CALL FOR PAPERS: #AcademicFreedomSyllabus: Targeted in the Time of Trumpism


Call for Papers

Edited Volume: #AcademicFreedomSyllabus: Targeted in the Time of Trumpism

The subject of academic freedom has a long history, with the Association of American University Professors, as well as scholars in a number of social science, humanities, and legal fields, writing extensively about issues facing faculty in institutions of higher education. What is new is the magnitude and frequency of academic freedom matters at hand, as scholars are increasingly engaging in platforms outside of the traditional realm of journals and books.

In recent years a number of scholars have been attacked for comments they have posted online both related and unrelated to the academic work that they do. Their lives, as well as those of their families, have been threatened with physical violence, including murder and rape. Social media mobs, in particular, have developed sophisticated strategies to overwhelm their targets and cause not only more tangible harm like job loss, but also less acknowledged emotional/psychological harm through threats and intimidation. They immediately overwhelm the universities and colleges where the academic works, hoping that the sound bites resulting in negative publicity will push the institution to remove the targeted scholar. After another one of these incidents late last year, where an academic was targeted online, I tweeted that I would be creating the Academic Freedom Syllabus (#AcademicFreedomSyllabus) in order to help fellow scholars and to educate administration when groups like the alt-right attack us. I asked my colleagues for resources to add to the syllabus and they obliged with an outpouring of resources. I continue to add to the syllabus with one of my main goals being to educate higher education administrators about the orchestrated mob harassment that faculty face and how to provide support, particularly as we share our work in the form of blogs, podcasts, online debates and use mediums such as Twitter, Facebook, and Instagram.

The initial work on #AcademicFreedomSyllabus led to this book project: #AcademicFreedomSyllabus: Targeted in the Time of Trumpism. I am thinking of this edited volume as following in the footsteps of Presumed Incompetent, The Intersections of Race and Class for Women in Academia (2012), edited by Gabriella Gutierrez y Muhs, Yolanda Flores Niemann, Carmen G. Gonzalez, and Angela P. Harris and Written/Unwritten: Diversity and the Hidden Truths of Tenure (2016), edited by Patricia Matthew.

In a similar vein, the focus of this book is on the narratives of those scholars targeted because of activist scholarship that engages subjects such as racism, classism, sexism, heteronormativity, ableism, and xenophobia. These attacks can range from small and large in scope, including classroom complaints about professors who, for example, talk about white privilege to orchestrated attacks on social media using real and fake accounts, and harnessing alt-right groups emboldened in the time of Trumpism. Not all, but many of those who are targeted are also the most marginalized in academia: scholars of color. The Trump administration has buoyed the racism, sexism, heterosexism, and xenophobia that is already present in everyday American society. The Southern Poverty Law Center, for example, notes that there were 1,094 bias incidents reported in the first 34 days of the Trump presidency and neo-Nazi websites like The Daily Stormer have seen greater traffic as well (Potok, 2017). Faculty who are most marginalized and vulnerable in academia are also most likely to teach and research on feminist and anti-racist subjects such as white supremacy, privilege, and relationships of power, the issues that tend to attract attention. When we discuss these subjects both in the classroom and on public platforms, we are the ones most at risk for the mob backlash that social media has made possible. At the same time that institutions of higher ed are increasingly touting diversity and encouraging faculty to engage publicly, they are not adequately prepared to support those who might attract attention from alt-right and even politically moderate individuals and groups. Fear of negative attention and scandal that could bring pressure from legislatures and influence donors can obscure and not prioritize the care that faculty, who, let’s not forget, make up the institution, require. The narratives should reflect upon the impact of these experiences, as well as on how their colleges and universities supported or failed to support them personally and professionally in terms of academic freedom. Scholars from all career stages will be included in the volume.

Story-telling can expose harmful institutional and unjust practices, as well as lead to creative and collective solutions for institutional best practices in supporting faculty who are also likely the most institutionally marginalized. Our institutions need to hear from those affected faculty and work in collaboration to make change. The stakes are high. Academia is changing and for those of us who want to reach the public with our work, we can be in precarious positions. As activist scholars, our work and pedagogy are deeply tied to social justice and equity. Those goals have become “bad words” and they shouldn’t be.

Submission guidelines:

Please submit a three-page abstract to martinezr@missouri.edu and a short bio by May 11, 2018. I will notify you regarding acceptance of your paper by June 15, 2018. I am aim to have contributors submit completed papers by August 17, 2018. I ask that you please submit abstracts/ papers as MS Word documents, double-spaced, using 12-point Times New Roman font, and one-inch margins. The final papers should be between 5,000 to 6,500 words. References should be in APA style.

Editor:
Rebecca Martínez is an assistant professor in the department of Women’s and Gender Studies at the University of Missouri. She identifies as Chicanx/Latinx and as cisgender. Pronouns: she/her

I am reaching out to publishers and have received positive feedback. I will keep all those submitting abstracts informed of the process at every stage.

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