Collaborative Expeditions in the Academy: Housekeeping and the Art of the Infinite

This article extends current discussion about scholarly collaboration by focusing on the intersection between women's private, domestic responsibilities and their professional goals. It examines the pragmatic advantages collaborative scholarship offers academic women at various career stages by synthesizing widely dispersed documentation on the status of women in educational fields and conclusions drawn from personal experience. We suggest that professional collaboration--both inside and outside the academy, and across higher and lower academic ranks in particular--yields demonstrable benefits. These benefits affect both the private and public spheres, particularly at critical career junctures that professional women have traditionally found difficult to navigate. As a form of professional development, collaboration can also enrich institutions by introducing a broader range of skills crucial to the multi-dimensional roles being played by faculty in the twenty-first century.