tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3171291793264659096.post4967381655639742511..comments2023-11-21T05:17:54.342-05:00Comments on From the Annals of Anthroman: Graduating While Black...John L. Jackson, Jr.http://www.blogger.com/profile/05994353364710886605noreply@blogger.comBlogger2125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3171291793264659096.post-44651601066719033532008-07-04T21:48:00.000-04:002008-07-04T21:48:00.000-04:00thanks for the post, winslow. you make some powerf...thanks for the post, winslow. you make some powerful points, especially the one about African vs. West Indian vs. African students. andi fear that you are probably right about the utter pettiness of the academy.John L. Jackson, Jr.https://www.blogger.com/profile/05994353364710886605noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3171291793264659096.post-61103662057153194222008-07-04T18:34:00.000-04:002008-07-04T18:34:00.000-04:00A very interesting post, though all arguments when...A very interesting post, though all arguments when it comes to academia are self-serving. “I did not get into the post-doc program because of x student of color.” “I did not get into the post-doc program because I am a student of color.” I would much rather have students of color getting post-docs and putting up with questions of merit rather than having even less students of color in graduate school but who most consider to have "earned it". This is perhaps a false dichotomy, but right now I do not see any alternatives, short of a glorious colorblind meritocracy that many seem convinced will never happen or that is not worth instating, and yes I am completely aware of the difficulties confronting colorblindness. Besides, graduating while black does not take into account African or West Indian students experiences, which is another can of worms altogether, so it would probably be more accurate to say graduating while being a black American. In any case, between inflated egos, superfluous vocabularies, and useless life-skills, members of the academy are hardly the paragons of virtue that we would hope for, but rather people that are just as petty and snarky as anyone else. If it was not graduating while black, it would be graduating while being the professor’s favorite, or graduating while getting lucky that your PhD got published, or any of the other potential reasons to put down a fellow grad student who competes for funding and prestige.Winslow Robertsonhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/08914945154359674378noreply@blogger.com