It is hard to write while I am crying so this will be short. Plus, everybody else has already written All The Things. I just want to park a short reflection about Freddie Gray, Baltimore and our state of things more broadly. I spent the day yesterday arguing with, well, everybody (it felt like) aboutRead More “It Is Hard To Write While I’m Crying”
Writing About Living: My Corinthian Comments
These are not the kinds of things that academics admit to. That is why I have spent two years tied up in knots about merging my lived experiences with my data. But, even if I didn’t have years of experience working in for-profit colleges I would be closer to recent stories than most. My cousinRead More “Writing About Living: My Corinthian Comments”
Fresh Off The [Digital] Presses
My latest paper is out with ADA: A Journal of Gender, New Media and Technology. This paper began with a discussion on Twitter, transitioned to a blog post here, morphed into an empirical question in comment sections and finally became what it is presently, i.e. a paper about academic capitalism + attention economies + structural marginality.Read More “Fresh Off The [Digital] Presses”
Acknowledgements
It seemed only right that I share my dissertation acknowledgements seeing as how many of you, out there and in here, helped me on this journey. Thank you. ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS There simply is not enough space for me to thank the many people who helped me make it this far but that will not stop meRead More “Acknowledgements”
Forced Context Collapse or The Right to Hide in Plain Sight
There is a whole brand of (mostly digital) journalism that culls social media content for stories. We can argue about the extent to which that is reporting as opposed to search engine optimization but it is fairly safe to say that this is a set of activities happening in the media domain. Almost from theRead More “Forced Context Collapse or The Right to Hide in Plain Sight”
Creating #Havoc at #VCUSOCY
It may surprise you to learn that I live a great deal of my life off-line. I know, I know, hear me out on this fantastical possibility. Recently, I’ve been offline meeting some of the most brilliant scholars across the country and I am beyond pleased to say that I have found a home amongRead More “Creating #Havoc at #VCUSOCY”
When White Men Love Black Women on TV
With Olivia and Fitz and Annalise and Sam it has been noted that there’s a mainstream pop culture revolution happening in the representation of white men in relationships with black women. Has post-racial dating finally trickled down to black women? Are younger people less hung-up on race and more accepting of interracial couples in media?Read More “When White Men Love Black Women on TV”
A Year of Sociology, Higher Ed and Blood-letting
My dear friend and collaborator Audrey Watters writes a massive end of year review on education and technology at her place, Hack Education. I do not share Audrey’s stamina but I have dabbled in end-of-year retrospectives. At the start of 2014, I considered higher education research’s engagement with race theory and racial inequality. Almost ten monthsRead More “A Year of Sociology, Higher Ed and Blood-letting”
Racists Getting Fired: The Sins of Whiteness on Social Media
Having a race is one long math equation. When you speak well and choose the right fork you can be a credit to “your race”. And so, of course, there must be actions that are a debit – a detriment – to one’s race. The list there is long. One can use profanity, wear designerRead More “Racists Getting Fired: The Sins of Whiteness on Social Media”
Riots and Reason
I truly believe that to be a good teacher, a decent writer or a perfunctory scholar one has to concede the limits of evidence, reason, and rationality. It is no wonder I believe that. Evidence, reason and rationality can rarely explain my place in this world. I know the limits even as I try to stretchRead More “Riots and Reason”