SITTING AT THE KITCHEN TABLE: Fieldnotes from Women of Color in Anthropology

Abstract

This text explores the difficulties faced by faculty of color, particularly women of color, in the academy. Building on existing literature on these issues, the authors deploy their experiences in the academy to argue for transformative work to be done in order to make academia—and anthropology in particular—more inclusive.

Diversity Dilemmas and Opportunities: Training the Next Generation of Anthropologists

“…In the 1960s context of counterculture politics and rising civil rights struggles, there were sustained and serious critiques of anthropology from the outside, such as Vine Deloria Jr.'s () Custer Died for Your Sins: An Indian Manifesto , as well as internal critique that called for the radicalization of anthropology's aims and focus (Gough ) and criticized anthropology's involvement with colonialism (Asad ). William S. Willis () wrote of anthropology's racist past and contemporary silences and skirting of issues in “Skeletons in the Anthropological Closet,” and there followed calls to “decolonize anthropology” (Harrison ), a focus on pioneers from historically underrepresented minority groups (Harrison and Harrison ), discussions of what it meant to be a “native” anthropologist (Jacobs‐Huey ), considerations of archaeologists’ role in perpetuating structural violence against native communities (Thomas ) and in reinventing them altogether (Castañeda ), and memoirs and reflections from anthropologists of color (Harrison ; Navarro et al ).…”

Sorrow as Artifact: Radical Black Mothering in Times of Terror—A Prologue

“…In the discipline of anthropology Black women's precarity is palpable (Navarro et al. ; Bolles ). Ours is a discipline that cannot rid itself of the ghosts of the indigenous peoples around the world who haunt its genocidal tendencies.…”

Student Reflective Literacy Practices and the Professional Development of Mexican American Women Post-Secondary Educators

“…Studies indicate that negative teaching evaluations are common for minority women as compared to their White counterparts (Navarro et al, 2013). Therefore, this is an experience that many Mexican American women PSEs may encounter that can invoke feeling silenced.…”