ABSTRACT
The contributors to this important anthology have provided a glimpse into the variety of experiences that share in common the status of “Other” in academia. A little piece of them—their soul, their pain, their hopes, and their journey—resides within the preceding pages. They have shared with the world their stories of discrimination, erasure, isolation, silence, fear, subordination, and stigmatization. Such frank discussions of academic injustice are uncommon. Rather, it is more common for the Other in the academy to feel that they are alone in being othered. Without easy access to stories like this in this anthology, it is all too easy for marginalized students and scholars to feel that they are somehow to blame for their own marginalization, or that they may be exaggerating its severity or misreading others’ intentions. Sadly, those who recognize marginalization are likely aware of the potential backlash they may face if they were to call attention to such injustice. Hierarchies in the academy ensure that those of us at the bottom—students, tenure-track faculty, contingent faculty, non-tenure-track academics (further compounded by marginalized social statuses such as race, gender, class, and sexuality)—are unable to adequately protect themselves from marginalization without consequences. But, here, we have several scholars who have bravely told their stories. And they are not alone.
