Call for Papers: Not Token Gestures: Strategic DEI (Re)Visionings in 21st Century US Higher Education

Submission Due: 200 word abstract and full text by January 5, 2024

2023 has witnessed constant judicial and legislative attacks on Critical Race Theory (CRT) and Diversity, Equity, Inclusion, and Social Justice (DEISJ) practices within higher education. From landmark decisions in the Students for Fair Admissions v. President and Fellows of Harvard College SCOTUS case, to Florida Governor Ron DeSantis signing into law the blocking of state and federal funds being used for DEI initiatives and curriculum, the decades of hard fought for strides to transform educational spaces so that they no longer foster discriminatory and exclusionary processes seem to be being erased.

But these attacks have also created an opportunity for those working in CRT/DEISJ to consider new strategies for grappling with what is at the core of social inequality, and processes of oppression, in higher education. For, even with the successes in academia over the last decades, what has remained steadfast are the implicit biases and mechanisms that keep inequality and inequity deeply entrenched in the fabric of education, especially higher education

This anthology seeks original, previously unpublished contributions from academics and administrators working in higher education that respond to these historical decisions and laws and engage this possibility for alternative strategies. It takes as a fundamental reality the fact that, as the people working in the “trenches” of DEI, we often know the needs of both students and the larger infrastructure that keeps the campus running. We also intimately know the mechanisms that maintain—often unwittingly—discriminatory processes that keep communities of color and women—especially women of color—from entry into a college or university at different levels. And thus, we are uniquely qualified to offer suggestions for change.

Learn more about this opportunity here.