Virtues of Vulnerability: Humility, Autonomy, and Citizen-Subjectivity

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We asked people who withdrew from (job) searches before or after an offer was made and found that women were likely to do so because they had been asked these questions,” says Abigail Stewart, a professor of psychology and women’s studies at the University of Michigan. She was the senior author on the JAMA paper and the director of the university’s ADVANCE program. And, yet, the more casual moments of an interview are critical. After all, faculty hiring is different from most other types of hiring in that a department is hiring a person potentially for life. So, Fierke says, the more casual parts of an interview are important for gauging if a long-term partnership might be possible. This is also why having a conversation with all of the faculty members about “the questions that derail the recruitment process” is an important one, she says. During a recruiting visit at another university, Deborah attended a dinner with several people, including the chairman of the search committee and a woman from the department head’s laboratory. Deborah recalls quietly listening to the conversation about their families. When there was a pause, “the woman turned to me and said, ‘Based on our conversation, I take it you don’t have children,’” Deborah says. “I looked around, expecting someone to change the subject, but everyone was staring and waiting for my answer.”

According to the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission, Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964 makes it illegal to discriminate against a person on the basis of race, color, religion, national origin or sex (the last one includes pregnancy, gender identity and sexual orientation).However, a candidate can voluntarily bring up the need for a job for a spouse during the first interview. Heads of departments interviewed for this story say they appreciate being told early in the process if they need to find a position for a spouse. “By waiting to reveal that information, it makes it harder for the chair to actually try to do something,” says Serio. “A lot of people are hesitant to mention their spouse because they think they won’t get the offer because their situation is more complicated. I always tell people if that’s the case then it’s better for you as well to know that early on.” More aware Grant, who is 5, says he likes raising money for BGMC to help other people. “It makes Jesus happy,” he says. Although Brenner, Guggino and Serio say they prefer to find out sooner if they need to wrangle with another department to accommodate a spouse, it is wrong to ask the candidate about a spouse during the first interview. Rushing, Sara. 2010. “Preparing for Politics: Judith Butler’s Ethical Dispositions.” Contemporary Political Theory 9 (3): 284–303.

The next statement comes as somewhat as a surprise after the first two definitive statements. She says that she is not lost, but she “long[s] to be.” Her longing is two-sided. She at once wants to be lost within her emotions, but not lost within a particular relationship dynamic. Lilly J. Goren is professor of political science at Carroll University in Waukesha, WI. She is co-editor of the award winning book, Women and the White House: Gender, Popular Culture, and Presidential PoliticsThis incident drives home the point that women as much as men can be part of the problem. “I find a lot of times that women automatically think they cannot be sexist, that they can do no wrong when interacting with other women,” says Jennifer Ross, a biophysicist at University of Massachusetts, Amherst, who writes the blog Woman of Science. “That’s absolutely not true.” Jay Rotella, Ecology Outstanding Teaching Award for Teaching Excellence in Classroom and Laboratory Teaching McNay, Lois. 2000. Gender and Agency: Reconfiguring the Subject in Feminist and Social Theory. Cambridge: Polity Press. The next two phrases emphasize an additional element that the speaker is hoping to make clear to her intended listener. She wants this person to know that she is “not lost in” in them. The speaker has not lost her own sense of self within the relationship she is a part of. She repeats this fact twice to emphasize. It is extremely important to her as “losing” herself is something she desires. Butler, Judith. 2000. Antigone’s Claim: Kinship Between Life and Death. New York: Columbia University Press.