Introducing a new concept? Start by studying others’ work

Introducing a new concept? Start by studying others’ work

By Riyad A. Shahjahan   When graduate students and early career faculty struggle to clarify an argument, I always give the same advice: find a model to follow. Look for an article, proposal, or dissertation that resonates to help articulate and organize your own ideas. Study how it builds its case, what kinds of evidence it uses, and how it structures its ideas. This is exactly what helped me develop a concept I call decolonial…

Disrupting the academic clock: Menopause, productivity, and power

Disrupting the academic clock: Menopause, productivity, and power

By Kimine Mayuzumi I sit here at my desk, reflecting on my time in a Ph.D. program. I remember sitting at the desk in the corner of my Toronto apartment, writing a poem about how my period affected me physically and mentally. I had to express it – not just out of frustration but also as a way to ritualize my acceptance of the challenge, particularly the severe cramps that kept me from doing anything…