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Over Ten Million Served: Gendered Service in Language and Literature Workplaces, edited by Michelle A. Massé and Katie J. Hogan (State University of New York Press 2010, $24.95 paperback)
With this groundbreaking new anthology, editors Michelle A. Massé and Katie J. Hogan draw much-needed attention to the role that academic service plays in the lives of language and literature faculty—particularly those who are white women and women of color. Hogan and Massé have compiled articles on three distinct but overlapping subjects: the disparate and often unrecognized forms of service, the consequences that the decision to serve (or not) has for individual careers, and the possible future of service in the academy. As a whole, the collection constitutes a much-needed pause to question how the academy frames, values, and evaluates what it calls service—an important item to consider, given its disproportionate allocation to women and particularly women of color.
Building their reflections around Hogan’s idea of women’s contributions as “superserviceable,” the editors and contributors take an expansive view of service, defining it broadly to include not only administration and community service but also certain types of academic work, among other activities. The articles are both rigorous and personal, and although the book will be particularly relevant to faculty in language and literature departments, those in other disciplines are sure to benefit from its insights. The volume constitutes an important contribution to the scholarship both on faculty roles and rights and on gender in the academy. As an addition to these fields, Massé and Hogan’s new book is itself more than serviceable. |
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College Men and Masculinities: Theory, Research, and Implications for Practice, edited by Shaun R. Harper and Frank Harris III (Jossey-Bass 2010, $65 paperback)
This inclusive and compelling collection of essays explores the world of male students in higher education. While advocating for continued attention to women’s educational experiences, well-being, and rights, editors Shaun R. Harper and Frank Harris III argue that scholarship that fails to recognize men as gendered does both men and women a disservice. They suggest that a commitment to supporting and nurturing women does not preclude dedicating similar research and resources to guiding male students toward becoming healthy, responsible men. Harper and Harris cite recent statistical trends—specifically, decreasing enrollment and graduation rates coupled with increasing judicial offenses—as evidence that educators may need to rethink their approaches to male students’ development. To assist in that rethinking, they have included essays that explore a vast range of topics affecting young men’s lives—sexuality, homophobia, race, ethnicity, fraternity affiliation, athletics, disabilities, social justice, violence, and alcohol—and the multiple ways men’s various identities and pursuits intersect to affect their academic and personal growth.
Harper and Harris’s compilation is an insightful handbook for higher education scholars and could also be a useful text in cultural studies, gender studies, and sociology courses. The book is a crucial resource for educators seeking to move beyond the idea of men as ungendered or as “foils” to equity, as it focuses on ways to help men understand and critique systems of oppression—sexism, racism, homophobia, and classism—to which they have historically contributed. In the words of contributor Patrick Dilley: “identity [is] as much a matter of unbecoming as it [is] of becoming” (110). Thus the collection offers educators and scholars insight into how to teach young men to unlearn behaviors and thought processes that can lead to destructive actions. |
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Stop Street Harassment: Making Public Places Safe and Welcoming for Women, Holly Kearl (Praeger 2010, $44.95 hardcover)
In this comprehensive volume, author Holly Kearl analyzes data from online surveys and interviews of over eight hundred women and men, along with research from various academic, governmental, and organizational sources. Dividing the topic into two parts—complexities of the problem and strategies for ending it—Kearl begins by explaining how street harassment continues to limit women’s freedom and inclusion in public spaces, particularly for women with multiple minority identities (race, sexual orientation, disability, and socioeconomic class). Identifying street harassment as a global problem, Kearl interprets the phenomenon as an expression of a society’s values, including lack of respect for women and rigid constructions of masculinity. While Kearl asserts that the ultimate responsibility for stopping street harassment falls on those who practice it, she calls for solutions that everyone can enact: educating and engaging male allies (in rethinking constructs of masculinity, unlearning sexist practices, and reducing bystander apathy), empowering women (with strategies for responding to and reporting harassment), raising awareness, and promoting legislation to combat street harassment.
This book is a must-read for students on college campuses and may be suitable for inclusion in a women’s studies, gender studies, or sociology course. While focusing on a specific version of street harassment—that perpetuated by men on women—it opens the reader’s mind to how pervasive the problem is and illustrates how deeply rooted gender segregation is in America. Its goal is to awaken (and reawaken) readers’ desires to work toward a more progressive society where women and men see each other as humans rather than as objects for individual or public consumption. The book should incite activism and civic engagement on campus to bring positive changes in an area that affects many women’s daily lives. |
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