Four Things in My Academic Career I Will Never Apologize For
We need to stop making people feel less than for not conforming to expectations
If you have read my recent article, you know that I have not had an easy time in academia. My thirteen-year career has been fraught with delays, discord, and disappointments.
Along the way, I have wondered what I could have done differently to change the outcome. I have come to accept that whatever errors I have made, the choices that reflect who I am at my core should not be grounds for my exclusion.
1. Studying a non-traditional subject
Russian literature is not a field most people think of when choosing their specialization. Whenever I reveal my discipline, I am met with surprise and the inevitable question: What made you want to study Russian?
The question is fair enough; Russian literature is an unusual choice. But as a woman of color, I have noticed that those comments are tinged not only with curiosity but incredulity.
In my postdoctoral position as a Mellon fellow and in my first appointment as a Visiting Assistant Professor of Russian and Comparative Literature, I was asked by students and colleagues if, in fact, I spoke Russian. Considering I have a…
