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

Authors

Denise McDonald, University of Houston - Clear LakeFollow

Abstract

Spiritedly inspired by the well-known, nonsensical children’s stories Alice’s Adventures in Wonderland and Through the Looking Glass, this satirical narrative describes common academic experiences within a fictitious frame. Many children’s stories present a foundational basis for the 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 (or like children), sense can be made of unreasonable juvenile actions by re-storying irrational episodes through the logical lens of adolescent literature and satire; thereby, establishing a safe distance for examining emotional issues and tapping into imagination for making meaning of taxing experiences. This deliberately playful narrative explores how in academia, the projection of privilege and power often generates troublesome challenges that lead down a political rabid hole of unsolvable riddles.

Keywords

narrative, satire, fiction, academia, power

Author Bio(s)

Dr. Denise McDonald, Professor and Sandra Johnson/Barrios Technology Endowed Professorship at the University of Houston – Clear Lake, teaches Curriculum and Instruction courses in undergraduate, master’s, and doctoral programs. Her research interests include teacher education, scholarly identity formation, learner motivation, and reflective, relational, and exemplary pedagogy. Dr. McDonald employs qualitative research methods, such as self-study, narrative inquiry, and critical ethnography to explore topics of interest. Please direct correspondence to mcdonald@uhcl.edu.

Publication Date

10-14-2021

Creative Commons License

This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-Noncommercial-Share Alike 4.0 International License.

DOI

10.46743/2160-3715/2021.4913

Recommended APA Citation

McDonald, D. (2021). Malice in Wonder-How-This-Happened Land: Falling Down the Political Rabid Hole of Academia. The Qualitative Report, 26(10), 3144-3170. https://doi.org/10.46743/2160-3715/2021.4913