How do you want to show up as a scholar right now? For those of you who are based in the United States, this is a question that you are already facing now or will in the near future.
With each new day, there’s some different assault on higher education by the Trump administration. Perhaps you were one of the scholars impacted by the recent cancellation or suspension of grants by the National Institute of Health. Or your research position at a federal agency was just terminated.
Some of you may be trying to assist your students who are on Fulbright grants, who are currently abroad, who had their stipends frozen by the federal government recently. Worse yet, some of you may be trying to advocate for your international students—especially those students who have been vocal about the ongoing genocide in Gaza—who are now being targeted, harassed, detained, and even facing deportation by ICE.
No matter which way you turn, you are likely to be impacted by this administration’s repressive actions. At the very least, you will be affected by the recent austerity measures that many university administrators are now implementing in response to attacks from the government and pressure from their boards.
I’m sorry to say, but in the near future, you will probably be asked to do even more with fewer resources.
In this 36th episode of the Rise with Clarity Podcast, I want to center today’s discussion on the question of: How do you want to show up as a scholar in this current political moment in the United States?
This can be a complicated question, especially if you are a junior faculty woman of color on the tenure track. To be honest, just surviving the tenure track is hard enough. So rather than telling you what to do—which isn’t my approach or practice as a coach—I’d like to offer you 4 prompts for you to reflect on as you go about learning how to navigate this new reality.
First off, I’m recording this episode on March 28. I’m sure that in the few weeks after this podcast episode drops, there are going to be even more brazen attempts by federal and state governments to control higher ed as well as the response of institutional capitulations to those threats.
Today, I’m going to be talking about a certain repercussion of the roll-back of DEI initiatives.
And before I get into that, I just want to say that this is a complex topic and that I am not an expert in this area by any means. I try my best to learn from scholars and practitioners invested in the scholarship on systemic racism, systems of oppression, and who have invested in equity-centered work. I’m trying to follow scholars who were doing this work well before the sudden proliferation of DEI or EDI offices on college campuses after the murder of George Floyd in 2020.
And on that note, I’d like to recommend an insightful and nuanced conversation that I just listened to between Ethel Tungohan and Angie Beeman on DEI in academia, where they criticize it when it is used as a superficial tool by neoliberal academic institutions to performatively show that they’re caring about diversity without actually making any steps towards structural transformation.
On Cancelling Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion
Now, when I first heard about the “End DEI” portal that was officially launched on the US Department of Education webpage on February 27, I thought it was a joke.
I mean, the URL is actually: enddei.ed.gov.
And let’s be clear what the actual words refer to in the acronym: Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion.
At the top of that web page it says that “Schools should be focused on learning.” And then this is the short text that follows:
“The U.S. Department of Education is committed to ensuring all students have access to meaningful learning free of divisive ideologies and indoctrination. This submission form is an outlet for students, parents, teachers, and the broader community to report illegal discriminatory practices at institutions of learning. The Department of Education will utilize community submissions to identify potential areas for investigation.”
Then there’s a submission form that asks for the submitter’s e-mail, the school’s name, zip code, and a 450-word explanation of the discriminatory practice taking place.
Files such as photos or PDFs can be uploaded as accompanying evidence.
This portal is to report K-12 educators, although I can certainly see it being used to report professors as well. In fact, just recently, some university administrators have called on deans to provide lists of faculty or staff who engage in work related to DEI.
This is disturbing. And it’s a throwback to the McCarthyist tactics of an earlier era.
As someone who was trained in ethnomusicology, who taught undergraduate and graduate courses with titles like “Musics of the World,” “Musics of Asia,” “Interrogating Sound, Music, and Politics,” and even “Cold War in Asia,” I’m pretty sure that I would have been reported on this “End DEI” form that is now on the Department of Education web page.
Why? Because all of my courses centered some elements of diversity, equity, and inclusion. Take for instance a course that I taught for many years—an undergraduate survey course that fulfilled diversity or “world cultures” requirements. And this is from the course description:
“This course will explore a diverse sampling of musical cultures and traditions from around the world. A primary objective of the course is to develop critical and analytical perspectives on music in social and cultural life. Though one unit of study may differ vastly from the next, a number of intersecting themes will emerge in discussions of these heterogeneous musics and their relationship to broader topics and issues—ethnicity, class, gender, religion, politics, identity, etc. This course draws on the interdisciplinary field of ethnomusicology as a way of understanding music in its cultural context and as music performance as a dynamic and meaningful form of human expression.”
Well, I’m out of the academy right now. But if I still were, I don’t know how I could teach this course in a way that wouldn’t be considered “DEI” by today’s administration. Nor would I want to revise the kind of research that I’ve conducted over the years—like the symbolic and galvanizing role that music played in political protests during a dictatorial regime in South Korea.
And maybe that’s the whole point here. The current administration doesn’t want this kind of research or teaching that does not subscribe to the upholding of white supremacy. Nor do they want it from people who look like me.
Or you.
And I know that you are known for doing pioneering or groundbreaking work in your field. You’ve devoted your academic career to studying things like systemic racism, marginalized communities, Black Studies, Latinx studies, LGBTQ studies, Women’s studies, and climate studies. Some of you have changed the landscape of your field with your scholarship.
And now you’re in a position where your research could face significant barriers in the future. Especially if you are applying for federal funding to support that research.
All of those terms or words that I mentioned, by the way—including the word “barriers” are now flagged by the current administration as markers of what they’re labelling as “DEI.” You can check out the New York Times article that lists the close to 200 words/phrases that the federal government has earmarked as problematic words.
Have the phrase “women in marginalized communities” anywhere in your NIH application? That might be enough to flag it as problematic and put it into the rejection pile.
These are words that are being cancelled by the Trump administration. They hope to “disappear them.” And by extension, they hope to cancel—to the extent that it is possible—your research that runs counter to their agenda.
So this is a slight pivot, but what I’d like to do is share an excerpt from Karen Yin’s The Conscious Style Guide: A Flexible Approach to Language that Includes, Respects, and Empowers.
“The truism “Words have power” may strike you as lackluster if you’ve heard it before, but the phrase itself is powerful. It reminds us that we, the users of words, have power. You may not think you have a say in the shape and direction of language, but every time you use a word, you vote to keep it alive, and every time you don’t you vote to let it die. Those with bigger stages and sway have bigger responsibilities to use language consciously, but we all have a say. Few acts are as rewarding as choosing language for inclusion and justice.” (p. 4)
And I would add, by extension, few things are as important as sharing research that employs conscious language, diversity of thought, and critical analysis.
So, this prompts my initial question again of: How do you want to show up as a scholar right now? How do you want to navigate this moment, especially when your institution may have just back-pedaled on their DEI initiatives in an act of pre-emptive compliance?
On the ground, this can translate into funding streams drying up for research that you engage in, the closure of campus offices that were designed for minoritized students that you help, and the surveillance and censure of your course content or your chosen research topics.
So…
Do you strategically pivot your research or your teaching?
Do you engage in creative wordsmithing to revise your grant proposals and plan to move forward with your research agenda?
Do you develop an exit strategy, which possibly involves seeking out academic positions outside of the United States?
Do you proceed as usual, but quietly?
Do you speak up, speak truth to power, and resist—even if it may cost you your job?
Any of these approaches requires a different and strategic mental calculus that only you are best equipped to think through. If you’re an international scholar on a VISA pre-tenure, then your approach is probably going to be significantly different than a distinguished full professor who is a US citizen.
You have to do what is best for your situation.
4 Prompts to Help You Think Through the Question: How Do You Want to Show Up Right Now?
But I do have 4 questions that may help to guide you right now.
1. What are your core values as they relate to you and your research?
For this, have a listen to Episode 19: Clarify Your Core Values as They Relate to Work. You can also come up with an Academic Mission Statement, which is something that Cathy Mazak has talked about. It’s a way of clarifying and articulating your mission and then lining up all of your professional activities so that they are serving this mission.
2. How do you want to stand authentically in your values right now?
This question requires you to have identified your core values, and determine how you want to show up in the academy in relation to those values. Is there a dealbreaker or a point at which you feel you would not be honoring your values? How will you know that? And what will you do about it when that time comes?
3. What would your future self tell you to do right now?
This question requires you to listen to your inner wisdom and to trust this. Leslie Wang has a wonderful podcast episode on unlocking the inner wisdom of your future self.
4. Lastly, how can you build networks of support with other women of color faculty and allies?
I think this is really critical at this time. Building support networks, engaging in community care, and potentially building larger coalitions are investments that will be vital for making it through these dystopian times.
I’m wishing you all strength, fortitude, and resilience. Before I go, I did want to mention three things.
The first is that I will be co-facilitating a hybrid workshop with Dr. Diedra Wrighting on Academic Caregivers. And this will be at the Women of Color in the Academy Conference hosted by Northeastern University and held on May 2. It will be held in person and on Zoom. This year’s conference theme is: Diversity & Truth in the Academy: Preserving Courage, Persistence, and Resilience. Registration is still open for that.
The second thing I wanted to mention is that Karen Yin—author of The Conscious Style Guide—and her partner recently lost their home in the Altadena fires. There is a GoFundMe to help Karen and her partner rebuild after this tragedy.
And lastly, if you are feeling concerned about the current political climate and its impact in higher ed and you would like some support, I’m happy to serve as a sounding board or as a thinking partner as you ponder how to move forward in the academy. I offer 90-minute strategy sessions as well as longer term engagements. You can find that information at my website: RisewithClarity.com.
Thanks so much, everyone. I really appreciate your support.
