speaking:
I’ve spoken at academic conferences, led panels and workshops on graduate student rights, and have been a regular guest in classrooms both physical and digital in 2017. Exploring the crisis in higher education, graduate student and adjunct labor rights, and the toxic culture of academia that all of this has produced, in 2020 I began speaking on the issue of systemic racism in education systems writ large. Using my experience as both an academic-whistle blower and former high school teacher, my conversations and interviews have since focused on the intersectional realities of racism, the education crisis, and the perils of neoliberal school “reform.”
2022
"What does it mean to be a white person fighting white supremacy? On navigating anti-racism while melanin-deficient"
Flash Forward: Shuttleworth Foundation. 02 23 '22
"How I manage a freelance writing business & an education advocacy newsletter."
Entrepreneurship and Freelancing Panel at the Beyond Academia Conference. 02 25 22.
2021
“What Does Data Obscure about the Reality of Systemic Racism? A Frank Discussion about Whiteness and How it Limits Our Perspectives.”
Flash Forward: Shuttleworth Foundation. 02 25 21
Interview with Jessie Daniels, author of Nice White Ladies. Not Safe for School.
2020
"Why Reform is Necessary, and Probably Won't Happen."
Plenary Talk for the Reward | Equator Conference for Research Ethics. Berlin, Germany February 2020.
"Towards the Possibility of Ethical Graduate Research: Strategies for Early Career Academics"
Keynote speaker at Fordham University's Women in Academia Coalition Conference. New York, NY March 2020
“Dr. Harbin gave a compelling and deeply honest account that provided an important lens on issues of ethical misconduct in research and education.”
February 2020 REWARDS/EQUATOR Conference, Plenary Speaker “Why Reform is Necessary, and Probably Won’t Happen.” 32:58
Recent Interviews:
February 14 2022 Allison Harbin interviews Dr. Tashima Thomas on trans historical trans national methodologies in the humanities, trusting yourself and your work, and how she navigates both within and beyond academia. You see her creative website for her publications, academic and beyond plus her other projects. Part of Post-PhD’s Unsolicited Academic Advice archive.
September 3, 2021
A frank conversation about what I discovered as a whistle-blower on exploitation in higher ed, and the role shame plays in keeping us silent and miserable, as developmental psychologist and author Caitlin Faas explains. You'll get to hear more about the origins of the blog Post-PhD and the most common thing I hear when readers write in to me to share their academic horror stories (spoiler: they all blame themselves, even while logically asserting it is not their fault, and all this does is send one down a shame spiral). This video is an important watch for understanding the insidious nature of academia's toxic culture, individual actors within it, and provides important perspective.
November 11, 2021
An interview with author and activist Dr. Jessie Daniels about her recent book Nice White Ladies (2021). In it, we discuss the perilous path of denouncing your own people. I loved our conversation, where Daniels describes what it was like denouncing white supremacy in academia in the 1990’s, her decision to leave academia, and her personal evolution. We spoke about anger, the role it has in both shaping and destroying you, and how important it was to have a community and spirituality centered around abolishing white supremacy.
Part of Not Safe for School, the Newsletter November 12, 2021 for more information and subscribe to this (for free) click here.
September 3, 2021
Post-PhD 2.0's Unsolicited Academic Advice column presents: "Stop Being a Brain on a Stick and Get Unstuck with Caitlin Faas." In this interview, we talk about high achiever's tendency to become "brains on a stick," ignoring their body and physical signs of stress and exhaustion. Dr. Faas explains how to get out of this trap, listen to your body, and become more productive (hint: it's about managing chronic stress, something a bit hard to do within the confines of academia, but I'm sure where there's a will, there's a way! If you enjoy this video, consider subscribing to the free portion of Post-PhD, where you'll receive a one monthly dose of unsolicited academic advice. For $6 you can upgrade to get the full experience... but I'll let you decide.
Speaking inquiries:
Some recent conferences and plenary speaking events on student rights & activism include: “Reward/Equator Conference” in Berlin where I gave the talk “Why Reform is Needed in Higher Education (and why it probably won’t happen)” in February of 2020.
In July of 2020, I helped the student-led activist group Black and Brown at Democracy Prep (@BlackNBrownatDP on social media) write a whistle-blowing medium article about the nefarious connections to their high school’s founder and financial embezzlement. I offered guidance on avoiding a defamation suit and how to make their story as powerful as possible.
In May of 2021 the founder was arrested on charges of fraud. I also liaised between BlackNBrownatDP with a Vermont-based coalition for education to organize a seminar on White Saviors and the Future of the Black Classroom. In addition, I have led several seminars on culturally-responsive pedagogy, the power of story-telling in the classroom, and how to listen to students better.
In the fall of 2021 I helped a group of thirty former students apply to college by creating web-based and easy to follow directions, videos, and weekly meetings. I’ve made many rooms full of academics and education activists give a standing ovation. I know how to move an audience to tears, and through that, to joy.