Unpack This!

Jo and Constance discuss Constance's recent article published in Women in Higher Education, which reflects on familial tensions experienced by academics who come from a working class background. Among other things, they also chat about the illegibility of academic work, the work and community that sustain them, and they chat it up about what they'd […]

Constance and Jo chat with the AMAZING Dr. Elaine Richardson (https://twitter.com/DoctaE1) about everything from hip hop literacies to reclaiming our time. Among other things, Docta E,discusses her current and future research projects, and what she does in her “down” time– in this case, attending a Sy Smith concert in Atlanta.  References from the conversation: Dr. […]

In this episode, Jo and Constance unpack the academic lateral move, and Constance discusses her new appointment. She has accepted a tenure track position at Georgia State University in Atlanta where she'll be teaching folklore and contemporary African American literature. Constance and Jo also chat it up about the various academic positions they have held […]

Spoiler Alert: We spoil all of Amazon Prime's Master, starring Regina Hall, not to be confused with Regina King, which Constance does the entire episode. In addition to spoilers, Jo Hsu (https://www.vjohsu.com) and Constance Bailey (linktr.ee/constancerbailey) chat with special guests Niketa Reed, Executive Director of Arkansas Soul (argotsoul.com) and Professor JL Adolph of Georgia State […]

In their usual well-modulated voices,  Jo and Constance unpack Jennifer Snodgrass's Inside Higher Ed article, “Seven Hard Truths and a Few Lies.” They ruminate on imposter syndrome,  time-consuming administrative tasks, and rigid power structures. As usual, they conclude that context and mitigating circumstances affect the applicability of Snodgrass's insights–so, are the “truths” really true? It's… […]

Constance and Jo speak with Dr. GPat Patterson, Associate Professor of English at Kent State Tuscarawas about their recent article, “Loving Students in the Time of COVID: a Dispatch from LGBT Studies.” We explore teaching as the cultivation of immersive learning experiences, why the imperative to market our disciplines as job-market training is a trap, […]

Our fearless hosts discuss Constance's “Rethinking Literature” course about infectious disease, medical ethics, and pandemics. She also loves a good meme, so those come up too. They also unpack one of Constance's favorite quotes from Jo's article, “Containment and Interdependence: Epidemic Logics in Asian American Racialization.”  Jo writes, “I argue that any pursuit of justice […]

In the Season Two preview, Jo and Constance talk with scholar A.D. Carson (aydeethegreat.com) about the peer review process for his dissertation, which took the form of a hip hop album. They also talk about A.D.'s next project, ghosts, ancestor veneration, and Black History Month, among other things. For questions, comments, or suggestions of topics […]

In this episode, Jo and Constance explore academia's “made-up genres,” from undergraduate assignments to dissertations to documents for the job market. They discuss the functions of these documents, how they've adapted and responded to these at-times unsettling discursive situations, and they offer their thoughts on what might change for us to have more humane conversations […]

In this episode Jo and Constance explore the concept of self-care by asking what it means and who is responsible for it-the individual or institutions that hold power. They also tackle the question of how can self care be achieved with PM Kester, host of the How to Take a Break podcast (https://open.spotify.com/show/6ex93HTzfOxLXEN8QFe5r3) This episode was mixed […]

Jo and Constance venture through their emotionally-fraught attachments to limited or limiting representation. Topics covered include African American comedy, Twitter as the place where nuance goes to die, and– inevitably– the Dave Chappelle/Netflix nonsense. This episode of Unpack This! was mix and mastered by Karoline Pfiel, and Will Shute.

Constance and Jo unpack The Chair, Netflix's recent series set in an English department. Tangents include Constance's identification with Ji Yoon's parenting challenges, Jo's feelings about compulsory heterosexuality (spoiler: not great), and a throwback reference to In Living Color. This episode of Unpack This! was mix and mastered by Karoline Pfiel, Alejandra Arrazola, and Ean Herrera.

In this episode Jo and Constance ponder whether academic conferences are a grift. They give an overview of academic conferences and recount their first experiences ever attending an academic conference. After exploring pros and cons about conference experiences, they ultimately weigh in on whether they believe the cost of attending an academic conference is worth […]

Constance and Jo overview the process of peer review and different forms of academic publications. They explore their own (unconventional) writing processes, and Constance queries whether self-citation is an academic flex. This episode of Unpack This! was mixed and mastered by Ean Herrera and Morgan Honaker.

In this introductory episode, Jo and Constance talk through different kinds of faculty positions, the struggles and privileges of being marginalized and junior faculty on the tenure track, and common questions from structural minorities who want to pursue this profession. This episode of Unpack This! was mixed and mastered by Ean Herrera.