Mama,
PhD
Price: $19.95
Subtitle:
Women Write about
Motherhood and Academic Life
Author: Elrena Evans and
Caroline Grant, foreword by Miriam Peskowitz
Subject:
Women's Studies /
Education
Paper ISBN 978-0-8135-4318-5
Cloth ISBN 978-0-8135-4317-8
Pages:
288 pages
Publication Date:
July 2008
Praise
for Mama, PhD
"I wish I had this book in the late 1970s when I was a young untenured professor trying to teach five sections of composition and raise a new (adopted) baby. The tales in Mama PhD could have served as a virtual consciousness raising group for me as I toiled away in academia. Happily the book is available today for women trying to balance the pulls of motherhood and career."—Nan Bauer-Maglin, author of Cut Loose: (Mostly) Older Women Talk about the End of (Mostly) Long-term Relationships
“Well-written, personal, insightful and engaging, Mama,
PhD gives an accurate glimpse into the feelings and conflicts that
mothers in academia don't often reveal because such disclosure is felt
to be unprofessional.”—Karen V. Hansen, author of Not-So-Nuclear Families: Class,
Gender, and Networks of Care
“All those sleepless nights and dirty diapers and baby food in your
hair-where's the discursive construction of motherhood when you need
it? It's here, in these smart, funny, poignant essays that struggle to
balance mind and body, to balance body and soul.”—Catherine Newman, PhD, author of Waiting for Birdy: A Year of
Frantic Tedium, Neurotic Angst, and the Wild Magic of Growing a Family
“Through the voices of those who have weathered the storm, Mama, PhD
provides invaluable lessons for young
scholars-both men and women-striving to navigate family and academic
careers."—Robert Drago, author of Striking a Balance: Work, Family, Life
Description:
Every year, American universities publish glowing reports stating their
commitment to diversity, often showing statistics of female hires as
proof of success. Yet, although women make up increasing numbers of
graduate students, graduate degree recipients, and even new hires,
academic life remains overwhelmingly a man's world. The reality that the
statistics fail to highlight is that the presence of women,
specifically those with children, in the ranks of tenured faculty has
not increased in a generation. Further, those women who do achieve
tenure track placement tend to report slow advancement, income
disparity, and lack of job satisfaction compared to their male
colleagues.
Amid these disadvantages, what is a Mama, PhD to do? This literary
anthology brings together a selection of deeply felt personal
narratives by smart, interesting women who explore the continued
inequality of the sexes in higher education and suggest changes that
could make universities more family-friendly workplaces.
The contributors hail from a wide array of disciplines and
bring with them a variety of perspectives, including those of single
and adoptive parents. They address topics that range from the level of
policy to practical day-to-day concerns, including caring for a child
with special needs, breastfeeding on campus, negotiating viable
maternity and family leave policies, job-sharing and telecommuting
options, and fitting into desk/chair combinations while eight months
pregnant.
Candid, provocative, and sometimes with a wry sense of
humor, the thirty-five essays in this anthology speak to and offer
support for any woman attempting to combine work and family, as well as
anyone who is interested in improving the university's ability to live
up to its reputation to be among the most progressive of American
institutions.
About the Authors:
Elrena
Evans received her MFA in creative writing from The Pennsylvania
State University. Her work appears in such journals as Literary
Mama, Brain, Child, Hip Mama, and the anthology
Twentysomething Essays by Twentysomething Writers.
Caroline
Grant is an editor and columnist for Literary Mama. She
holds a PhD in comparative literature from the University of California
at Berkeley.
Visit the Mama, PhD website at http://www.mamaphd.com/
Receive
special offers and book notices by email. Sign up for RU READING?
Price: $19.95
|
