Presumed Incompetent: The Intersections of Race and Class for Women In Academia

Presumed Incompetent: The Intersections of Race and Class for Women In Academia

Deena J. González

Foreward, introduction, Part V, to Gabriella Gutíerrez y Muhs, Yolanda Flores-Niemann,et.al.,eds. (Boulder, 8 Col: Utah State University Press, 2012)

The essays in this volume drove me back to one of my favorite books, Spivak’s Outside in the Teaching Machine. As I move ever closer to the “inside”—training as I am for a position as a higher education administrator—I see far more clearly the sheer, utter necessity of testimony, of analysis, of wit, and more, of wisdom from classroom practitioners, from researchers and scholars, wherever we locate ourselves along the spectrum of academic positions. Women of color—guest workers, as so many conceptualize their positions and work—offer a unique and daring perspective. We watch as Sonia Sotomayor must “regret” her wise, womanly remark, feeling aghast as well at what it takes to get the job. We’ve all done it ourselves—in small, less-public forums, or in loud, recorded moments where the only outcome is vilification, misunderstanding, and migration (to another institution). From the congressional chambers through the corridors of the academy, the hallway is lined with regret, horror, and the agonizing need to “set the record straight,” “get this just right,” “fix this race/ethnic/gender/sexuality problem.” We all try to advance or move the dialogue along, knowing what we know, and, for the effort, we often are left with only the reward of internal, organic, empathetic understanding of what it took for Justice Sotomayor to get there.