The long road home episode list9/20/2023 ![]() ![]() But in other ways it was also, it was really like writing lectures, to be honest. You know, it was quite a departure from what I've done before in some ways. And so writing something that was, I guess it's almost autoethnographic. Right? And how we should seek to find answers about the way in which democracy is experienced and people live their lives. But I also believe that personal experience is how we create better questions. Like, I believe that we can take evidence and create generalizable theories and then test those theories. And it's just such bullshit, right? There is no such thing as neutrality or objectivity. And it's said with this disdain, right? That the experiences we have aren't relevant to anything that we do in the academy. Like we are told, how many times have you been told, like it's research, not me-search. And telling these stories in the context of a book goes against a lot of the norms that we have in political science, right? Debra Thompson: 03:12 The problem is that no one really gets to know you well other than people who've been with you for your entire life or for years like you and some of our friends from the PhD and obviously my siblings. Like I get to reinvent myself every few years and that's kind of great. Debra Thompson: 02:34Īnd so people get the version of me that exists now and don't know the version of me that existed 10, 20, 30 years ago. And so kind of as a result of that, like I have to, I start over when I, whenever I move somewhere new. I live a lot in my head, and I've moved around a lot. One is at the most basic answer is that I am actually a very, very private person. Why does that unnverve you, and why does it feel different based on kind of the cues you're sending me from putting your academic writing out there? Debra Thompson: 02:15 And so, yeah, let's just talk about the deeply personal description that people are using. Well, I have a few book related questions, but I also wanted to talk to you first about writing and about the process that you followed. And I was like, oh, I didn't know it was deeply personal. It's 'cause it I've been working on it for a long time. It's terrifying that it's out in the world. I read it twice, right? Debra Thompson: 01:33 Honestly, you should be super proud of this accomplishment. And I think the book itself is fantastic and I think it should be required reading. I am so jazzed that you're here right now. I am so happy to be our like repeat guest on Academic Aunties. I am so excited to have Professor Debra Thompson, Auntie Deb, good friend Deb, who's also been on Academic Aunties before, with us today to talk about her book, which is now out, The Long Road Home: On Blackness and Belonging. I really enjoyed this conversation and I know you will too. She weaves together insights on the politics of race and racialization and Black identity while discussing family history, growing up in Oshawa, and her experiences, in academic spaces in Chicago, in Ohio, in Portland, and in Canada. And she's just written a really poignant, profound and powerful book about her journey back home. Debra Thompson or Auntie Deb has been one of my truest friends in this world. This week our guest knows all too well about the need to be a subversive in the academy. Ethel Tungohan, an Associate Professor of Politics at York University. If you use these links to buy something we may earn a commission. Get in touch with Academic Aunties on Twitter at or by e-mail at. Thanks for listening! Get more information, support the show, and read all the transcripts at. The Puzzling Persistence of Racial Inequality in Canada by Keith Banting and Debra Thompson.Dear Science and Other Stories by Katherine McKittrick.A Map to the Door of No Return: Notes to Belonging by Dionne Brand.White privilege: unpacking the invisible knapsack by Peggy McIntosh.Wayward Lives, Beautiful Experiments: Intimate Histories of Social Upheaval by Saidiya Hartman.Lose Your Mother: A Journey Along the Atlantic Slave Route by Saidiya Hartman.The Long Road Home: On Blackness and Belonging by Debra Thompson.Debra Thompson ( talks about her poignant, profound and powerful book, The Long Road Home: On Blackness and Belonging, about her journey back home. ![]()
0 Comments
Leave a Reply.AuthorWrite something about yourself. No need to be fancy, just an overview. ArchivesCategories |