Transcript Document

Establishing an
“Intellectual Safe Space”
A panel discussion on the formation and
function of an interdisciplinary scholarly
community for doctoral students
Peter A. Bacevice  Lisa C. Guzman  Danielle K. Molina
Center for the Study of Higher and Postsecondary Education
University of Michigan
Yale Bouchet Conference on Diversity in Education March 30-31, 2007
Goals for Today’s Presentation
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Share our story of creating a scholarly
community to mediate graduate school
challenges
Link these reflections to scholarship on the
graduate experience and scholarly communities
Discuss the ways in which we all resonate with
this topic
Share ideas on how developing scholarly
communities might aid in your graduate
experience
Generate ideas for future research
Bacevice, Guzman, & Molina
(2007)
The Graduate School
Experience
Bacevice, Guzman, & Molina
(2007)
As a Graduate Student…
What are some of the academic
challenges that you have
encountered or expect to
encounter?
What strategies have you used to
mediate these challenges?
Bacevice, Guzman, & Molina
(2007)
Three Graduate School Experiences
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Danielle
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Pete
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Not so subtle cues: who’s “in” and who’s “out”
Faith in your abilities and a sense of belonging
How to ask or not to ask: THAT is the question
Academic grandstanding
Lisa
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Testing boundaries but staying within the lines
Standing to the right on a moving walkway:
watching fast-track students fly by
Finding a safe space between challenge and
support
Bacevice, Guzman, & Molina
(2007)
Challenges to Graduate School
Success
Bacevice, Guzman, & Molina
(2007)
Academic Challenges
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Role-Models: mentoring affects research agendas
and success
Purpose of research: meaningful/ developmental or
to check another accomplishment off the list
(publication, vita, satisfying others’ expectations)
Professional knowledge and skill: ‘feel’, ‘judgment’,
knowing when to act, ability to frame problems,
using new approaches
Frost, 1989; Green & Bauer, 1995; Paglis, Green,
& Bauer, 2006; Pearson, 1996
Bacevice, Guzman, & Molina
(2007)
Organizational Challenges
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Socialization: gaining entry
Structure: social networks
Culture: language of the
discipline
Integration: Commitment to
department and goal of finishing
Identity: sense of belonging
Baird, 1990; Cooke, Sims, & Peyrefitte, 1995;
Corcoran & Clark, 1984; Fields, 1998;
Golde, 2000; Lango, 1995
Bacevice, Guzman, & Molina
(2007)
Psychological Challenges
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Confidence
 Emotional Well-Being
 Stress
 Anxiety
 Coping
Hyun, Quinn, Madon, & Lustig, 2006;
Mallinckrodt & Leong, 1992; Munir &
Jackson, 1997
Bacevice, Guzman, & Molina
(2007)
Add concerns faced specifically by
underrepresented students…
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Lack of mentors from underrepresented groups
 Devaluing of scholarship on race-related topics
 Being stereotyped or encountering prejudice
 Unspoken assumptions about race and status
 Exclusion from scholarly discourse
Carter-Obayuwana, 1995; Cheatham & Phelps, 1995; Chism & Pruitt,
1995; Davidson & Foster-Johnson, 2001; Dowdy, Givens, Murillo,
Shenoy, & Villenas, 2000; Fields, 1998; Gasman, Gerstl-Pepin,
Anderson-Thompkins, Rasheed, & Hathaway, 2004; Lango, 1995;
Steele, 1999; Willie, Grady, & Hope, 1991
Bacevice, Guzman, & Molina
(2007)
Mediating the Challenges of
Graduate School
Bacevice, Guzman, & Molina
(2007)
Blaze Your Own Trail
However…
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Scholarship is a social endeavor in which ideas
grow out of social interaction rituals
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Competitive quest for cultural capital
Community allows scholars to have the power of
ideological influence
Collins, 1998
Bacevice, Guzman, & Molina
(2007)
Find Others to Share the Journey
Yet…
 Students
generally engage with
departmental colleagues
 Students who perceive themselves as
marginalized look for niche groups
Pallas, 2001; Pearson, 1996
Bacevice, Guzman, & Molina
(2007)
Problem with Homogeneous Social
Spaces
 Consensus,
alone, does not advance
knowledge. Too much agreement isn’t
necessarily a good thing (Pfeffer, 1993)
 “Actions that strengthen the community
weaken the scholarship. And actions that
strengthen the scholarship weaken the
community” (Weick, 1983)
Bacevice, Guzman, & Molina
(2007)
Designing Scholarly
Communities that Mediate
Graduate School Challenges
Bacevice, Guzman, & Molina
(2007)
Develop Interdisciplinary
Communities
 Strength
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of weak ties (Grannovetter, 1973)
Gain from the knowledge of others who have
different information than yourself
 Sensemaking
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(Weick, 1995)
Ability to mediate evolving events by drawing
upon diverse perspectives and expertise
“complicate yourself”
Bacevice, Guzman, & Molina
(2007)
Create Intellectual “Safe” Spaces
 Groups
with weak ties are beneficial when
trust is present (Levin & Cross, 2004)
 Create environment where epistemological
experimentation is safe and encouraged
(Pallas, 2001)
 Encourage a sense of belonging:
positively related to persistence,
participation, and engagement (Cooke,
Sims, & Peyrefitte, 1995)
Bacevice, Guzman, & Molina
(2007)
The Story Behind Creating Our
Interdisciplinary Scholarly
Community
Bacevice, Guzman, & Molina
(2007)
The Coordinators
 Team
of 6 Doctoral Students
 Doctoral Students in the Schools of
Business, Information, and Education
 All Members of Weick’s Social Psychology
of Organizing Class
 Each have participated as members of
other homogeneous and interdisciplinary
academic groups (e.g., summer institute,
ICOS)
Bacevice, Guzman, & Molina
(2007)
The Resources
 Rackham’s
value in interdisciplinary study
 Pre-existing program to support the
development of interdisciplinary workgroups
 Financial Resources
 Personal Commitment
Bacevice, Guzman, & Molina
(2007)
Rackham Interdisciplinary
Workshops
http://www.rackham.umich.edu/Events/interdis.html
Ongoing program of interdisciplinary graduate student and faculty
workshops. The groups to be supported should be:
 Self-organized by the participants
 Have an ongoing core membership, and
 Meet regularly throughout the academic year
Goals
 Encourage exchange and collaboration among students and faculty
who share intellectual interests -- but do not necessarily have an
easily available forum in common, because they have different
academic affiliations.
 Help advanced doctoral students form working groups that support
the development of research projects and dissertation-writing.
Bacevice, Guzman, & Molina
(2007)
UM Graduate Interdisciplinary Groups
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A&D Life: Creative Engagement of
Contemporary Art and Life Science
Advanced Media Studies
African History Workshop Series
American History Graduate Student Workshop
American Politics
The Black Humanities Collective
Boundary Crossing and Cultural Exchange in
Early Modern Europe and the Near East
Caribbean Workshop
Circulo Micaela Bastidas
Classics and Architectural History
Complexity in Industrial Ecology Workshop
Complex Systems Advanced Academic
Workshop
Consumption Junction
Conversations Across Social Disciplines (CASD)
Development, Conservation, and Sustainable
Livelihoods
East Asian Gender Forum
Experimental Approaches to Understanding
Vertebrate Neurogenesis
The Future of Performance Studies
Interdisciplinary Group Seminar (IGS)
International Macro Workshop
Judaic Studies Reading Group
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K-16 Workshop
Language & Rhetorical Studies Group
Middle East and North Africa Scholars
Workshop
Michigan Student Symposium for
Interdisciplinary Statistical Science 2007
Microfluidics for Biology
Music of the Americas Study Group
Networks Across Disciplines
Pacific Island Studies Workshop
SNRE Millennium Ecosystem Assessment
Interdisciplinary Workshop and Seminar Series
Sensemaking Interdisciplinary Workshop
Socio-Technical Infrastructure for Electronic
Transactions
South Asian Reading Group (Kitabmandal)
Spiritus Aevi-An Interdisciplinary Workshop for
Medievalists
Statistical Methods in Molecular Biology
Statistical Learning and Data Mining
Statistics/Biostatistics Student Seminar Series
Trans/Formation of the Disciplines: Evaluating
the Project of Anthropology and History
Visual Archives: Narrative and History in Film
and New Media
Workshop for Integrating & Discussing Topics in
Healthcare/WIDTH
Bacevice, Guzman, & Molina
(2007)
Sensemaking Interdisciplinary
Forum (SIF)
http://webuser.bus.umich.edu/organizations/sensemaking/index.htm
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Objectives
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Broaden the knowledge of graduate students and professors alike beyond the
scope of their chosen disciplines.
Generate high-quality professional connections that will cultivate vanguard
interdisciplinary research projects.
Engender high-quality personal connections that provide support to graduate
school students and faculty members.
Provide students with experience in presenting their research and opportunities
to work on dissertation ideas as well.
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Website
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Activities
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Research Incubators
Firesides Talks
Annual Conference
Bacevice, Guzman, & Molina
(2007)
Personal Reflections on the
Creation and Impact of SIF
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Danielle
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Pete
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Building a web of resources across different scholarly
communities
Learning from both shared and divergent perspectives, paths,
and experiences
Collaborating on projects that are personally meaningful
Discovering what type of scholar you want to be and the
tradeoffs of pursuing different paths
Lisa
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Freedom to explore and experiment with ideas
Developing a unique and authoritative voice
Bacevice, Guzman, & Molina
(2007)
Your Thoughts on the Matter
Bacevice, Guzman, & Molina
(2007)
Discussion
 In
what ways does this topic reflect, or not
reflect, your experiences as graduate
students?
 What are your thoughts on scholarly
communities and the ability of graduate
students to develop “intellectual safe
spaces”?
 What do you find to be compelling
questions for future research?
Bacevice, Guzman, & Molina
(2007)
Thank You!
Bacevice, Guzman, & Molina
(2007)