>btw, a more detailed run down on the politics of ASA would interest me.
i'd really want to sit down and more carefully read the volumes of email and web links about the nasty details before i felt i could 'read' it. all hell broke loose in august. and the manure is flying from the spreader in all directions now as the editors and head wackos are trying to placate and backtrack and cover their tails. not that it matters much. i hardly expect anything to change. quant and the standard conceptualization of race/gender/class as merely one variable among others is where the money is at. and as such, those people will always be well funded and loved by their institutions who get at least 25% off the top of social science research grants from the get-go.
the letter below presents it mainly as about race/racism/racial politics, but there is more to it than that, although this latest b.s. is enough to make me heave. i can't believe they are so stupid. rant over.
nice to make sure that they picked a *woman* of color eh? how friggin convenient.
> Mary Romero has written a very principled and courageous letter
> rejecting an invitation to serve as a deputy editor of ASR. She
> asked me to forward her letter to various Sociology lists. Mary
> Romero has refused to be used by the liberal racists who run the ASA
> and who love to speak about "diversity" while carrying out and
> supporting racist policies. Please disseminate this letter as widely
> as possible.
> Steve Rosenthal
> ++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++
no fuckinshit! talk the talk, no walk the walk. but what is new?????
> Dear Professor Franklin Wilson:
>
> I apologize for not responding to you sooner. When the
> letter with the
> American Sociological Review logo arrived I tossed it aside.
> I assumed
> that it was another solicitation to subscribe and since ASR has rarely
> published anything of interest or relevance to me, I had not
> even opened
> the envelope. If I had not received your e-mail on Friday, I
> would never
> have imagined that it was a personal invitation to serve on
> the editorial
> board of the ASR.
>
> I do not know whether to be insulted or honored. Of course I
> would like
> to believe that the invitation was based on my years of service to the
> association [current chair of the section on Race Gender and
> Class, past
> chair of Latina/o Section, and numerous other positions over
> the last two
> decades] and was in recognition of my interdisciplinary scholarship in
> sociology, ethnic studies, Chicana/o and Latina/o Studies, women's
> studies, and LatCrit. But I doubt that scholarship and
> service were the
> deciding factors. The ASA Council's action to nullify the
> Publications
> Committee's recommendation and the debate at the annual
> business meeting
> frame this invitation in terms of racial politics.
>
> As I read the letter, my attention was drawn to the list of deputy
> editors. I experienced the influence of name recognition as
> well as the
> symbolism of racial identity and inclusion. I imagined the
> message that
> colleagues and students might draw from my name on the
> editorial board.
> They would likely assume that my participation signified a Journal
> inclusive of qualitative and narrative methods, a Journal
> interested in
> race and ethnicity as more than just variables. Because the
> ASA Council
> has not acknowledged the validity of the main criticisms
> directed at them,
> I had to wonder if I was being asked to contribute my racial/ethnic
> identity to counter the accusations of racism and elitism
> leveled against
> the ASR.
>
> I am certain that you and Professor Camic are making sincere
> efforts to
> address the membership's concern about the Journal's lack of diverse
> interests, methodological approaches, and racial and gender
> inclusion. I
> also know that both of you are respected members of our discipline and
> extremely qualified to serve as the editors of ASR. Nevertheless, the
> Council tainted the entire selection process, placing whoever became
> editor in a no-win situation. Moreover, I do not believe
> that ASR can be
> revitalized and become more inclusive without addressing the racist,
> undemocratic and elitist process used to select the editors.
> Incorporating a few scholars of color as editor, deputy editor or as
> members of the editorial board will not: (1) restore the lack of
> confidence by a substantial number of ASA members in the
> procedures and
> practices of Council; (2) erase the collective attack that
> sociologists of
> color experienced in the Council's claim that Professor Allen
> and his team
> were not qualified; or (3) change the structure and culture
> of the Council
> and the Executive Office that condoned Professor Massey's
> unethical and
> unprofessional behavior.
>
> I am unwilling to serve up my racial identity to provide "minority"
> representation needed to symbolize inclusion and counter the racist
> charges against the Council's action. Consequently, I must
> decline your
> invitation to serve on the board at this time. I would welcome the
> opportunity to serve in the future under a different ASA leadership.
>
> Sincerely,
> Mary Romero
> Professor
>
> Mary Romero, Professor
> School of Justice Studies Fax (480) 965-9199
> Arizona State University Phone: (480) 965-4529
> P.O. Box 870403 Email Mary.Romero at ASU.EDU
> Tempe, AZ 85287-0403
>