Academic Outsider

To commemorate Asian American and Pacific Islander Heritage Month, this week's review addresses structural inequalities in academia that exclude and disadvantage women of color.

Posted on May 1, 2023 in Reviews of the Month

Academic Outsider: Stories of Exclusion and Hope

Reyes, Victoria. Stanford, 2022
184p bibl, 9781503632998 $14.00, 9781503633681

Reyes (Univ. of California, Riverside), the author of Global Borderlands (CH, Mar’20, 57-2453), is a sociologist, a first-generation Filipino American, and a mother. Moreover, she is also a self-described outsider in the academy, where the norms still privilege white, straight, wealthy, cisgender men. In six personal essays, Reyes uses her experience as a jumping-off point to critique academic structures of knowledge and power, drawing on sociological analysis and women of color feminisms to shape a narrative that goes well beyond memoir. Providing insightful commentary and a fascinatingly diverse reading list in both the text and the endnotes, this volume ends with a call to action to change “how we approach our own and others’ research, teaching, and service” (p. 129), cultivating a community of care within the academy. This is a must-read book for fellow outsiders navigating the labyrinth of academic culture, and for any academic who aspires to challenge inequity.

Summing Up: Essential. Advanced undergraduates through faculty.
Reviewer: M. F. Jones, Brevard College
Interdisciplinary Subjects: Asian and Asian American Studies, Women’s & Gender Studies, Racial Justice
Subject: Social & Behavioral Sciences – Education
Choice Issue: Mar 2023

Academic Outsider

To commemorate Asian American and Pacific Islander Heritage Month, this week's review addresses structural inequalities in academia that exclude and disadvantage women of color.