Women's Studies Research Center

Job Requisition  R0012689

Purpose:  Scholar's next book, Empathy and Activism in an Ageist Era, unites a selection of published essays on the midlife, age, and ageism, in US culture, that seem to have durability.  This book is aimed at weakening compound ageism, specifying forms of age and gender and disability justice, and expanding feminist values on behalf of midlife and older women. It tries to influence family relations and public-health policy through the ethic of care. The essays appeared in many kinds of publications: literary /cultural journals and academic journals in many disciplines. The book aims to be useful to scholars and critics who wish to write in a more supple prose than most academic venues require. (Scholar is a prize-winning author; their latest book is American Eldercide).

Tasks:

1. Research for Empathy and Activism in an Ageist Era:  The Preface, now in draft, considers two forms of empathy: Empathy for One Other Person, and Empathy for Othered People in Groups. Empathy for One Other Person merges memoir and reflections on how empathy is defined, whether it is instinctual, how a writer who wants to exemplify it in extreme situations does so, and how it is connected to equity and social justice. Empathy for Othered People in Groups, focuses on conversion experiences. I apply this term to stories in which people expand the objects of their empathy to include marginalized groups they had been ignorant of, indifferent to, or even hostile to. In my case, that was residents of nursing facilities in the COVID Era. I may want the Student to do more research on, say, feminist theorizing about empathy and then provide a short bibliography of interesting titles. I will also need for them to read some of my essays, creating lists of current, relevant media articles and books relating to the subject, and providing bibliographic citations.

2. Bibliography for Empathy and Activism in an Ageist Era.The Preface and all chapters have endnotes, which need to be cross-checked for accuracy and then compiled in a bibliography.  Quotations in the texts need to be double-checked by reading the original material in the urls. It may be that some page numbers or urls are missing. If there were time, the Index would come next—a guide for readers, the creation of which is an intellectual puzzle for an SSP and me.

3. Publicity for American Eldercide, - latest book.American Eldercide was nominated for a Pulitzer Prize and a National Book Award. This spring I plan to send out a flyer about the book, with excepts from reviews, to many senators and representatives - via their heads of staff and staffers - who have shown concern for residents of nursing homes and who aim to improve public health. I have the beginnings of such a list. I need someone who can help expand the list, find any missing emails, add the email addresses to the list, and then send the flyer. 

Desired Qualifications:

• "Cover Letter" submitted with resume (2-3 sentences) on why you would like to work on this book.
• Related courses. Any courses on ethics, intersectional bias, feminism, medicine, public health, caregiving, media, anthropology, literature, film.  
• Technical skills: Some experience producing a bibliography. Comfort with WORD; creating bibliography in Chicago Manual Style; ability to use search engines inventively; willingness to ask research librarians for help when necessary. 
• Other: Pleasure in reading essays, media, and/or scholarship. Efficiency, self-starter. Pro-aging attitude, lack of ageist/ ableist, willingness to overcome bias, if necessary.