Increasing Access and Equity for First-Generation Scholars in Linguistics

Abstract

This chapter provides information about who first-generation scholars are in the field of linguistics, and the work that the authors have done with their First Gen Access and Equity (FGAE) committee. The authors argue that the field of linguistics needs to do better to recruit and retain first-generation scholars, and to do so linguists need to educate themselves, by reflecting on some of the hurdles that institutions create. The chapter focuses in particular on two main issues the authors have faced in their experiences as first-generation scholars: financial barriers to success and the culture of exclusion. This chapter and the FGAE committee offer tools to start improving and advocating for the first-generation scholar experience, while also creating a supportive community.

Identifying, understanding, and supporting diverse first-generation scholars in linguistics

“…First, we see that it is possible to accompany (Bucholtz et al 2017) and support first-generation scholars as they use the assets that they already possess to navigate the hidden curriculum. Second, we see that the skills that first-generation scholars exemplify and model are compatible with and should be celebrated by the academy (see Freire 1972;hooks 1994;Ladson-Billings 1995;Thomas 2024;and Mantenuto et al 2024 on the importance of ensuring that students' strengths, experiences, and identities are reflected in the structure and functioning of educational institutions). We hasten to add that these practices can be used with mentees from an array of backgrounds, including continuing-generation mentees and mentees marginalized on non-generational axes.…”

“…Morgan observes that faculty in the US are 25 times more likely to have a parent with a doctorate-strikingly, this number doubles for faculty employed at higher-prestige institutions. Rickford (2014) highlights the lack of diversity among linguistics faculty in particular, and as Mantenuto et al (2024) suggest, linguistics curricula do not often nurture a sense of belonging. Consequently, first-generation scholars in linguistics, especially students, labor under conditions of poor representation and social integration, which some may name as impostor syndrome.…”