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Befriending (White) Women Faculty In Higher Education?, Barbara J. Thayer-Bacon

Barbara J. Thayer-Bacon

In this essay Thayer-Bacon explores the issue of a chilly climate in higher education that is generated by some women, in particular White women, and the destructive behavior they bring to higher education that damages their programs, as well as their working relationships with colleagues and students. The author seeks to find ways to befriend women in higher education, her sisters of color as well as her White sisters. Thayer-Bacon’s focus here is on White women. Her approach is to use stories from the field to illustrate problems that are analyzed, using a narrative style of philosophical argument.