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aliciae08's review
challenging
informative
reflective
slow-paced
3.0
Like some of the other reviewers, I feel torn about my review for this book.
I recognize the merits of what Sara Ahmed was trying to present within her theoretical phenomenological offering to the discourse of diversity. Many of the points she painstakingly details make sense to my own lived experience both in academia and more fully out in the world.
That being said, I found this such a slow read—I would find myself annoyed with repetition often within the same paragraph and sentence. It made it hard to sometimes understand and follow the point being made. The times where it was amazing were often combined with interview notes and points on the interviewees—the flow was better there and made the arguments more engaging.
I recognize the merits of what Sara Ahmed was trying to present within her theoretical phenomenological offering to the discourse of diversity. Many of the points she painstakingly details make sense to my own lived experience both in academia and more fully out in the world.
That being said, I found this such a slow read—I would find myself annoyed with repetition often within the same paragraph and sentence. It made it hard to sometimes understand and follow the point being made. The times where it was amazing were often combined with interview notes and points on the interviewees—the flow was better there and made the arguments more engaging.
brice_mo's review
4.5
A book that was oft-discussed in grad school, and reading it just made me sigh many a heavy sigh for the way it was discussed in grad school.
When so much of the university is built around knowledge as capital and reifying the institution's power, I question whether it's even possible for it to be transformed into something healthy.
A real bummer to read!
When so much of the university is built around knowledge as capital and reifying the institution's power, I question whether it's even possible for it to be transformed into something healthy.
A real bummer to read!
ninakeller's review
4.0
I read this book to learn more from the wise and practical Sara K. Ahmed, after learning so much from her book, Being the Change. This one is very different in that it’s very academic and focused on the institutional level. She gave me language to name the frustrations I have with academic culture as a barrier for moving forward with identity and inclusion work in schools, as well as to identify ways that I myself act as a barrier to change and liberation.
searchandrescueteam's review against another edition
challenging
informative
inspiring
reflective
slow-paced
4.5
This is an extraordinary treatise on the "diversity" and it's use by universities.
It is a slog; dense academic writing with meticulous attention to the nuance of every single word. It is worth it - particularly if you've had these experiences - which Ahmed pulls together and makes sense of.
Compared to hearing/listening to Ahmed herself the audio tone is relatively flat - though after a while it helped me to stay focused on the words, and the meaning of the text.
It is a slog; dense academic writing with meticulous attention to the nuance of every single word. It is worth it - particularly if you've had these experiences - which Ahmed pulls together and makes sense of.
Compared to hearing/listening to Ahmed herself the audio tone is relatively flat - though after a while it helped me to stay focused on the words, and the meaning of the text.
noahbw's review
4.0
This book is not what I assumed it would be -- I was expecting just another book on "diversity" in institutions. Instead, Ahmed is theorizing about and against exactly what I was expecting. Certainly a dense text, but well worth engaging with for anyone inclined toward theoretical scholarship and working within or shaping institutions.
uriah's review against another edition
5.0
Ahmed's theory about why white Brits love Bend It Like Beckham is so true, i was enthralled.