Faculty World-Traveling in the University

Abstract

In this paper, I will be applying María Lugones theory of “World-Traveling”, “Arrogant Perception”, and “Decolonial Feminism” to the experiences of minority faculty-specifically women faculty of color- in American institutions of higher education. After going through an in-depth description of Lugones’ concepts, I will then describe how some of her ideas like arrogant perception, world-traveling, and worlds can apply to the exclusionary remnants of American institutions of higher education. Focusing on tenure and its standards (service, classroom performance, and research), one can see how minority faculty are forced to deal with the remnants of these exclusionary practices and how their experiences bring to life another side of recent diversity initiatives in American institutions of higher education. After cementing Lugones’ concepts into the real experiences of minority faculty, this paper will go into how these problems can be alleviated using Lugones’ “Decolonial Feminism” and the “Loving Perception”.