Disrupting Political Science

Black Women Reimagining the Discipline

Angela Katrina Lewis-Maddox, Angela K. Lewis-Maddox, Angela Katrina Lewis-Maddox

• Publisher: SUNY Press
• Year: 2025
• Print ISBN: 9798855800876, 9798855800869
• eBook ISBN: 9798855800883
• Topic: Politics & International Relations
• Subtopic: Higher Education
• Index: Politics & International Relations

Nineteen Black women in political science share their personal and professional journeys, shedding light on the state of the discipline—and how it needs to change.

This volume brings to the fore Black women's experiences of, and contributions to, political science-a field that never intended to view them as subjects worthy of study and certainly not as professors. Disrupting Political Science demonstrates how Black women blend creative resistance and self-care to overcome obstacles and navigate the discipline's hegemonic demands. Representing a range of career stages and types of institutions, the nineteen contributors share stories of trauma and triumph, as well as concrete guidance rooted in Black feminist literature and reports on the profession. A witty, searing, sometimes heart-wrenching catalyst to reimagine political science, Disrupting Political Science is essential reading for everyone in the discipline and for faculty and administrators across the university committed to recruiting and retaining Black women.

Table of contents

• Cover
• Title
• Copyright
• Contents
• Foreword
• Acknowledgments
• 1. Introduction
• 2. She’s Not a REAL Political Scientist
• 3. That’s Not Political Science: Disrupting “Traditional” Political Science Inquiries
• 4. Setting Political Science to a Different Tune: Reflections on the Role of Black Women as Rhythm Disrupters
• 5. The Absence of Rational Resources: How a Black Woman’s Presence Redefines the Discipline’s Norms
• 6. Cultivating Joy in Academia
• 7. The Impact of Active and Passive Representation in the Field of Public Administration: Lessons Learned and Best Practices
• 8. When the Discipline Disciplines: Stories of a Black Female Political Scientist
• 9. Transforming Political Science: Founding the Transnational Black Womxn Scholars of African Politics Research Network
• 10. The Duality of Disruption: Black Women in Midwestern White Liberal Arts Institutions
• 11. Truth Telling: The Limits of Institutional Liberalism, Neutrality, Objectivity, and Meritocracy
• 12. On Becoming a Black Woman Political Scientist: Rising to the Rank of Full Professor at a Major R1 Institution
• 13. Racial Discrimination and the Harassment of African American Women in Academia
• 14. A Black Unicorn in the Academe: A Testimonial of a Black Feminist Scholar in the Field of Political Science
• 15. Journey of a Young Black Woman Political Scientist
• 16. A Word of Advice to the Doctoral Sisters Who Just Graduated: Leave Hungry, Not Starving
• Contributors
• Index
• Back Cover