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I wonder how useful the label “first generation academic” is without considerable qualification.
*Technically* it could apply to me. And I have had some share of impostor syndrome and general discomfort, esp. in US/UK settings where academic and social elites mingle. https://twitter.com/joshshepperd/status/1294272944995278850
*Technically* it could apply to me. And I have had some share of impostor syndrome and general discomfort, esp. in US/UK settings where academic and social elites mingle. https://twitter.com/joshshepperd/status/1294272944995278850
Both my parents went to college; neither finished. But neither was blue collar. Both became journalists, with college educated friends. My extended family includes STEM professionals. I grew up surrounded by books and with the expectation that I would get at least one degree.
Hell, both parents read and commented on my dissertation!
True, neither could give me much advice on navigating grad school or the job market, much less department politics. But both helped me in significant ways that reflected their background and professional expertise.
True, neither could give me much advice on navigating grad school or the job market, much less department politics. But both helped me in significant ways that reflected their background and professional expertise.
So while *technically* accurate, “first gen academic” is misleading — for reasons of class, race, family, affinities between professions, and how degree expectations for some kinds of work have changed over the last three generations. The label flattens much too much, to my mind.
Here’s a piece that touches on the ambiguities of this language in practice, as applied to *undergraduates*.
I think such problems likely multiply as one moves to graduate school and academic professions. https://www.google.ca/amp/s/www.nytimes.com/2017/11/03/education/edlife/first-generation-college-admissions.amp.html
I think such problems likely multiply as one moves to graduate school and academic professions. https://www.google.ca/amp/s/www.nytimes.com/2017/11/03/education/edlife/first-generation-college-admissions.amp.html
As ever, the key question is what the purpose of the label is — and how well the distinctions it makes, depending on how it is defined, serve that purpose.
