Talking Out of School: Memoir of an Educated Woman: 0 (American Literature (Dalkey Archive)) - Softcover

Fleisher goes against the grain in her work and her thinking, doing so in richly considered, evocative, original, and provocative fashion that in every way promises to make a genuine difference in our understanding of the broadest definitions of what it means to write and learn, and to live and love, in an age of new media, global consciousness, and shifting notions of what it means to be human. --Michael Joyce, author of Was

A shockingly honest examination of the academy. Calling this book a feminist critique of higher ed would be to read the book too narrowly given the discussions of class and race. Should be required reading for everyone in academia. --Steve Tomasula, author of The Book of Portraiture

This bitterly funny memoir reads like an exposé of the power structures in America’s higher education system: who’s got it, how they’re abusing it, what everyone else is willing to do to get it, and the social cost of doing educational business this way. We follow our protagonist, Kassie, as the academic world reshapes her life, her worst secrets and most humiliating mistakes revealing deep problems of race, class, gender, and sexuality. We watch as she alienates her family by hanging her "snobbish" nose over books; as she embarks on an adulterous affair with her instructor; as she comes to terms with her racist attitudes toward her own inner-city students; and as she abandons her principles for the sake of her career. A scathing and fierce work, at once sorry and triumphant.