0:00: Host Andrew Vosko welcomes Dionne Bensonsmith, adjunct assistant professor of applied gender studies at Claremont Graduate University and visiting professor of government at Claremont McKenna College.
1:20: Dionne describes her work with the Reproductive Justice Community Institutional Review Board and Mothers on the Frontline, a nonprofit organization focused on children’s mental health.
4:00: Dionne discusses the challenge of reconciling disciplinary rules and requirements in a PhD program with her own needs.
5:48: Andrew talks about identity and professional roles and the need for agility to prepare oneself for multiple jobs and types of jobs in the future.
7:00: Dionne talks about working with new graduate students on identifying their “superpower.”
9:42: Dionne talks about her academic journey as, at first, a student-athlete.
11:58: Dionne talks about her pivot from political science into philosophy and navigating various disciplinary boundaries.
15:00: Dionne talks about her pivot to more personally motivated research.
16:11: Dionne talks about how finding a spot in gender studies (an inherently interdisciplinary and transdisciplinary field) allowed her to do research and teaching that was sustainable for her and her family.
18:00: Andrew describes the typical arc—inception to ossification—of a discipline.
19:30: Andrew talks about balancing the institutionalization of a field and dynamic growth.
21:00: Andrew talks about navigating one’s identity in one’s work and the opportunities in opening up new disciplinary spaces.
23:00: Dionne talks about deploying philosophy and philosophical frameworks in the contexts of her work with nonprofits focused on children’s mental health.
25:00: Andrew talks about transdisciplinary work in contrast to the “standing on the shoulders of giants” mode of thought.
27:00: Dionne talks about her entry into transdisciplinary thought via the notion of intersectionality.
30:00: Andrew describes what he calls “disciplinary awareness,” that is, the ability to assess a discipline from a sociological perspective.
32:00: Dionne elaborates on Andrew’s comments on the importance of reflexivity and bridge-building.
36:00: Andrew and Dionne discuss the value of applied knowledge.
37:53: Dionne describes her experience teaching in the Applied Gender Studies program. She talks about the classroom as a transitional place to develop theories toward practical ends.
44:05: Andrew talks about an important skill set for the future—that of the translator.
47:52: Dionne describes an applied gender studies class.
50:00: Dionne talks about humanities students encountering the issues of positionality and ethics in their research.
52:00: Andrew segues to the concept of allyship.
