Malice in Wonder-How-This-Happened Land: Falling Down the Political Rabid Hole of Academia

• In Event: Navigating Academia

Abstract

Inspired by the well-known, children’s story Alice’s Adventures in Wonderland (Carroll, 2015), this satirical narrative describes common academic experiences within a fictitious frame. Many children’s stories present a foundational basis for early life lessons of justice, truth, fairness, and how power corrupts. Therefore, regression to a simpler understanding of complex social interactions potentially frees one’s thinking, which frequently becomes muddled in adult-acquired ego, hubris, and sense of status. So, when adults act illogically, sense can be made of unreasonable juvenile actions by re-storying irrational episodes through the logical lens of adolescent literature. This playful narrative explores how in academia, projection of privilege often generates troublesome challenges that lead down a political rabid hole of unsolvable riddles.

Author

• Denise M. McDonald, University of Houston - Clear Lake