Coalition for Women's Identities
Tuesday, 21 January 2014 - 6:00pm
One of the first things I learned in my graduate preparation program was that the things we were learning in graduate school were things we already knew. Bob DeBard knew he had the attention of the entire class when he dropped those words! If that’s the case, then what are we going to do for two years, and why are we paying for it?! However, he clarified, our graduate program would teach us ways to understand the college experience in a more critical way and apply it in our future work. I think of Bob’s words from years ago whenever the concept of intersectionality comes up in conversation these days.
Intersectionality, as defined by Patricia Hill Collins is “a particular way of understanding social location in terms of crisscross systems of oppression[1].” Given that my program emphasized theory to practice, we spent a lot of time delving into identity theories related to underrepresented people and their practical application to the college students with whom we would work. Though I didn’t study Patricia Hill Collins’ theory of intersectionality in graduate school, learning about the concept post- formal schooling has caused me to have a “duh” moment, similar to the one I experienced years ago in Bob DeBard’s class. Many, if not most, people have multiple aspects of their identity that work in tandem to affect how they interact with the world around them.
You may be asking yourself why I’m relating this story on the SCW blog, about now. I promise, I’m getting to the point!
The concept of intersectionality came up during conversation frequently during the mid-year meeting our directorate held in October. We took the time to re-examine our mission, vision and values, making revisions to the statements to reflect the changing times and the work that we do. (If you missed it, see the blog post on October 17th, 2013) The inherent complexity of intersectionality makes understanding and operationalizing it in our professional work challenging. The Standing Committee for Women wants to meet the needs of all ACPA members who identify as women, however there are not enough resources, human, financial, time or otherwise, to institute programs that meet the needs of every single intersection women may have with other identity groups. However, it’s irresponsible to duck and hide from the nuances that make up our wonderfully complex membership. Upon reflection in the weeks after the mid-year meeting, I didn’t figure out a way to “solve” the problem, but I hope we found a way to at least move in the right direction.
So, if intersectionality is messy and complex, where to start? Back at the source, of course! Thus, this blog serves as an open call for ACPA members to write a reflection on the intersections currently sponsored by the ACPA Standing Committees. The reflections will be hosted on the SCW blog throughout the spring semester for the following intersections:
Women & Men
Women with Disabilities
Women who identify as LGBT
Multicultural Women
Graduate & New Professional Women
Folks who are members of the Standing Committee for Men, Standing Committee for Disabilities, Standing Committee for Multicultural Affairs, Standing Committee for Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual and Transgender Awareness are encouraged to write, but submissions are welcome from anyone who represents the intersections listed above.
The topic of the blog post simply should be related to the intersection of the two identities, and something you are willing to post publicly on the SCW blog. Those interested, please email Vicky Dean, vdean@siue.edu to reserve blog space. Please make sure to include the intersection you plan to reflect on in the subject line of your email. More than one reflection may be published, so please do not hesitate to contact me, or spread the word to a colleague you think may be interested!
*Please know that we recognize that the reflections we listed above do not represent the myriad diverse intersections and identities found in the ACPA membership and beyond. We simply hope to embrace the concept by moving forward with constructs already available to us.