Patricia Hill Collins - Intersectionality as Critical Social Theory

My time in the sociology department at the University of Maryland, College Park, was essential to my ability to write this book. I thank my colleagues George Ritzer and Laura Mamo, who welcomed me into our theory graduate specialization. Over the years, conversations with my faculty colleagues within sociology greatly enriched my thinking this project, among them Bill Falk, Feinian Chen, Harriett Presser, Stanley Presser, Sonalde Desai, Meyer Kestnbaum, Kris Marsh, Jeff Lucas, Rashawn Ray, and Dawn Dow. Special appreciation goes to Roberto Patricio Korzeniewicz, not only for his support of my scholarship but also for his fundamental fairness and humanity in relation to the issues in this book. What a gift that he was department chair as I finished this manuscript.

Because I worked on various aspects of this book during my entire tenure at the University of Maryland, I could not have completed various stages of this project without help from a mini-army of graduate students. My teaching and my service on dissertation committees in sociology, American studies, education, kinesiology, journalism, and womens studies greatly enriched the knowledge that I brought to this project. This intensive work with students as well as the contact I had with wonderful graduate and undergraduate students through my teaching and casual hallway conversations enriched this project. Now that the pain is behind all of us, I want to acknowledge the students whose dissertations in sociology I chaired or co-chaired: Tony Hatch, Michelle Corbin, Nazneen Kane, Paul Dean, Valerie Chepp, Margaret Austin Smith, Kendra Barber, Kathryn Buford, Mi chelle Beadle, Danny Swann, Rachel Guo, and Sojin Yu. I also acknowledge students whose dissertations inform important aspects of this book. Thank you to Emily Mann, Daniel Williams, Michelle Smirnova, Nihal Celik, Jillet Sam, Chang Won Lee, Aleia Clark, Les Andrist, Wendy Laybourn, Thurman Bridges, Christine Muller, Amy Washburn, Benli Shecter, Rod Carey, Laura Yee, Aaron Allen, Dina Shafey, Kristi Tredway, Allissa Richardson, and Kevin Winstead. I also thank students who are not mentioned above but who, through their service as research or teaching assistants or through unforgettable conversations, contributed to this project. Special thanks to Nicole de Loatsch, Zeynep Atalay, Carolina Martin, Beverly Pratt, Shanna Brewton-Tiayon, Melissa Brown, Anya Galli, Bill Yagatich, Dave Stroehecker, Kimberly Bonner, Bryan Clift, Joe Waggle, Heather Marsh, and the unforgettable Mehmet Ergun. I list you all because, while I could see the breadth and scope of the creativity that you brought to me, you often remained unaware of each other.

Over the years, my conversations with colleagues old and new have enriched my sense of intersectionalitys current practices and future possibilities. I cannot name you all, but I am thankful nonetheless. Special thanks to Margaret Andersen, Sirma Bilge, Nira Yuval-Davis, Bonnie Thornton Dill, Kanisha Bond, Brittney Cooper, Ana Claudia Perreira, Djamila Ribeiro, Kristi Dotson, Evelyn Nakano Glenn, Angela Y. Davis, Angela Randolpho Paiva, ngela Figueiredo, Laura Trout, Marcus Hunter, Colin Koopman, Waverly Duck, Kathryn T. Gines, Theresa Perry, Shawn Copeland, Juan Battle, Troy Duster, Erin Tarver, Beverly Guy-Sheftall, Elizabeth Higginbotham, Howard Winant, Kimberl Crenshaw, Linda Tuhiwai Smith, Graham Hingangaroa Smith, Jessie Daniels, Catherine Knight Steele, and Emek Ergun.

I would like to thank all of the people who invited me to visit your campuses, conferences, and community settings. I work out my ideas via conversation, and the public forums you provided were invaluable to this project. I have far too many people to be able to mention you individually, but I hope you know how appreciative I am for the opportunity to contribute to your initiatives.

The team of people at Duke University Press who worked with me on this book showed professionalism and exceptional patience. This book would not have been possible without the careful and caring stewardship of Gisela Concepcin Fosado, my editor. Our first conversation convinced me how much Gisela believed in this book, and her commitment to it was an important touchstone for me throughout its production. I thank the two anony mous reviewers who waded through an earlier, more convoluted version of this manuscript. I dont know how they did it, but they saw the promise of the argument and encouraged me to persist. The production team on this project has been first rate: special thanks to Andrea Klingler, the intrepid copyeditor who waded through the manuscript; as well as to Jessica Ryan, managing editor; Sara Leone, project editor; and Alejandra Meja, editorial associate.

Finally, a full and balanced life is necessary to nurture the life of the mind and to provide support for a project of this magnitude. Thanks to my friends in tap, Zumba, and tai chi, past, present, and future, for reminding me of the need to move. My sister-friend Patrice L. Dickerson provided a good listening ear throughout this project. And as always, my familyRoger, Valerie, Lauren, Harrison, and Grantprovide much love and lots of laughter. They mean the world to me.