I was first a CASBS fellow in 2005-06. As a Stanford faculty member since 1991, I had long viewed the Center as a kind of academic nirvana that I was determined to eventually inhabit for a year. From the valley floor of campus, it looked like an ideal contemplative space removed from the daily struggle below. When I got there, I found that “nirvana” was indeed the right word for the Center, but “nirvana” was a lot different than I thought it would be—both more plain fun and harder than I expected. The plain fun and the harder bits were two sides of the same coin. The easy conversation across disciplines and topics with so many smart people made everyday lunches and walks in the hills great times—fun, fun, fun. They sparked all kinds of ideas I never would have had otherwise. But then those wonderful social encounters were followed by hours alone in my study—trying to really do it—no excuses—do it, live up to the promise of all those wonderful, fun intellectual exchanges. I loved those hours in my study, but I found them terrifying as well as delicious—hard. Out of those hours, I framed and wrote the core chapters of my 2011 book, Framed By Gender: How Gender Inequality Persists in the Modern World, which is certainly one of the best things I’ve ever done. As so many others have said, I couldn’t have done it without the Center. My experience there was so addictive and transformative that I plotted to come back again and returned in 2012-13. This time I knew what to expect—both the fun and the tough challenge—and I was not disappointed. I was very lucky to have the experience again, different in all the details, but nevertheless the same.
Cecilia L. Ridgeway, Fellow 2005-06, 2012-13.
Lucie Stern Professor in the Social Sciences
Stanford University
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