Less than 20% of those earning a Ph.D. are women of color, and less than half of women of color who start a Ph.D. program actually finish. What is behind this disparity? This mentorship session with Castañeda will be a space that intends to demystify the process and journey of obtaining a Ph.D. Dr. Castañeda will provide some tips and strategies for applying to Ph.D. programs, explain some of the expectations and different steps involved during the doctoral program, and explore the dissertation-writing phase. As a first-generation college student and WOC Latina, Dr. Castañeda will also talk about her experiences navigating the Ph.D. program (and academia more generally) and offer advice on what she wishes she would have known. All students are welcome to attend.
Vanessa Castañeda earned her Ph.D. in Latin American Studies from Tulane University and is currently a Postdoctoral Fellow in AfroLatin American Studies at Dartmouth College. Using interdisciplinary methodologies, including archival research and twenty months of community-based ethnographic fieldwork with the Association of Baianas (ABAM), Vanessa's research reconceptualizes the baianas as political agents of Black feminism for self and collective liberation.
This program is sponsored by the History Department.