The Academic Life

The Academic Life

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The Academic Life episodes

  • Researching Racial Injustice

    Welcome to The Academic Life. You are smart and capable, but you aren’t an island, and neither are we. So we reached across our mentor network to bring you podcasts on everything from how to finish that project, to how to take care of your beautiful mind. Wish we’d bring in an expert about something? Email us at [email protected] or [email protected]. Find us on Twitter: The Academic Life @AcademicLifeNBN.

    In this episode you’ll hear: about the process of researching a current event, the history of policing in the US, what “defund the police” means, the importance of mentors, challenges of demonstrating safely, and a discussion of the book Hands Up Don’t Shoot.

    Our guest is: Jennifer E. Cobbina, the author of Hands Up Don’t Shoot. She is an Associate Professor in the School of Criminal Justice at Michigan State University. Her primary research focuses on the issue of corrections, prisoner reentry and the understanding of recidivism and desistance among recently released female offenders. Her second primary research area is centered on examining how race, gender, and neighborhood context impact victimization risks among minority youth.Dr. Cobbina’s work appears in a number of top criminology journals, such as Criminology, Justice Quarterly, Crime and Delinquency, Criminal Justice & Behavior, British Journal of Criminology, and Journal of Drug Issues. She currently serves as the co-chair for the ASC Division on People of Color and Crime. She is on the editorial board of the scholarly journals Justice Quarterly, Journal of Crime & Justice, and Sociology Compass: Crime and Deviance Section.

    Your host is: Dr. Christina Gessler, a historian of women, gender, and sexuality.

    Listeners to this episode might be interested in:

    • Alexander, Michelle. The New Jim Crow: Mass Incarceration in the Age of Colorblindness. New York: New Press.
    • Butler, P. Chokehold: Policing Black Men. New York: The New Press.
    • Brunson, Rod K. 2007. “‘Police Don't Like Black People’: African American Young Men's Accumulated Police Experiences.” Criminology &Public Policy. 6:71-102.
    • Jones, Nikki. The Chosen Ones.
    • Norris, Zach. We Keep Us Safe: Building Secure, Just, and Inclusive Communities. Boston, Beacon Press.
    • Rios, V. Punished: Policing the Lives of Black and Latino Boys. New York: NYU Press.
    • Ritchie, A. J. Invisible No More: Police Violence Against Black Women and Women of Color. Boston, MA: Beacon Press.
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      54 min
    • On Writing Well: Feminist Biography-A Conversation with Anya Jabour

      Welcome to The Academic Life. You are smart and capable, but you aren’t an island, and neither are we. So we reached across our mentor network to bring you podcasts on everything from how to finish that project, to how to take care of your beautiful mind. Wish we’d bring in an expert about something? Email us at [email protected] or [email protected]. Find us on Twitter: The Academic Life @AcademicLifeNBN.

      In this episode you’ll hear about: finding elusive primary resources, following the intersections of women’s lives, how to write biography, what to do with the research you can’t fit in your book, and a discussion of the book Sophonisba Breckinridge: Championing Women's Activism in Modern America.

      Our guest is: Anya Jabour, Regents Professor of History at the University of Montana. Her books include Topsy-Turvy: How the Civil War Turned the World Upside Down for Southern Children and Scarlett's Sisters: Young Women in the Old South. She is the author of Sophonisba Breckinridge: Championing Women's Activism in Modern America.

      Your host is: Christina Gessler, a historian of women, gender, and sexuality. She’s run mentor programs, worked in museum education, evaluated history grants for government funded education programs, and taught writing and women’s history. She also decodes the diaries left behind by 19th century New England farm women. She is the co-producer of the Academic Life channel. 

      Support our show by becoming a premium member! https://newbooksnetwork.supportingcast.fm/academic-life


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      1 hr 4 min
    • Getting an MFA and Memoir Writing

      Welcome to The Academic Life. You are smart and capable, but you aren’t an island, and neither are we. So we reached across our mentor network to bring you podcasts on everything from how to finish that project, to how to take care of your beautiful mind. Wish we’d bring in an expert about something? Email us at [email protected] or [email protected]. Find us on Twitter : The Academic Life @AcademicLifeNBN.

      In this episode you’ll hear: about putting your personal story onto the page, choosing between fiction and memoir to find your story’s true voice, getting an MFA, the importance of having a good mentor, navigating the stories of others that intersect yours, creating beauty out of trauma, grief, BLM, and a discussion of the book The Names of All the Flowers.

      Our guest is: Melissa Valentine, author of The Names of All the Flowers. She is a writer from Oakland, CA. She earned her BA from Sarah Lawrence College and her MFA in creative writing from Mills College. She has been a fellow at the San Francisco Writers' Grotto, and her work has appeared in Jezebel, Guernica, Apogee Journal, and others. Her writing has received honorable mention from Glimmer Train, and the Ardella Mills Non-fiction Award. She works as an editor, and currently lives in Brooklyn, NY.

      Your host is: Dr. Christina Gessler, a historian of women, gender, and sexuality.

      Listeners to this episode might be interested in:

      • The New Jim Crow by Michelle Alexander
      • The Fire Next Time by James Baldwin
      • Between the World and Me by Ta Nehisi Coates
      • Create Dangerously by Edwidge Danticat
      • The Purpose of Power by Alicia Garza
      • Dust Tracks On a Road by Zora Neale Hurston
      • Soldier by June Jordan
      • Sister Outsider by Audre Lorde
      • The Source of Self-Regard by Toni Morrison
      • Men We Reaped by Jesmyn Ward
      • "How Racism Makes Us Sick" [TedTalk]
      • "How Childhood Trauma Affects Health Across A Lifetime" [TedTalk]

      • Support our show by becoming a premium member! https://newbooksnetwork.supportingcast.fm/academic-life


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        57 min
      • Research, Whiteness, and Campus Monuments

        Welcome to The Academic Life. You are smart and capable, but you aren’t an island, and neither are we. So we reached across our mentor network to bring you podcasts on everything from how to finish that project, to how to take care of your beautiful mind. Wish we’d bring in an expert about something? Email us at [email protected] or [email protected]. Find us on Twitter: The Academic Life @AcademicLifeNBN.

        In this episode you’ll hear: about getting an MFA in nonfiction, conducting research for your book, confronting your privilege, the fight to remove a campus monument, and a discussion of the book Down Along With That Devil’s Bones.

        Our guest is: Connor Towne O’Neill, the author of Down Along With That Devil’s Bones. He is a graduate of Vassar College, and earned an MFA from the University of Alabama. He teaches at Auburn University, and is a producer on the NPR podcast White Lies.

        Your host is: Dr. Christina Gessler, a historian of women, gender, and sexuality. She specializes in decoding diaries written by rural women in the 19th century, and is the co-creator of The Academic Life podcast series on New Books Network.

        Listeners to this episode might be interested in:

        • The Half Has Never Been Told by Edward Baptist
        • Race and Reunion by David Blight
        • “Applying Critical Race and Memory Studies to University Place Naming Controversies: Toward a Responsible Landscape Policy” by Jordan Brasher, Derek Alderman, and Joshua Inwood
        • “Landscape Fairness: Removing Discrimination from the Built Environment” by Stephen Clowney
        • White Fragility: Why It’s So Hard For White People To Talk About Racism by Robin DiAngelo
        • Memorial Mania by Erika Doss
        • Stony the Road by Henry Louis Gates
        • Nathan Bedford Forrest by Jack Hurst

          Support our show by becoming a premium member! https://newbooksnetwork.supportingcast.fm/academic-life


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          1 hr
        • Gender Bias in the Study of Science

          Welcome to The Academic Life. You are smart and capable, but you aren’t an island, and neither are we. So we reached across our mentor network to bring you podcasts on everything from how to finish that project, to how to take care of your beautiful mind. Wish we’d bring in an expert about something? Email us at [email protected] or [email protected]. Find us on Twitter: The Academic Life @AcademicLifeNBN.

          In this episode you’ll hear: studying the brain, women in STEM, your inner limiter, gender bias in the scientific method, and a discussion of the book Gender and The Brain.

          Our guest is: Gina Rippon, author of Gender and Your Brain. She is a British neuroscientist, feminist, and an honorary professor of cognitive neuroimaging at the Aston Brain Centre, Aston University in Birmingham, England. In 2015 she was made honorary fellow of the British Science Association. Rippon has also sat on the editorial board of the International Journal of Psychophysiology, and is a member of the European Union Gender Equality Network, belongs to WISE and ScienceGrrl, and the Inspiring the Future initiative.

          Your host is: Dr. Christina Gessler, a historian of women, gender, and sexuality. She specializes in decoding diaries written by rural women in the 19th century. She seeks the extraordinary in the ordinary, writes poems about small relatable moments, and takes many photos in nature.

          Listeners to this episode might be interested in:

          • Blakemore, S.J. Inventing Ourselves: The Secret Life of the Teenage Brain.
          • Hines, M. Brain Gender.
          • Jarrett, C. Great Myths of the Brain.
          • Joel, D. and Vikhanski, L. Gender Mosaic: Beyond the Myth of the Female Brain.
          • Matthew D. Lieberman. Social: Why Our Brain are Wired to Connect.
          • Mitchell, K.J. Innate: How the Wiring of Our Brains Shapes Who We Are.
          • Rippon, G 2019. TedX talk: A Gendered World Makes a Gendered Brain: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2s1hrHppl5E
          • Schiebinger, L. The Mind Has No Sex?: Women in the Origins of Modern Science.

          • Support our show by becoming a premium member! https://newbooksnetwork.supportingcast.fm/academic-life


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            1 hr 5 min
          • Introduction to 'The Academic Life' Podcast

            Welcome to The Academic Life. You are smart and capable, but you’re not an island, and neither are we. So, we are reaching across our own contacts – and beyond - to bring you podcasts on everything from how to finish that project to how to take care of your beautiful mind. Want to hear a particular expert or topic? Email your ideas to [email protected] or [email protected] or DM us on Twitter @AcademicLifeNBN.

            In this episode, you’ll hear: our paths to college and graduate school, and the instructive moments along the way, why you might need a mentor (or two or three) to accomplish your goals, and how this channel offers a virtual community for your journey – in, out, or through – academia.

            Your co-host is: Dr. Dana Malone, a scholar and practitioner energized by facilitating meaningful learning experiences for students and educators alike. She loves connecting with kindred academic spirits, like Christina, and collaborating on inspiring projects. When she’s not having engaging conversations on TAL podcast, she writes, teaches, and works with institutions on a contract basis. Her specialty areas include student cultures, the intersection of gender, sexuality, and religious identities as well as student success, assessment and evaluation, and strategic planning. She provides invited talks on her book, From Single to Serious. Dana is also known for kitchen dance parties, wandering the Jersey shore, and crushing hills on her spin bike. Check out more: www.danammalone.com.

            Your other co-host is: Dr. Christina Gessler, a historian. She specializes in decoding diaries written by rural women in the 19th century. She credits her ability to read nearly-illegible things to a childhood spent trying read her dad’s handwriting. In high school she was trained in peer mentor programs; as an undergrad she worked in her campus Writing Center; while pursuing her Ph.D. she developed and ran a Mentor Program for graduate students. She enjoys presenting history in nontraditional forms, like creating photography exhibits about the fields and farms that are no longer in use, and nonfiction poems about the intersection of nature and history. She met Dr. Dana Malone when she interviewed her for an episode on the NBN Gender Channel, and they’ve been friends ever since. Christina supports her work-life balance by taking photos in nature, which you can find at: https://www.facebook.com/themeditationwalks/

            Support our show by becoming a premium member! https://newbooksnetwork.supportingcast.fm/academic-life


            Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.

            47 min

          About The Academic Life

          From the publisher's feed

          A podcast for your academic journey—and beyond! Created and produced by Dr. Christina Gessler, the Academic Life podcast is inspired by today’s knowledge-producers around the world, working inside and outside the academy.

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