). Welcome to The Academic Life! You are smart and capable, but you aren’t an island, and neither are we. We reach across our mentor network to bring you podcasts on everything from how to finish that project to how to take care of your beautiful mind. Here on the Academic Life channel, we embrace a broad definition of what it means to be an academic and to lead an academic life. We view education as a transformative human endeavor and are inspired by today’s knowledge-producers working inside and outside the academy. Wish we’d bring on an expert about something? DMs us on Twitter: @AcademicLifeNBN. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices Support our show by becoming a premium member! https://newbooksnetwork.supportingcast.fm/academic-life

Welcome to The Academic Life! In this episode you’ll hear about: What inspired Clare Griffin to move far from home. The hidden curriculum of academic relocation. Her research concerns given world tensions and wars. The complexity of taking your pet from country to country. The importance of creating a community. Our guest is: Dr. Clare Griffin, a neuroatypical historian, fiction writer, and mental health advocate who is an assistant professor in the department of history at Indiana University Bloomington. Originally from the UK, her work has taken her to Russia, Germany, and Kazakhstan. Her research focuses on science, medicine, and expertise in the early modern Russian Empire, in particular how those processes intersected with colonialism and globalization. Alongside her academic work, she also publishes fiction and advocacy pieces focused on her experiences of neurodiversity and mental illness. Her new book is Mixing Medicines: The Global Drug Trade and Early Modern Russia.  Our host is: Dr. Christina Gessler, who is the co-producer of the Academic Life. Listeners to this episode may also be interested in: The Eternal Dislocation of Academic Living  Manu Sander’s blog post on academic relocations  Academic Nomad The Long Road to A Dream Job  You are smart and capable, but you aren’t an island, and neither are we. We reach across our mentor network to bring you podcasts on everything from how to finish that project to how to take care of your beautiful mind. Here on the Academic Life channel, we embrace a broad definition of what it means to be an academic and to lead an academic life. We view education as a transformative human endeavor and are inspired by today’s knowledge-producers working inside and outside the academy. Wish we’d bring on an expert about something? DMs us on Twitter: @AcademicLifeNBN. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices Support our show by becoming a premium member! https://newbooksnetwork.supportingcast.fm/academic-life

Welcome to The Academic Life! In this episode you’ll hear about: Why we need to write about difficult topics. Four American towns trying to save themselves. The structural processes behind poverty. A discussion of the book The Fight to Save the Town. Today’s book is: The Fight to Save the Town: Reimagining Discarded America (Avid Reader, 2022), by Michele Wilde Anderson, which examines how decades of cuts to local government amidst rising concentrations of poverty have wreaked havoc on communities left behind by the modern economy. These discarded places include big cities, small cities, rural areas, and historic suburbs. Some are diverse communities, while others are nearly all white, all Latino, or all Black. All are routinely trashed by the media for their poverty and their politics, ignoring how our smallest governments shape people’s safety, comfort, and life chances. For decades, these governments haven’t just reflected inequality—they have helped drive it. But Anderson argues that a new generation of local leaders are figuring out how to turn poverty traps back into gateway cities. Our guest is: Michelle Wilde Anderson, a professor of property, local government, and environmental justice at Stanford Law School. Her writing has appeared in the Stanford Law Journal, Yale Law Journal, California Law Review, New York Times, Los Angeles Times, Chicago Tribune, among other publications. Prior to joining Stanford, she worked as a visiting professor, assistant professor, a research fellow, and an environmental law fellow. She is the Chair of the Board of Directors of the National Housing Law Project and a board member at the East Bay Community Law Center in Oakland. She holds a joint appointment with Stanford’s new Doerr School of Sustainability, and lives with her family in San Francisco. Our host is: Dr. Christina Gessler, who is the co-producer of the Academic Life. Listeners to this episode may also be interested in: On the Line: A Story of Class, Solidarity, and Two Women’s Epic Fight to Build a Union, by Daisy Pitkin Pedagogy of the Poor: Building the Movement to End Poverty, by Willie Baptist and Jan Rehmann How to Live in Detroit Without Being a Jackass, by Aaron Foley Dog Whistle Politics, by Ian Henry Lopez The Miseducation of the Barrio: The School to Prison Pipeline, by Julia Mendoza You are smart and capable, but you aren’t an island, and neither are we. We reach across our mentor network to bring you podcasts on everything from how to finish that project to how to take care of your beautiful mind. Here on the Academic Life channel, we embrace a broad definition of what it means to be an academic and to lead an academic life. We view education as a transformative human endeavor and are inspired by today’s knowledge-producers working inside and outside the academy. Wish we’d bring on an expert about something? DMs us on Twitter: @AcademicLifeNBN. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices Support our show by becoming a premium member! https://newbooksnetwork.supportingcast.fm/academic-life

Welcome to The Academic Life! In this episode you’ll hear about: What inspired Professor Sumner to study wasps. That time she ate a slug. Her grad school research trip to study wasps in the Malaysian rainforest. The complex and varied roles wasps play in the natural world. The importance of approaching the natural world with endless curiosity. Today’s book is: Endless Forms: The Secret World of Wasps, which explores these much-maligned insects’ secret world, their incredible diversity and complex social lives, and reveals how they hold our fragile ecosystem in balance. Everyone worries about the collapse of bee populations. But what about wasps? Deemed the gangsters of the insect world, wasps are winged assassins with formidable stings. But do wasps deserve this reputation? Wasps are nature’s most misunderstood insect: as predators and pollinators, they keep the planet’s ecological balance in check. They are nature’s pest controllers; a world without wasps would be just as ecologically devastating as losing the bees, or beetles, or butterflies.  Our guest is: Seirian Sumner, who is a professor of behavioral ecology at University College London, where she studies the ecology and evolution of social insects. She has published over seventy papers in scientific journals and has received numerous awards for her work, including a L’Oréal-UNESCO for Women in Science Award, a Points of Light Award from the UK prime minister, and a Silver Medal from the Zoological Society of London. She is a fellow and trustee of the Royal Entomological Society and cofounder of the citizen science initiative Big Wasp Survey. Sumner lives in Oxfordshire, England, with her husband and three children. She is the author of Endless Forms: The Secret World of Wasps (HarperCollins, 2022). Our host is: Dr. Christina Gessler, who is the co-producer of the Academic Life. Listeners to this episode may also be interested in: Pests: How Humans Create Animal Villains by Bethany Brookshire Silent Earth: Averting the Insect Apocalypse by Dave Goulson Silent Spring by Rachel Carson City of Sinners by A. A. Dhand S. Sumner et al, “Why We Love Bees and Hate Wasps,” in Ecological Entomology 43 (6): 836-45. Natural History and the Evolution of Paper-Wasps, ed by Stefano Turillazzi and Mary Jane West-Eberhard You are smart and capable, but you aren’t an island, and neither are we. We reach across our mentor network to bring you podcasts on everything from how to finish that project to how to take care of your beautiful mind. Here on the Academic Life channel, we embrace a broad definition of what it means to be an academic and to lead an academic life. We view education as a transformative human endeavor and are inspired by today’s knowledge-producers working inside and outside the academy. Wish we’d bring on an expert about something? DMs us on Twitter: @AcademicLifeNBN. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices Support our show by becoming a premium member! https://newbooksnetwork.supportingcast.fm/academic-life

Is there a strategy to communicating your research online? This episode explores: What an academic communications strategist does. Why having a strategy to your online presence is important. Common misperceptions about communicating online. Lessons learned from an academic communications strategist. The benefits and challenges to being an academic entrepreneur. Our guest is: Jennifer van Alstyne (@HigherEdPR), a communications strategist for professors and researchers. At The Academic Designer LLC, Jennifer helps people share their work effectively in online spaces like websites and social media. The Social Academic blog shares advice about managing your online presence in Higher Education. Jennifer is a Peruvian-American poet with a BA in English from Monmouth University, an MFA in Writing & Poetics from the Jack Kerouac School, and an MA in English from the University of Louisiana at Lafayette. She lives in San Diego, California. Connect with Jennifer on Twitter and LinkedIn. Our host is: Dr. Dana M. Malone, a higher education scholar and practitioner energized by facilitating meaningful conversations and educational experiences. She specializes in college student relationships, gender, sexuality, and religious identities as well as student success and assessment planning. Dana is the author of From Single to Serious: Relationships, Gender, and Sexuality on American Evangelical Campuses, (Rutgers UP). Listeners to this episode may also be interested in: Social Media How To’s Articles about managing your personal website Successes and Setbacks of Social Media: Impact on Academic Life edited by Cheyenne Seymour (Wiley) Social Media for Academics by Mark Carrigan, 2nd edition (Sage) This NBN conversation on how social media has shaped contemporary society. This NBN conversation on theories and practices of social media communication. Welcome to The Academic Life! You are smart and capable, but you aren’t an island, and neither are we. We reach across our mentor network to bring you podcasts on everything from how to finish that project to how to take care of your beautiful mind. Here on the Academic Life channel, we embrace a broad definition of what it means to be an academic and to lead an academic life. We view education as a transformative human endeavor and are inspired by today’s knowledge-producers working inside and outside the academy. Wish we’d bring on an expert about something? DMs us on Twitter: @AcademicLifeNBN. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices Support our show by becoming a premium member! https://newbooksnetwork.supportingcast.fm/academic-life

Welcome to The Academic Life! In this episode you’ll hear about: The hard work of balancing academics and sports when you attend college on an athletic scholarship. Kyle’s original dream for his life after college, and where he is now. Why you need someone to have your back, and who that person has been in Kyle’s life for the last five years. How playing ball in the college off-season for the Savannah Bananas reminded him about the importance of having fun, and what he had liked about the sport as a kid. How learning to dance taught him not to take himself too seriously. Our guest is: Kyle Luigs, who is the pitcher for the Savannah Banana’s professional premier team. He also works as their camp instructor. Kyle attended the University of North Georgia on a baseball scholarship, and graduated in 2021 with a kinesiology degree. From 2018 to 2021, he played summer baseball for the Savannah Bananas on the CPL team. He played his last year of college baseball at Jacksonville State University, while working on a masters in Sports Management. Our host is: Dr. Christina Gessler, who is the co-producer of the Academic Life. Listeners to this episode may also be interested in: Ballparks: A Journey Through the Fields of the Past, Present, and Future, by Eric Enders The Savannah Bananas University of North Georgia baseball This discussion of How to College This discussion about making a meaningful life A Wonderful Life: Insights on Finding a Meaningful Existence, by Frank Martela You are smart and capable, but you aren’t an island, and neither are we. We reach across our mentor network to bring you podcasts on everything from how to finish that project to how to take care of your beautiful mind. Here on the Academic Life channel, we embrace a broad definition of what it means to be an academic and to lead an academic life. We view education as a transformative human endeavor and are inspired by today’s knowledge-producers working inside and outside the academy. Wish we’d bring on an expert about something? DMs us on Twitter: @AcademicLifeNBN. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices Support our show by becoming a premium member! https://newbooksnetwork.supportingcast.fm/academic-life

Welcome to The Academic Life! In this episode you’ll hear about: Why a humanities degree actually opens many career paths. The importance of curiosity. The contingency crisis in higher ed. How we can re-evaluate “academic success.” Advice for students and faculty. Our guest is: Dr. Katina Rogers, the author of Putting the Humanities PhD to Work: Thriving in and beyond the Classroom (Duke University Press, 2020). In 2021, she founded Inkcap Consulting to help universities build more supportive and sustainable graduate programs. Her career has included work at The Graduate Center, CUNY, the Modern Language Association, the Scholarly Communication Institute, and the Alfred P. Sloan Foundation. She has two young kids and a deep frustration with higher education, that is inextricably bound up with hope. She holds a PhD in Comparative Literature from the University of Colorado at Boulder. Our host is: Dr. Christina Gessler, who has effectively used her humanities degrees for interesting jobs both inside and outside the academy. She is the co-producer of the Academic Life. Listeners to this episode may also be interested in: The Mushroom at the End of the World: On the Possibility of Life in Capitalist Ruins, by Anna Lowenhaupt Tsing Imagine PhD, created by the Graduate Career Consortium:  Next Generation Dissertations Inkcap and its resources Get Sorted: How to Make the Most of Your Student Experience, by Jeff Gill and Will Medd Where Research Begins: Choosing A Research Project that Matters to You, by Thomas Mullaney and Christopher Rea Going Alt-Ac: A Guide to Alternative Academic Careers, by Kathryn Linder, Keven Kelly, and Thomas Tobin The Employability Journal, by Barbara Bassot Candid Advice for New Faculty Members, by Marybeth Gasman You are smart and capable, but you aren’t an island, and neither are we. We reach across our mentor network to bring you podcasts on everything from how to finish that project to how to take care of your beautiful mind. Here on the Academic Life channel, we embrace a broad definition of what it means to be an academic and to lead an academic life. We view education as a transformative human endeavor and are inspired by today’s knowledge-producers working inside and outside the academy. Wish we’d bring on an expert about something? DMs us on Twitter: @AcademicLifeNBN. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices Support our show by becoming a premium member! https://newbooksnetwork.supportingcast.fm/academic-life

Welcome to The Academic Life! In this episode you’ll hear about: Why Aaron Basko thinks we are looking at student success backwards. How asking alums why they stayed at a school often tells us more about student needs than asking the students who are withdrawing why they leave. What the “Big Six” for student success is. What two things to evaluate as you decide which college or university will be the right “fit” for you. His advice to parents and incoming students. Our guest is: Aaron Basko, who currently serves as Associate Vice President for Enrollment Services at the University of Lynchburg, in Lynchburg Virginia. With 25 years of experience serving as an enrollment growth specialist and student success strategist for multiple institutions, Aaron has been part of the leadership team that engineered historic growth comebacks at three different colleges and universities. Aaron specializes in creating cross-functional teams for strategic enrollment planning and retention success. A thought leader and author, Aaron has written for The Chronicle of Higher Education, Inside Higher Ed, The Times Higher Education, and the State Department’s Fulbright blog. As a 2015 Fulbright International Education Administrator and capacity building specialist, Aaron also assists institutions with student mobility and international partnership initiatives. Aaron loves to create “a-ha moments” and to help institutions clarify the distinctive voice that will resonate with the right students. Our host is: Dr. Christina Gessler, who holds a PhD in American history. She is the co-producer of the Academic Life. Listeners to this episode may also be interested in: Aaron Basko’s article in Inside Higher Ed on how to attract more liberal arts college students to campus : Liberal arts colleges need new strategies (opinion) “Have We Gotten Student Success Completely Backwards?” and Aaron’s other articles in The Chronicle of Higher Education: Aaron Basko (chronicle.com) This discussion about the college admissions process. Get Real and Get In: How to Get Into the College of Your Dreams by Being Your Authentic Self, by Aviva Legatt This conversation about navigating the ups and downs of student life:  How To Human: An Incomplete Manual for Living in a Messed-Up World, by Alice Connor How to College: What to Know Before You Go (and When You’re There), by Andrea Malkin Brenner and Lara Hope Schwartz This conversation about rejection-recovery and dealing with mistakes You are smart and capable, but you aren’t an island, and neither are we. We reach across our mentor network to bring you podcasts on everything from how to finish that project to how to take care of your beautiful mind. Here on the Academic Life channel, we embrace a broad definition of what it means to be an academic and to lead an academic life. We view education as a transformative human endeavor and are inspired by today’s knowledge-producers working inside and outside the academy. Wish we’d bring on an expert about something? DMs us on Twitter: @AcademicLifeNBN. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices Support our show by becoming a premium member! https://newbooksnetwork.supportingcast.fm/academic-life

Welcome to The Academic Life! In this episode you’ll hear about: How journalist Lisa Selin Davis became interested in tomboys. The questions that arise when we say the word “gender.” The supposed freedoms and limits of being a tomboy. Why manufacturers insist that clothing and toys and décor are “gendered.” A discussion of the book Tomboy: The Surprising History and Future of Girls Who Dare to be Different. Today’s book is: Tomboy: The Surprising History and Future of Girls Who Dare to be Different, which journalist Lisa Selin Davis was inspired to write when her six-year-old daughter first called herself a "tomboy.” She favored sweatpants and T-shirts over anything pink or princess-themed, just like the sporty and skinned-kneed girls Davis had played with as a kid. But "tomboy" seemed like an outdated word, and why use a word with "boy" in it for girls? Where do tomboys fit into our understandings of gender? In Tomboy, Davis highlights the forces behind what we think of as masculine and feminine, delving into everything from clothing to psychology, history to neuroscience, and the connection between tomboyism, gender identity, and sexuality. Davis's deep-dive appreciates those who defy traditional gender boundaries, and the incredible people they become. Our guest is: journalist Lisa Selin Davis, who wrote the novels Belly, and Lost Stars, and the non-fiction book Tomboy: The Surprising History and Future of Girls* Who Dare to Be Different. She has written for the New York Times, Wall Street Journal, Time and many others. Our host is: Dr. Christina Gessler, who holds a PhD in American history. She is the co-producer of the Academic Life. Listeners to this episode may also be interested in: Gender and Our Brains, by Gina Rippon Raising Them, by Kyl Myers A Burst of Light, by Audre Lorde LGBTQ+ Studies channel on NBN Gender Studies channel on NBN This conversation about gender bias in science This discussion of the book Raising Them  You are smart and capable, but you aren’t an island, and neither are we. We reach across our mentor network to bring you podcasts on everything from how to finish that project to how to take care of your beautiful mind. Here on the Academic Life channel, we embrace a broad definition of what it means to be an academic and to lead an academic life. We view education as a transformative human endeavor and are inspired by today’s knowledge-producers working inside and outside the academy. Wish we’d bring on an expert about something? DMs us on Twitter: @AcademicLifeNBN. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices Support our show by becoming a premium member! https://newbooksnetwork.supportingcast.fm/academic-life

Welcome to The Academic Life! In this episode you’ll hear about: The Open Learning Initiative (OLIve) operating out of Central European University. The importance of language related to students experiencing displacement. How our guests center theory-informed practice in their work. Three proposals for opening up the university to promote transformative experiences. Advice to others in the field initiating programs for displaced students. Our guests are: Dr. Ian M. Cook and Dr. Prem Kumar Rajaram, two of the three editors of Opening Up the University: Teaching and Learning with Refugees. Dr. Celine Cantat is also an editor on the volume. Ian M. Cook is Director of Studies at the Open Learning Initiative (OLIve), Budapest located at Central European University (CEU). An anthropologist by training, his work focuses on urban India, environmental justice, access to higher education, and podcasting. He strives to make scholarly practice more collaborative and multimodal. He is part of the Allegra Lab editorial collective. Dr. Prem Kumar Rajaram is Professor of Sociology and Social Anthropology at Central European University and Head of the OLIve unit at the same university. He works on issues to do with race, capitalism, and displacement in historical and contemporary perspective. Our host is: Dr. Dana M. Malone, a higher education scholar and practitioner energized by facilitating meaningful conversations and educational experiences. She specializes in college student relationships, gender, sexuality, and religious identities as well as student success and assessment planning. Listeners to this episode may also be interested in: Our featured book: Opening Up the University: Teaching and Learning with Refugees Refugee Education Initiatives Higher Education Supporting Refugees in Europe Refugees and Higher Education: Trans-national Perspectives on Access, Equity, and Internationalization  You are smart and capable, but you aren’t an island, and neither are we. We reach across our mentor network to bring you podcasts on everything from how to finish that project to how to take care of your beautiful mind. Here on the Academic Life channel, we embrace a broad definition of what it means to be an academic and to lead an academic life. We view education as a transformative human endeavor and are inspired by today’s knowledge-producers working inside and outside the academy. Wish we’d bring on an expert about something? DMs us on Twitter: @AcademicLifeNBN. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices Support our show by becoming a premium member! https://newbooksnetwork.supportingcast.fm/academic-life

Welcome to The Academic Life! In this episode you’ll hear about: How both of today’s guests became involved in higher education in prison. Why this work is personal to them. Funding and representation issues in higher education in prison. The complexities of supporting students who are incarcerated without supporting the carceral system. And a discussion of the Journal of Higher Education in Prison. Our guest is: Dr. Erin Corbett, who earned her doctorate from the University of Pennsylvania, where her dissertation examined the relationship between educational attainment level and post-release employment outcomes for formerly incarcerated people in Connecticut. While pursuing her doctorate, Erin launched a nonprofit that provides not-for-credit, postsecondary level courses in three correctional facilities in Connecticut. She has also taught in correctional facilities in Rhode Island with College Unbound, and guest lectured to incarcerated students in the Iowa through the University of Iowa Liberal Arts Beyond Bars (UI LABB) program. Erin was the Assistant Director for Applied Research at the Institute for Higher Education Policy focusing on federal policy related to the intersection of higher education policy and policy related to educational access for justice-impacted people; and she was the Director of Policy at the Katal Center for Health, Equity, and Justice before transitioning to working with SCEA full time and consulting. Our guest is: Dr. Breea Willingham, incoming Associate Professor of Criminology at UNC Wilmington. Dr. Willingham earned her Ph.D. in American Studies from the State University of New York at Buffalo. As an interdisciplinary scholar, Dr. Willingham’s research examines the intersections of race, gender, higher education, and the injustice system. She is particularly interested in examining Black women’s pathways to incarceration, their experiences with higher education in prison, and providing a platform for Black women impacted by the injustice system to tell their stories. Influenced by her experiences as a sister and aunt of two men serving life sentences, Dr. Willingham’s research also focuses on the societal ramifications of mass incarceration, especially its impact on families. Her work on incarcerated fathers and their children, Black women’s prison narratives, teaching in women’s prisons, and Black women and police violence has been published in academic journals and edited collections. In 2020, Dr. Willingham was appointed Managing Editor of the Journal for Higher Education in Prison, a peer-reviewed journal that publishes on the topics and issues in higher education in prison. Our host is: Dr. Christina Gessler, the co-creator of the Academic Life. Listeners to this episode might also be interested in: The Journal of Higher Education in Prison The Alliance for Higher Education in Prison Ear Hustle, a podcast hosted by persons who are incarcerated at San Quentin  A conversation about the Emerson Prison Initiative Dr. Erin Corbett on Beyond Prisons Abolition. Feminism. Now. edited by Angela Davis et al. Punishment and Society, by Breea Willingham Privilege and Punishment, by Matthew Clair No Mercy Here, by Sarah Haley You are smart and capable, but you aren’t an island and neither are we. We reach across our mentor network to bring you experts about everything from how to finish that project, to how to take care of your beautiful mind. Here on the Academic Life channel, we embrace a broad definition of what it means to be an academic and to lead an academic life. We view education as a transformative human endeavor and are inspired by today’s knowledge-producers working inside and outside the academy. Wish we’d bring on an expert about something? DMs us on Twitter: @AcademicLifeNBN. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices Support our show by becoming a premium member! https://newbooksnetwork.supportingcast.fm/academic-life

Welcome to The Academic Life! In this episode you’ll hear about: Hari Ziyad’s journey through higher education. Why they became editor of RaceBaitr after finishing film school at NYU. The necessary disruption of social norms. The challenges of writing memoir. And a discussion of the book Black Boy Out of Time. Our guest is: Hari Ziyad (he/they), a screenwriter, and the Editor-in-Chief of RaceBaitr. Originally from Cleveland, OH, they currently reside in Brooklyn, NY, and received their BFA from New York University, where they concentrated in Film and Television and Psychology. They are a 2021 Lambda Literary Fellow, and their writing has been featured in the peer-reviewed academic journal Critical Ethnic Studies, among other publications. They are also currently a writer at CBS, and were previously a script consultant on the drama series David Makes Man (OWN), as well as Managing Editor of Black Youth Project, and an Assistant Editor of Vinyl Poetry & Prose. They are the author of Black Boy Out of Time (Little A, 2021) Today’s book is: Black Boy Out of Time, which explores childhood, gender, race, and the trust that is built, broken, and repaired through generations. Memoirist Hari Ziyad investigates what it means to live beyond the limited narratives Black children are given and challenges the irreconcilable binaries that restrict them. Heartwarming and heart-wrenching, radical and reflective, Hari Ziyad’s vital memoir is for the outcast, the unheard, the unborn, and the dead. It offers us a new way to think about survival and the necessary disruption of social norms. It looks back in tenderness as well as justified rage, forces us to address where we are now, and, born out of hope, illuminates the possibilities for the future. Our host is: Dr. Christina Gessler, the co-creator of the Academic Life. Listeners to this episode might also be interested in: Hari’s website Hari’s pieces in Gawker, Out, The Guardian, Huffington Post, Ebony, Mic, Paste Magazine, AFROPUNK The Future is Black: Afropessimism, Fugitivity and Radical Hope in Education, edited by Michael Dumas, Ashley Woodson and Carl Grant This Academic Life episode on memoir and the MFA  You are smart and capable, but you aren’t an island and neither are we. We reach across our mentor network to bring you experts about everything from how to finish that project, to how to take care of your beautiful mind. Here on the Academic Life channel, we embrace a broad definition of what it means to be an academic and to lead an academic life. We view education as a transformative human endeavor and are inspired by today’s knowledge-producers working inside and outside the academy. Wish we’d bring on an expert about something? DMs us on Twitter: @AcademicLifeNBN. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices Support our show by becoming a premium member! https://newbooksnetwork.supportingcast.fm/academic-life

Welcome to The Academic Life! In this episode you’ll hear about: Dr. Laura Portwood-Stacer’s own experience getting her first two academic books published. An overview of different kinds of editors who will be part of shepherding your book to publication. What a developmental editor does. Why might you need to hire one. Her advice to book editors and their clients. Our guest is: Dr. Laura Portwood-Stacer, who is a scholar and academic. She wrote a book based on her dissertation and many scholarly journal articles, including “How To Email Your Professor (Without Being Annoying AF).” She earned a PhD in Communication, with a certificate in gender studies, from the Annenberg School for Communication and Journalism at the University of Southern California. She lives in Los Angeles and, in 2021, I became a two-time Jeopardy champion. She is the author of The Book Proposal Book, and runs her own consulting business for authors. Our host is: Dr. Christina Gessler, who holds a PhD in American history. Listeners to this episode may also be interested in: Stylish Academic Writing, by Helen Sword What Editors Do, by Peter Ginna This podcast about the peer review process This podcast about book proposals, by Laura Portwood-Stacer Information about developmental editing and academic book publishing in general:  These online programs, including a free webinar for scholarly authors on How to Work With a Developmental Editor Information about The Book Proposal Book including free downloads and worksheets Laura’s weekly newsletter with timely tips and resources for scholarly authors You are smart and capable, but you aren’t an island, and neither are we. We reach across our mentor network to bring you podcasts on everything from how to finish that project to how to take care of your beautiful mind. Here on the Academic Life channel, we embrace a broad definition of what it means to be an academic and to lead an academic life. We view education as a transformative human endeavor and are inspired by today’s knowledge-producers working inside and outside the academy. Wish we’d bring on an expert about something? DMs us on Twitter: @AcademicLifeNBN. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices Support our show by becoming a premium member! https://newbooksnetwork.supportingcast.fm/academic-life

Welcome to The Academic Life! In this episode you’ll hear about: Our guests’ career paths at the Smithsonian, their work to help create a new Women’s history museum, collecting BLM materials during protests, creating exhibits just as the pandemic closed the museum, and a discussion of their book on women’s artifacts in the Smithsonian. Today’s book is: Smithsonian American Women: Remarkable Objects and Stories of Strength, Ingenuity, and Vision from the National Collection, a book that offers a unique and panoramic look at women's history in the United States through the lens of ordinary objects from, by, and for extraordinary women. Featuring more than 280 artifacts from 16 Smithsonian museums and archives, and more than 135 essays from 95 Smithsonian authors, this book tells women's history as only the Smithsonian can. Portraits, photographs, paintings, political materials, signs, musical instruments, sports equipment, clothes, letters, ads, personal possessions, and other objects reveal the incredible stories of amazing women such as Phillis Wheatley, Julia Child, Sojourner Truth, Mary Cassat, Madame CJ Walker, Amelia Earhart, Eleanor Roosevelt, Mamie Till Mobley, Dolores Clara Fernandez Huerta, Phyllis Diller, Celia Cruz, Sandra Day O'Connor, Billie Jean King, and Silvia Rivera. Published to commemorate the centennial of the 19th Amendment granting women the right to vote, Smithsonian American Women is a deeply satisfying read and a reflection on how generations of women have defined what it means to be recognized in both the nation and the world. Our guest is: Dr. Margaret A. Weitekamp, who is the Department Chair and Curator of the Space History Department at the Smithsonian National Air and Space Museum. Dr. Weitekamp curates the Museum's social and cultural history of spaceflight collection, and is the author of numerous scholarly articles, and co-edited the ninth volume in the Artefacts series on the material culture of science and technology, Analyzing Art and Aesthetics (Smithsonian Institution Scholarly Press, 2013). She is currently completing a book on social and cultural history of space memorabilia. Our guest is: Dr. Michelle Anne Delaney, who is the Assistant Director for History and Culture of the National Museum of the American Indian. Dr. Delaney manages the Museum's research and scholarship team, and leads the intellectual program development for exhibitions, educational programming, publications, and digital scholarship; and directs strategic internal pan-Smithsonian projects, and external collaborations and university partnerships. An author and editor of several history of photography books, Dr. Delaney has also curated 25 Smithsonian exhibitions and web projects. Our host is: Dr. Christina Gessler, the co-creator and co-producer of the Academic Life. Listeners to this episode might also be interested in: Information in the National Archives about the 19th Amendment  Because of Herstory webpage  National Women’s History Museum website  Information on the 19th amendment from the National Parks Service  The Women’s Museum of California Women’s history resources at the National Museum of American History  You are smart and capable, but you aren’t an island and neither are we. We reach across our mentor network to bring you experts about everything from how to finish that project, to how to take care of your beautiful mind. Here on the Academic Life channel, we embrace a broad definition of what it means to be an academic and to lead an academic life. We view education as a transformative human endeavor and are inspired by today’s knowledge-producers working inside and outside the academy. Wish we’d bring on an expert about something? DMs us on Twitter: @AcademicLifeNBN. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices Support our show by becoming a premium member! https://newbooksnetwork.supportingcast.fm/academic-life

Welcome to The Academic Life! In this episode you’ll hear about: Dr. Ruby Tapia’s viral Cornell sweatshirt tweet. How witnessing domestic violence, and the aftermath of her father’s suicide, influenced her decision to go to college far from home. Difficulties she faced freshman year both on and off campus. The professor who called her in to office hours, and how that changed her academic path. The meaning she’s made of these experiences, and how they changed her. Her hopes for future generation of college students, including her own daughters. Our guest is: Dr. Ruby C. Tapia, who is Chair of the Department of Women's and Gender Studies, and Associate Professor of English and Women's and Gender Studies at the University of Michigan. Her work engages the intersections of photography theory, feminist and critical race theory, and critical prison studies. She is co-editor of Interrupted Life: Experiences of Incarcerated Women in the United States, co-editor of the University of California book series Reproductive Justice: New Visions for the 21st Century, and author of American Pietàs: Visions of Race, Death and the Maternal. Her current book project, The Camera in the Cage, interrogates the intersections of prison photography and carceral humanism and puts forth an argument and methodology for abolitionist aesthetics. She has facilitated creative writing workshops via the Prison Creative Arts Project at Women's Huron Valley Correctional Facility in Michigan, is a member of the Theory Group Think Tank at Macomb Correctional Facility for men and is the lead faculty member of the Critical Carceral Visualities component of the Documenting Criminalization and Confinement project at UM's Humanities Collaboratory. Our host is: Dr. Christina Gessler, the co-producer of the Academic Life. Listeners to this episode may also be interested in: Borderlands, by Gloria Anzaldua Academic Outsider, by Victoria Reyes The Abortionist, by Rickie Solinger Welfare, by Rickie Solinger Ruby Tapia’s Avidly article “What I Was Looking For Was Green” Ruby Tapia’s Avidly article “Never Been A Scared Bitch”  A discussion of Presumed Incompetent You are smart and capable, but you aren’t an island, and neither are we. We reach across our mentor network to bring you podcasts on everything from how to finish that project to how to take care of your beautiful mind. Here on the Academic Life channel, we embrace a broad definition of what it means to be an academic and to lead an academic life. We view education as a transformative human endeavor and are inspired by today’s knowledge-producers working inside and outside the academy. Wish we’d bring on an expert about something? DMs us on Twitter: @AcademicLifeNBN. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices Support our show by becoming a premium member! https://newbooksnetwork.supportingcast.fm/academic-life

Welcome to The Academic Life! In this episode you’ll hear about: Zibby Owen’s experience in grad school of losing her best friend. What she did to regroup and find a way forward after failing a grad exam. How the meaning she’s made of those experiences changed her. Why books and writing are essential to her. Why “overnight” success takes tenacity, adaptability, and a long time. Her passion for publishing, podcasting, and reading. The advice she would have given herself when she was embarking on her educational journeys. Today’s book is: Bookends: A Memoir of Love, Loss, and Literature by Zibby Owens. Our guest is: Zibby Owens, who is an author, podcaster, publisher, CEO, and founder of Zibby Owens Media, a privately-held media company designed to help busy people live their best lives by connecting to books and each other. Moms Don’t Have Time To is the home for Zibby’s podcasts, publications (including two anthologies), and communities. Zibby Books is a publishing home for fiction and memoir which she co-founded with Leigh Newman. Her award-winning podcast, Moms Don’t Have Time to Read Books, has been downloaded millions of times. She is a regular columnist for Good Morning America, Katie Couric Media, and Moms Don’t Have Time to Write on Medium. She is the author of Bookends: A Memoir of Love, Loss, and Literature, and lives in New York with her husband and four children. Visit zibbyowens.com and follow her on Instagram @zibbyowens. Our host is: Dr. Christina Gessler, co-producer of the Academic Life podcasts. Listeners to this episode may also be interested in: The Harbus article Zibby wrote about her conflicted feelings about finishing graduate school. The Harbus article Zibby wrote about losing her friend Stacey:  The Harbus article Zibby wrote about not going back to normal:  Bird by Bird: Some Instructions on Writing and Life, by Anne Lamott Still Points North, by Leigh Newman Academic Life Podcast: Being Well in Academia Academic Life Podcast about failing a comp You are smart and capable, but you aren’t an island, and neither are we. We reach across our mentor network to bring you podcasts on everything from how to finish that project to how to take care of your beautiful mind. Here on the Academic Life channel, we embrace a broad definition of what it means to be an academic and to lead an academic life. We view education as a transformative human endeavor and are inspired by today’s knowledge-producers working inside and outside the academy. Wish we’d bring on an expert about something? DMs us on Twitter: @AcademicLifeNBN. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices Support our show by becoming a premium member! https://newbooksnetwork.supportingcast.fm/academic-life

Welcome to The Academic Life! In this episode you’ll hear about: Why Robert Ramaswamy wants to see your revised dissertation submitted for publication. What makes a revised dissertation ready to submit to a press. How to choose mentor texts to put in your proposal. Signs that you might not want to turn your dissertation into a book, and what to do instead. The editorial complexities of saying “no” to a book proposal. And a discussion about the new University of Wyoming Press imprint Our guest is: Robert Ramaswamy (he/they), who has a BA in American studies from Yale University and an MA in American studies from George Washington University, and left a PhD program in American Culture at the University of Michigan ABD. He joined UPC/University of Wyoming Press as acquisitions editor in 2022, after working as an assistant editor for the Ohio State University Press and as an editorial assistant for University of Michigan Press/Michigan Publishing. At UPC/UWyoP, Robert acquires in history, environmental humanities, public humanities, and democracy and the United States. He lives in Ann Arbor, MI with his partner, Anna, two dogs, and eight chickens. Our host is: Dr. Christina Gessler, the co-creator of the Academic Life. Listeners to this episode might also be interested in: Association of University Presses  University of Wyoming Press  On Revision, by William Germano From Dissertation to Book, by William Germano What Editors Do: The Art, Craft and Business of Book Editing, by Peter Ginna A discussion of From Dissertation to Book, hosted by Dr. Dana Malone  A conversation with Mona Hamlin about marketing scholarly books  A conversation with acquisitions editor Rachael Levay  You are smart and capable, but you aren’t an island and neither are we. We reach across our mentor network to bring you experts about everything from how to finish that project, to how to take care of your beautiful mind. Here on the Academic Life channel, we embrace a broad definition of what it means to be an academic and to lead an academic life. We view education as a transformative human endeavor and are inspired by today’s knowledge-producers working inside and outside the academy. Wish we’d bring on an expert about something? DMs us on Twitter: @AcademicLifeNBN. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices Support our show by becoming a premium member! https://newbooksnetwork.supportingcast.fm/academic-life

Welcome to The Academic Life! In this episode you’ll hear about: Ellen Synder-Grenier’s career as a curator and public historian How Henry Street helped its neighbors survive the 1918 pandemic A discussion of the book The House on Henry Street Today’s book is: The House on Henry Street: The Enduring Life of a Lower East Side Settlement, which chronicles the sweeping history of the Henry Street Settlement and its enduring vision of a more just society. Through personal narratives, vivid images, and previously untold stories, Ellen M. Snyder-Grenier chronicles Henry Street’s sweeping history from 1893 to today. From the fights for public health and immigrants’ rights that fueled its founding, to advocating for relief during the Great Depression, all the way to tackling homelessness and AIDS in the 1980s, and into today―Henry Street has been a champion for social justice. Its powerful narrative illuminates larger stories about poverty, and who is “worthy” of help; immigration and migration, and who is welcomed; human rights, and whose voice is heard. Our guest is: Ellen M. Snyder-Grenier, who is an award-winning curator and writer, and principal of REW & Co. She has directed research projects, developed physical and digital exhibitions, and written on the history of New York City—as well the urban centers of Newark and Philadelphia—with a focus on social justice. She is a Fellow of the New York Academy of History. Our host is: Dr. Christina Gessler, the co-creator and co-producer of the Academic Life. Listeners to this episode might be interested in: · The House on Henry Street: The Enduring Life of a Lower East Side Settlement, by Ellen M. Snyder-Grenier The Henry Street website Windows on Henry Street by Lillian Wald The House on Henry Street by Lillian Wald This online journal about gender and the history of medicine This NPR episode about the 1918 pandemic and Covid  The Pandemic Perspectives episodes on the Academic life, such as this one You are smart and capable, but you aren’t an island and neither are we. We reach across our mentor network to bring you experts about everything from how to finish that project, to how to take care of your beautiful mind. Wish we’d bring on an expert about something? DM us on Twitter: The Academic Life @AcademicLifeNBN. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices Support our show by becoming a premium member! https://newbooksnetwork.supportingcast.fm/academic-life

Welcome to The Academic Life! In this episode you’ll hear about: Why the AAUP was formed. Their role in supporting academic freedom. Why the threat to tenure is a threat to higher education. The importance of collective bargaining, and of transparency in academic salaries. Our guest is: Dr. Irene Mulvey, who is a Professor of Mathematics at Fairfield University where she has been teaching for 37 years. She has been fighting to protect academic freedom, to promote shared governance, and to uphold AAUP principles and standards at the campus, state and national level for over 30 years. In 2020, she was elected to a four-year term as President of the AAUP on a platform pledging progress toward making the AAUP an anti-racist organization and dismantling structural racism in all aspects of higher education. Our host is: Dr. Christina Gessler, the co-creator of the Academic Life. Listeners to this episode might also be interested in: The AAUP  The AAUP Foundation Chronicle of Higher Education article on the Adjunct Problem  LA Times editorial about the adjunct crisis in California and how that affects Academic Freedom Statement on academic freedom from the American Federation of Teachers  Academic Life interview with an Adjunct Professor  NBN episode on the future of tenure You are smart and capable, but you aren’t an island and neither are we. We reach across our mentor network to bring you experts about everything from how to finish that project, to how to take care of your beautiful mind. Here on the Academic Life channel, we embrace a broad definition of what it means to be an academic and to lead an academic life. We view education as a transformative human endeavor and are inspired by today’s knowledge-producers working inside and outside the academy. Wish we’d bring on an expert about something? DMs us on Twitter: @AcademicLifeNBN. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices Support our show by becoming a premium member! https://newbooksnetwork.supportingcast.fm/academic-life

Welcome to The Academic Life! In this episode you’ll hear about: Our guest Eric Frans’ career path into, out of, and around higher education Key factors that influenced his decision to pursue employment outside the academy The transition from higher education to a different industry How he plans to use his doctorate in the future His advice to those inside higher ed considering switching to other industries Our guest is: Eric Frans, a career development professional currently working as a Talent Acquisition Manager for PrimePay, a human resources software company. Eric holds a master’s degree in Higher Education Counseling/Student Affairs from West Chester University (WCU) and is pursuing a doctorate in Higher Education Policy, Planning, and Administration from WCU. Eric worked as a career development professional at SUNY Oswego and WCU before moving into his current role at PrimePay. Eric was born in Ghana and raised in Lehigh Valley Pennsylvania. As an undergraduate student, Eric studied psychology at WCU and was highly engaged in campus life; he was a member of the men’s basketball team, a resident assistant, and an orientation leader. Our host is: Dr. Dana M. Malone, a higher education scholar and practitioner energized by facilitating meaningful conversations and educational experiences. She specializes in college student relationships, gender, sexuality, and religious identities as well as student success and assessment planning. Listeners to this episode may also be interested in: Inside Higher Ed article: 7 Steps for Discerning Whether to Leave Higher Ed by Beth Godbee Chronicle article: Many Student Affairs Officials are Considering Leaving the Field Jenny Blake’s Book: Pivot: The Only Move That Matters is Your Next One (Portfolio/Penguin) - https://www.pivotmethod.com/ Dawn Graham’s book: Switchers: How Smart Professionals Change Careers and Seize Success (Harper Collins Leadership) The Academic Life episode: The Self-Care Stuff: Considering Whether to Stay or Drop Out You are smart and capable, but you aren’t an island, and neither are we. We reach across our mentor network to bring you podcasts on everything from how to finish that project to how to take care of your beautiful mind. Here on the Academic Life channel, we embrace a broad definition of what it means to be an academic and to lead an academic life. We view education as a transformative human endeavor and are inspired by today’s knowledge-producers working inside and outside the academy. Wish we’d bring on an expert about something? DMs us on Twitter: @AcademicLifeNBN. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices Support our show by becoming a premium member! https://newbooksnetwork.supportingcast.fm/academic-life

Welcome to The Academic Life! In this episode you’ll hear about: Dr. Karin Lewis’s experience pitching and winning the book bid Karin and the editorial team’s vision for an inclusive and diverse collection The process of working as a team to develop an idea into a book The realities of editing a large volume with many authors Blurring the lines of traditional scholarship with artistic and creative submissions Her advice to other scholars considering editing an established collection Our guest is: Dr. Karin A. Lewis, an associate professor in the Department of Teaching and Learning at the University of Texas – Rio Grande Valley. She teaches educational psychology in the areas of cognition, learning, human development, and adult learning at the undergraduate, graduate, and doctoral levels. Her scholarship explores complexities of identity and agency from a multicultural, social justice perspective via transdisciplinary discourses and collaborative, collective ethnographic methodologies. Dr. Lewis is the Lead Editor for The Kaleidoscope of Lived Curriculum: Learning Through a Confluence of Crisis, 13th Annual Curriculum and Pedagogy Group, 2021 Edited Collection, published through Information Age Publishing. Our host is: Dr. Dana M. Malone, a higher education scholar and practitioner specializing in college student relationships, gender, sexuality, and religious identities as well as student success and assessment planning. Dana first met Karin as a doctorate student at the University of Kentucky when Karin hired her as a graduate TA to teach courses offered through the university’s academic success unit. Dana has always been impressed with Karin’s dedication to students, love of teaching, and the grace with which she moves through the world. Listeners to this episode may also be interested in: Curriculum and Pedagogy Group Edited Collections Journal of Curriculum and Pedagogy About the Curriculum and Pedagogy Group The Academic Life episode on writing a book proposal You are smart and capable, but you aren’t an island, and neither are we. We reach across our mentor network to bring you podcasts on everything from how to finish that project to how to take care of your beautiful mind. Here on the Academic Life channel, we embrace a broad definition of what it means to be an academic and to lead an academic life. We view education as a transformative human endeavor and are inspired by today’s knowledge-producers working inside and outside the academy. Wish we’d bring on an expert about something? DMs us on Twitter: @AcademicLifeNBN. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices Support our show by becoming a premium member! https://newbooksnetwork.supportingcast.fm/academic-life

Welcome to The Academic Life! In this episode you’ll hear about: Why Dr. Marshall Poe left a tenured professorship to create the New Books Network How his own experience with dyslexia inspired his book-talk podcasts, Why he wouldn’t want to go back to being a professor now, Common misconceptions—plus some good advice—about starting a podcast The NBN’s role in democratizing education and in supporting academic presses. Our guest is: Dr. Marshall Poe, who is a historian, writer, podcaster, and editor. He is the founder and editor of the New Books Network, an online collection of podcast interviews with a wide range of nonfiction authors which began as a single channel in 2007 and has since grown into an archived audio library containing thousands of NBN episodes. He has taught Russian, European, Eurasian, and world history at universities including Harvard, Columbia, University of Iowa, and the University of Massachusetts Amherst. Dr. Poe has also authored and edited of a number of books for children and adults. He lives in Northampton, MA. Our host is: Dr. Christina Gessler, the co-creator of the Academic Life. Listeners to this episode might also be interested in: A History of Communications: Media and Society from the Evolution of Speech to the Internet, by Marshall Poe Articles by Marshall Poe in the Atlantic The Grinnell College History Department The Grinnell College podcast channel on the NBN  The Russian and Eurasian Studies channel on the NBN  You are smart and capable, but you aren’t an island and neither are we. We reach across our mentor network to bring you experts about everything from how to finish that project, to how to take care of your beautiful mind. Here on the Academic Life channel, we embrace a broad definition of what it means to be an academic and to lead an academic life. We view education as a transformative human endeavor and are inspired by today’s knowledge-producers working inside and outside the academy. Wish we’d bring on an expert about something? DMs us on Twitter: @AcademicLifeNBN. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices Support our show by becoming a premium member! https://newbooksnetwork.supportingcast.fm/academic-life

Welcome to The Academic Life! In this episode you’ll hear about: Alice Connor’s career as a feminist scholar and a college chaplain How women in the bible have been misunderstood by scholars A discussion of the book Fierce: Women of the Bible and Their Stories of Violence, Mercy, Bravery, Wisdom, Sex, and Salvation Today’s book is: Fierce: Women of the Bible and Their Stories of Violence, Mercy, Bravery, Wisdom, Sex, and Salvation which reveals how women in the Bible aren't shy or retiring; they're fierce and funny and demanding and relevant to 21st-century people. Women in the Bible—some of their names we know, others we’ve only heard, and others are tragically unnamed. In Fierce, Alice Connor introduces these women and invites us to see them not as players in a man’s story—as victims or tempters—nor as morality archetypes, teaching us to be better wives and mothers, but as fierce foremothers of the faith. These women’s stories are messy, challenging, and beautiful. When we read their stories, we can see not only their particular, fearsome lives but also our own. Our guest is: Alice Connor is an Episcopal priest and a chaplain on a college campus. She is the author of Fierce: Women of the Bible and Their Stories of Violence, Mercy, Bravery, Wisdom, Sex, and Salvation. She also wrote How to Human: An Incomplete Manual for Living in a Messed-Up World, and the book Brave: Women of the Bible and their Stories of Grief, Mercy, Folly, Joy, Sex, and Redemption. Alice is also a certified enneagram teacher and a stellar pie-maker. She lives for challenging conversations and has a high tolerance for awkwardness. She lives in Cincinnati with her husband, two kids, a dog, and no cats. Our host is: Dr. Christina Gessler, the co-creator and co-producer of the Academic Life. Listeners to this episode might be interested in: Brave: Women of the Bible and their Stories of Grief, Mercy, Folly, Joy, Sex, and Redemption by Alice Conner How to Human: An Incomplete Manual for Living in a Messed-Up World, by Alice Connor Understanding the Bible, by Stephen Harris Standing Again at Sinai: Judaism from a Feminist Perspective, by Judith Plaskow The Samaritan Woman’s Story: Reconsidering John 4 After #ChurchToo by Caryn A. Reeder Texts of Terror: Literary-Feminist Reading of Biblical Narratives, by Phyllis Trible Sisters in the Wilderness: The Challenge of Womanist God-Talk, by Delores Williams This podcast with Alice Connor about her book How To Human  You are smart and capable, but you aren’t an island and neither are we. We reach across our mentor network to bring you experts about everything from how to finish that project, to how to take care of your beautiful mind. Here on the Academic Life channel, we embrace a broad definition of what it means to be an academic and to lead an academic life. We view education as a transformative human endeavor and are inspired by today’s knowledge-producers working inside and outside the academy. Wish we’d bring on an expert about something? DMs us on Twitter: @AcademicLifeNBN. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices Support our show by becoming a premium member! https://newbooksnetwork.supportingcast.fm/academic-life

Welcome to The Academic Life! In this episode you’ll hear about: Dr. Heather Wagoner’s experience failing her doctoral qualifying exam How she responded as the shame set in What she did to regroup and find a way forward The meaning she’s made of that experience and how it changed her Heather’s advice to advisors and graduate faculty Her advice to students facing a crossroad in their educational journeys Our guest is: Dr. Heather Wagoner, Director of Student Engagement and Campus Life at Virginia Tech. Heather has been a higher education practitioner for almost 20 years, working at institutions including Longwood University, University of South Carolina, and University of Kentucky. She specializes in college student involvement, experience building, communications, strategic planning, and leadership. Heather loves spending time with her little family, listening to musicals, and dancing around the kitchen. She dabbles in academic and creative writing and hopes to use her dissertation “Determined to Make a Difference: A Qualitative Study of College Women Leaders” as a launching point for future articles and conversations. Our host is: Dr. Dana M. Malone, a higher education scholar and practitioner specializing in college student relationships, gender, sexuality, and religious identities as well as student success and assessment planning. Dana first met Heather at University of Kentucky when they were both doctoral students. Dana was and continues to be impressed with Heather’s commitment to students, enthusiasm for her work, and the authenticity she brings to her life. Dana enjoys engaging conversations, delicious food, practicing yoga, and wandering the Jersey shore.  Listeners to this episode may also be interested in: Academic Life Podcast: Being Well in Academia Daring Greatly: How the Courage to Be Vulnerable Transforms the Way We Live, Love, Parent, and Lead by Brené Brown (Gotham Books) Pivot: The Only Move That Matters is Your Next One by Jenny Blake (Portfolio/Penguin) Switchers by Dawn Graham (Amacom) Leaving Academia: A Practical Guide by Christopher L. Caterine (Princeton UP) You are smart and capable, but you aren’t an island, and neither are we. We reach across our mentor network to bring you podcasts on everything from how to finish that project to how to take care of your beautiful mind. Here on the Academic Life channel, we embrace a broad definition of what it means to be an academic and to lead an academic life. We view education as a transformative human endeavor and are inspired by today’s knowledge-producers working inside and outside the academy. Wish we’d bring on an expert about something? DMs us on Twitter: @AcademicLifeNBN. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices Support our show by becoming a premium member! https://newbooksnetwork.supportingcast.fm/academic-life

Welcome to The Academic Life! In this episode you’ll hear about: Why failure is part of the hidden curriculum Why you can’t be creative or innovative without failing [sometimes a lot] How to learn from it, instead of sweeping it under the rug A failure our guest and our host each faced A discussion of the Museum of Failure Our guest is: Dr. Samuel West, a licensed psychologist (cognitive behavioral therapy) with a PhD in Organizational Psychology. His research focuses on creating climates for innovation by encouraging experimentation and exploration. In 2017 he founded the Museum of Failure showcasing over a 100 innovation failures from around the world. The aim of the museum is to stimulate productive discussions about the important role of failure for innovation and to increase organizational acceptance of failure. Our host is: Dr. Christina Gessler, the co-creator and co-producer of the Academic Life. She previously worked in Museum Education at a small museum in New York; and as a PhD student worked for a professor who was a Smithsonian curator. Listeners to this episode might also be interested in: The Museum of Failure The Museum of Broken Relationships The remote control referred to in this podcast The marshmallow candy referred to in this podcast TedTalk on Failing “Mindfully” Podcast on fear and failure Podcast on the role of failure in student success Failosophy: A Handbook for When Things Go Wrong, by Elizabeth Day Dr. Manu Kapur’s work on Productive Failure You are smart and capable, but you aren’t an island and neither are we. We reach across our mentor network to bring you experts about everything from how to finish that project, to how to take care of your beautiful mind. Wish we’d bring on an expert about something? DM us on Twitter: The Academic Life @AcademicLifeNBN. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices Support our show by becoming a premium member! https://newbooksnetwork.supportingcast.fm/academic-life

Welcome to The Academic Life! In this episode you’ll hear about: How the Common got started What is involved in running a literary journal Why grants and institutional support matter so much in the literary arts The importance of finding mentors and building a network How the Common creates community Our guest is: Jennifer Acker , who is the founder and editor in chief of The Common, and author of the debut novel The Limits of the World, a fiction honoree for the Massachusetts Book Award. Her memoir “Fatigue” is a #1 Amazon bestseller, and her short stories, essays, translations, and reviews have appeared in Oprah Daily, Washington Post, Literary Hub, n+1, and The Yale Review, among other places. Acker has an MFA from the Bennington Writing Seminars and teaches writing and editing at Amherst College, where she directs the Literary Publishing Internship and LitFest. She lives in western Massachusetts with her husband. Our guest is: Elizabeth Witte, who is a writer and editor based in western Massachusetts. She is a recipient of the Massachusetts Cultural Council's Artist Fellowships in Poetry and author of the chapbook, Dry Eye (Dancing Girl Press); her work appears in a variety of journals, including Prelude, Word For/ Word, and Denver Quarterly. She is Associate Editor of The Common and directs the journal's education program The Common in the Classroom. Our host is: Dr. Christina Gessler, the co-creator and co-producer of the Academic Life. She is a historian of women and gender. Listeners to this episode might also be interested in: Fatigue, by Jennifer Acker Amherst College The Bennington Writing Seminars https://www.bennington.edu/writing-seminars The Common More about the Common in the Classroom can be found here The Common in the Classroom, The Common Young Writers Program A podcast from The Common magazine on The New Books Network “This is the Place” Amherst College LitFest The Whiting Literary Magazine Prize Learn more about The Alternative Press conversation with co-founder Ken Mikolowski (courtesy of Centre For Print Research, UWE Bristol); and the Press’s Multiple Originals project The Poetry Foundation  You are smart and capable, but you aren’t an island and neither are we. We reach across our mentor network to bring you experts about everything from how to finish that project, to how to take care of your beautiful mind. Wish we’d bring on an expert about something? DM us on Twitter: The Academic Life @AcademicLifeNBN. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices Support our show by becoming a premium member! https://newbooksnetwork.supportingcast.fm/academic-life

Welcome to The Academic Life! In this episode you’ll hear about: Why doing writing and other kinds of retreats are part of the hidden curriculum How taking time for self-care is crucial to doing well at work and at school What a retreat is How to do a retreat at home Ways retreating helps you think and feel better, and the science that proves it Today’s book is: DIY Solo Retreats: A Handbook for Creating Your Space, Setting an Intention and Getting the Self-Care You Deserve, by S. A. Snyder. Whether you need time to decompress, listen for answers to nagging questions, read, write, or recharge your life, a personal retreat might be what you need. But when going away on a retreat is too expensive or just not possible, this handbook helps you create your own retreat. Whether you want to find time to journal, meditate, or tackle that writing assignment, this how-to guide for retreating may just be the book you're looking for. Our guest is: S.A. Snyder, who has been a professional writer for more than 30 years. She has worn hats as a newspaper columnist and reporter, writing instructor, communications manager and consultant, blogger, and book author. With humor and insight, she inspires others through the telling of her own experiences to examine what it means to live a meaningful life. She currently blogs about self-care and random commentary on contemporary life. She is the author of DIY Solo Retreats: A Handbook for Creating Your Space, Setting an Intention and Getting the Self-Care You Deserve. Our host is: Dr. Christina Gessler, the co-creator and co-producer of the Academic Life. She is a historian of women and gender. Listeners to this episode might also be interested in: Atomic Habits, by James Clear Bird by Bird, by Anne Lamott It’s a Wonderful Life, by Frank Martel Make Your Art No Matter What, by Beth Pickens From To-Do to Done, by Maura Thomas This episode on guided meditation This episode on finishing your book when things are going wrong https://newbooksnetwork.com/finishing-your-book-when-life-is-a-disaster This episode on writing a book proposal https://newbooksnetwork.com/the-book-proposal-book Sarah’s website on DIY retreats You are smart and capable, but you aren’t an island and neither are we. We reach across our mentor network to bring you experts about everything from how to finish that project, to how to take care of your beautiful mind. Wish we’d bring on an expert about something? DM us on Twitter: The Academic Life @AcademicLifeNBN. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices Support our show by becoming a premium member! https://newbooksnetwork.supportingcast.fm/academic-life

Welcome to The Academic Life! In this episode you’ll hear about: Dr. Julie Dillemuth’s path through higher ed What led her to try to write for a popular audience, and what helped her learn how to do it Why she writes for children about spatial cognition skills How receiving 82 rejection letters didn’t stop her path to publication A discussion of the books Lucy in the City, and Camilla and the Big Change Today’s books are: Lucy in the City, a picture book about a young raccoon who gets separated from her family one night and has to find her way home. Faced with the challenge of being on her own, Lucy tunes in to her surroundings for the first time and discovers that she can re-trace her steps using smells, sights, and sounds. At its heart, the story focuses on developing spatial thinking, understanding the world around us, and using concepts of space for problem-solving. Our other book today is Camilla and the Big Change, a picture book about the wild boar Camilla and her loyal sidekick Parsley enjoying Spring in the forest. When beavers move in, trees come down as they start building a dam. The path of the river will be forever altered and Camilla does NOT want a pond in the middle of her forest! It's too much change. But when her map-making skills are needed for the pond construction, Camilla comes to understand that change can be good as she works with the entire forest community to draw new maps and look at her home in a whole new way. Both books include a Note to Parents & Caregivers in the backmatter with information about map-making and spatial thinking, and also about adapting to new environments and building community. Our guest is: Dr. Julie Dillemuth, who earned her undergraduate degree at Yale, and went on to earn a PhD in Geography with an Emphasis in Cognitive Science from UC Santa Barbara, where her dissertation focused on how people use maps on small screens (like cell phones) to make navigation decisions, follow routes, and acquire spatial knowledge about their environment. She is the author numerous picture books for children, including Lucy in the City, and Camilla and the Big Change. Our host is: Dr. Christina Gessler, the co-creator of the Academic Life. She and Julie met when they joined the same critique group. They have been friends for nearly a decade. Listeners to this episode might also be interested in: Mapping My Day, by Julie Dillemuth Camilla Cartographer, by Julie Dillemuth The Society of Children’s Book Writers and Illustrators The American Psychological Association’s Press This Academic Life episode on writing and mindfulness This Academic Life episode about writing middle grade novels You are smart and capable, but you aren’t an island and neither are we. We reach across our mentor network to bring you experts about everything from how to finish that project, to how to take care of your beautiful mind. Here on the Academic Life channel, we embrace a broad definition of what it means to be an academic and to lead an academic life. We view education as a transformative human endeavor and are inspired by today’s knowledge-producers working inside and outside the academy. Wish we’d bring on an expert about something? DMs us on Twitter: @AcademicLifeNBN. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices Support our show by becoming a premium member! https://newbooksnetwork.supportingcast.fm/academic-life

Welcome to The Academic Life! In this episode you’ll hear about: How ‘the good life’ makes people disconnected and unhappy Mia Birdsong’s work in community building The intentionality required for creating communities of support The importance of interdependence, vulnerability, accountability, and leaning on each other And a discussion of her book How We Show Up Today’s book is: How We Show Up: Reclaiming Family, Friendship, and Community by Mia Birdsong, in which Birdsong uses research, interviews, and stories of lived experience to explore how showing up—literally and figuratively—points us toward the promise of our collective vitality and leads us to the liberated wellbeing we all want. Our guest is: Mia Birdsong, who was an inaugural Ascend Fellow and faculty member with The Aspen Institute, a New America California Fellow, and Advocate-in-Residence with University of Pennsylvania’s School of Social Policy and Practice. She has been published widely and speaks at conferences and universities across the country. A graduate of Oberlin College, she stays “apocalypse ready” by gardening, keeping bees and chickens, studying herbalism, and occasionally practicing archery. Her children, partner, and chosen family are her home. Our host is: Dr. Christina Gessler, the co-creator and co-producer of the Academic Life. Listeners to this episode might also be interested in: How We Show Up: Reclaiming Family, Friendship, and Community by Mia Birdsong Mia Birdsong’s website Pleasure Activism: The Politics of Feeling Good by adrienne maree brown Beyond Survival: Strategies and Stories from the Transformational Justice Movement, by Ejeris Dixon and Leah Lakshmi Piepzna-Samarasinha, eds. Stamped from the Beginning: The Definitive History of Racist Ideas in America, by Ibram X. Kendi This Academic Life episode about finding mentors and friends You are smart and capable, but you aren’t an island and neither are we. We reach across our mentor network to bring you experts about everything from how to finish that project, to how to take care of your beautiful mind. Wish we’d bring on an expert about something? DM us on Twitter: The Academic Life @AcademicLifeNBN. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices Support our show by becoming a premium member! https://newbooksnetwork.supportingcast.fm/academic-life

A Conversation with Dr. William Germano Welcome to The Academic Life! In this episode you’ll hear about: Important questions to ask yourself before getting started on revising A review of the basic options for the post-defense dissertation Hurdles a manuscript must clear in the scholarly publishing process How voice operates in scholarly writing The importance of book and chapter titles What good writing is and what it does Our guest is: Dr William Germano, professor of English at Cooper Union in New York, where he served as dean of humanities and social sciences for more than a decade. In the years before he joined Cooper Union, he served as editorial director at Columbia University Press and, for almost twenty years, as publishing director at Routledge. He, and the editorial teams he has worked with, have published hundreds of leading scholars in the humanities and the social sciences. Bill Germano is the author of six books, On Revision: The Only Writing that Counts (University of Chicago Press, 2021) and Syllabus: The Remarkable, Unremarkable Document That Changes Everything, coauthored with Kit Nicholls and published by Princeton. Editor, publisher, teacher, writer, he is especially attuned to the problems that academic writers face. Those problems, and practical solutions for them, are the focus of his best-known work, Getting It Published: A Guide for Scholars and Anyone Else Serious about Serious Books (published by Chicago and currently in a third edition) and From Dissertation to Book (also from Chicago and currently in its second edition). Our host is: Dr. Dana Malone, a scholar and practitioner energized by facilitating meaningful learning experiences for students and educators alike. From Dissertation to Book was a valuable recommendation at pivotal moment in her scholarly life, and she is excited to share it with The Academic Life audience. Listeners to this episode might also be interested in: NBN Interview with William Germano for On Revision: The Only Writing that Counts On RevisionNBN Interview with William Germano for Getting it Published: A Guide for Scholars and Anyone Else Serious about Serious Getting It Published On Writing Well: The Classic Guide to Writing Nonfiction by William Zinsser (Quill) How to Write a Sentence: And How to Read One by Stanley Fish (Harper) Bird by Bird: Some Instructions on Writing and Life by Anne Lamott (Anchor Books) You are smart and capable, but you aren’t an island, and neither are we. We reach across our mentor network to bring you experts on everything from how to finish that project, to how to take care of your beautiful mind. Wish we’d bring on an expert about something? DM us on Twitter: The Academic Life @AcademicLifeNBN. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices Support our show by becoming a premium member! https://newbooksnetwork.supportingcast.fm/academic-life

Welcome to The Academic Life! In this episode you’ll hear about: The science that explains our busy minds What mindfulness is The difference between mindfulness and meditation How changing our habits is a small-step by small-step process A discussion of the book Bettter Daily Mindfulness Habits: Simple Changes with Lifelong Impact Today’s book is: Better Daily Mindfulness Habits: Simple Changes with Lifelong Impact Mindfulness by Kristen Manieri. Mindfulness is a powerful tool for staying calm, centered, and steady―but it can be challenging to remember to stay mindful. Better Daily Mindfulness Habits helps practitioners of any level. Rooted in proven habit-building methodology, the book contains 40 practices designed to orient your attention to the present. In as little as a few minutes at a time, it can become easier to practice self-compassion and connect with others, your work, and yourself more mindfully. Our guest is: Kristen Manieri, a certified habits coach as well as a certified mindfulness teacher. Kristen believes that when we actively engage in our growth and evolution, we can begin to live a more conscious, connected, and intentional life. She is the author of Bettter Daily Mindfulness Habits: Simple Changes with Lifelong Impact. Our host is: Dr. Christina Gessler, a historian of women and gender. Listeners to this episode might also be interested in: Atomic Habits by James Clear Tiny Habits by BJ Fogg Create Your Own Calm: A Journal for Quieting Anxiety by Meera Lee Patel The Mindfulness Journal by Worthy Stokes Quick Calm: Easy Meditations to Short-Circuit Stress Using Mindfulness and Neuroscience by Jennifer Wolkin The 60 Mindful Minutes podcasts with Kristen Manieri This discussion of meditation You are smart and capable, but you aren’t an island and neither are we. We reach across our mentor network to bring you experts about everything from how to finish that project, to how to take care of your beautiful mind. Wish we’d bring on an expert about something? DM us on Twitter: The Academic Life @AcademicLifeNBN. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices Support our show by becoming a premium member! https://newbooksnetwork.supportingcast.fm/academic-life

Welcome to The Academic Life! In this episode you’ll hear: Why it is so important to have the conversation about “Equity in Higher Education” and why now is the time to do so What equity means; for whom, and what equity entails in thought and action What it means to perform equity as a routine practice in higher education What makes individuals equity minded Today’s book is: From Equity Talk to Equity Walk: Expanding Practitioner Knowledge for Racial Justice in Higher Education, draws from campus-based research projects sponsored by the AAC&U and the Center for Urban Education at the University of Southern California. The book is a practical guide on the design and application of campus change strategies for achieving equitable outcomes. The authors offer advice on how to build an equity-minded campus culture aligning strategic priorities and institutional missions to advance equity. Our guest is: Dr. Tia Brown McNair, is the Vice President in the Office of Diversity, Equity, and Student Success and Executive Director for the Truth, Racial Healing, and Transformation (TRHT) Campus Centers at the Association of American Colleges and Universities (AAC&U) in Washington, DC. She oversees both funded projects and AAC&U’s continuing programs on equity, inclusive excellence, high-impact practices, and student success. McNair also directs AAC&U’s Summer Institutes on High-Impact Practices and Student Success, and Truth, Racial Healing, & Transformation Campus Centers. McNair currently serves as the project director for several AAC&U initiatives: "Truth, Racial Healing and Transformation Campus Centers," "Strengthening Guided Pathways and Career Success by Ensuring Students Are Learning," and “Purposeful Pathways: Faculty Planning and Curricular Coherence.”  Our host is: Dr. Zebulun R. Davenport, Vice President for Student Affairs, West Chester University. Listeners to this episode might also be interested in: AAC&U’s Committing to Equity and Inclusive Excellence: Campus Guide for Self-Study and Planning.  AAC&U’s Step Up and Lead for Equity: What Higher Education Can Do to Reverse Our Deepening Divides. Five principles for enacting equity by design by E.M. Bensimon, A.C. Dowd, and K. Witham in Diversity & Democracy 19 (1)  Engaging the “Race Question”: Accountability and Equity in U.S. Higher Education, Multicultural Education Series by A.C. Dowd and E.M. Bensimon. (Teachers College Press). Heutsche, A.M. and Hicks, K. (2018). Embedding equity through the practice of real talk. In: A Vision for Equity: Results from AAC&U’s Project: Committing to Equity and Inclusive Excellence: Campus-Based Strategies for Student Success. Washington, DC: Association of American Colleges. You are smart and capable, but you aren’t an island, and neither are we. We reach across our mentor network to bring you experts about everything from how to finish that project, to how to take care of your beautiful mind. Wish we’d bring on an expert about something? DM us on Twitter: The Academic Life @AcademicLifeNBN. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices Support our show by becoming a premium member! https://newbooksnetwork.supportingcast.fm/academic-life

Welcome to The Academic Life! In this episode you’ll hear about: Dr. Bacal professional and academic rejections How success and rejection are part of the same path The importance of having a supportive person or a support system Why rejection is part of the hidden curriculum A discussion of the book The Rejection that Changed My Life  Today’s book is: The Rejection that Changed My Life, featuring interviews with more than twenty-five women, including Keri Smith, Angela Duckworth, and Roz Chast. Rejections don’t go on your résumé, but they are part of every successful person’s career. All of us will apply for jobs that we don’t get or have ambitions that aren’t fulfilled, because that is part of pushing oneself to the next step professionally. While everyone deserves feel-better stories, women are more likely to ruminate, more likely to overthink rejection until it becomes even more painful—a situation that the women in this collection are determined to change, and in so doing, normalize rejection and encourage others to talk about it. Our guest is: Dr. Jessica Bacal is director of Reflective and Integrative Practices and of the Narratives Project at Smith College. She leads programs to help students explore identity and find resilience in community. She also teaches a course called Designing Your Path, which guides students to consider questions like: What is your story? Where have you been and where are you going? What matters to you? What skills do you need to pursue what matters? Before her career in higher education, she was an elementary school teacher in New York City, and then a curriculum developer and consultant. She received a bachelor’s degree from Carleton College, an MFA in writing from Hunter College, and an EdD from the University of Pennsylvania. She lives in Northampton, Massachusetts, with her husband, two children, and two dogs. She is the author of The Rejection that Changed My Life. Our host is: Dr. Christina Gessler, a historian of women and gender. Listeners to this episode might also be interested in: Mistakes I Made at Work, by Jessica Bacal “Things You Didn’t Put on Your Resume” by Joyce Sutphen Dr. Kristin Neff’s website Dr. Kirby’s rejection letter dress Rachel Platten’s Fight Song Grit: The Power of Passion and Perseverance, by Angela Duckworth This conversation about dealing with failure You are smart and capable, but you aren’t an island and neither are we. We reach across our mentor network to bring you experts about everything from how to finish that project, to how to take care of your beautiful mind. Wish we’d bring on an expert about something? DM us on Twitter: The Academic Life @AcademicLifeNBN. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices Support our show by becoming a premium member! https://newbooksnetwork.supportingcast.fm/academic-life

Welcome to The Academic Life! In this episode you’ll hear about: How a devotion to efficiency can become unhealthy Why leisure time (a.k.a. doing nothing) is essential How to reclaim our time and humanity · A discussion of the book Do Nothing: How to Break Away from Overworking, Overdoing, and Underliving Today’s book is: Do Nothing, by Celeste Headlee, which examines how in searching for ways to “hack” our bodies and minds for peak performance, people are working more instead of less, living harder not smarter, and becoming more lonely and anxious. We strive for the absolute best in every aspect of our lives, ignoring what we do well naturally, and reaching for a bar that keeps rising higher. In Do Nothing, Celeste Headlee illuminates a new path to stop sabotaging our well-being, and start living instead of doing. Celeste offers strategies help you determine how your hours are being spent, invest in quality idle time, and focus on end goals instead of mean goals. Our guest is: Celeste Headlee, an award-winning journalist, professional speaker, and author. She is a regular guest host on NPR and American Public Media and a highly sought consultant, advising companies around the world on conversations about race, diversity and inclusion. Her TEDx Talk sharing 10 ways to have a better conversation has over 26 million total views, and she serves as an advisory board member for ProCon.org and The Listen First Project. Celeste is recipient of the 2019 Media Changemaker Award; the proud granddaughter of composer William Grant Still, the Dean of African American Composers; and she is the author of Do Nothing. Our host is: Dr. Christina Gessler, a historian of women and gender. Listeners to this episode might also be interested in: Do Nothing: How to Break Away from Overworking, Overdoing, and Underliving by Celeste Headlee Speaking of Race by Celeste Headlee We Need To Talk: How To Have Conversations That Matter, by Celeste Headlee Laziness Does Not Exist, by Devon Price This conversation about seeking meaning instead of happiness This conversation about the importance of spending time in nature You are smart and capable, but you aren’t an island and neither are we. We reach across our mentor network to bring you experts about everything from how to finish that project, to how to take care of your beautiful mind. Wish we’d bring on an expert about something? DM us on Twitter: The Academic Life @AcademicLifeNBN. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices Support our show by becoming a premium member! https://newbooksnetwork.supportingcast.fm/academic-life