The second-wave feminist movement crystallized a new politics of personal identity that was fueled by and became inextricably linked to the modern university. On and off campus women organized into groups to press for political and educational rights. Along the way, women discovered that politics and education were both personal and that the achievement of "identity" offered the most direct path to true selfhood and liberation. This conclusion helped forge an enduring bond between higher education and identity group politics that continues to shape American higher education and politics to this day.

No abstract

No abstract

As challenges to graduate education mount, so too have calls for reevaluating the dissertation. This article argues that the dissertation is a critical institution by which knowledge production is disciplined; however, alternative models of credentialing expertise are warranted. We explore the “dissertation dilemma” by explaining that the modern university's legitimacy hinges on the expert authority that the dissertation confers and the social deference that it commands. Next, we discuss shortcomings of the dissertation process, namely that it is supposed to sift out amateurs from experts, which negatively impacts demographically underrepresented doctoral candidates while failing to prevent the overproduction of Ph.D.s. Lastly, we evaluate reform proposals that have emerged as awareness of the challenges with graduate education has grown. We argue that these reform efforts have raised important questions about the university's role in American society that demand serious reflection on the part of stakeholders in and beyond the academy.

No abstract