“I’m a Needed Commodity in the Academy”: Racial Capitalism and the Positioning of Race as Capital in the Faculty Job Market

Guided by racial capitalism, interest convergence, and positioning theory, we analyzed focus group data from 30 racially minoritized PhD candidates to understand how they experienced and responded to racial commodification in the academic job market. Although our participants perceived their hireability might be contingent on their performance of “the right type of diversity,” they decided to position themselves in authentic and humanizing ways. The study highlights how racial commodification incentivizes racially minoritized PhD students in the academic job market to position themselves such that Historically White Serving Institutions could exploit them while maintaining the status quo. We provide recommendations for faculty to identify and disrupt these positionings and instead support People of Color in navigating the job market with authenticity, dignity, and self-determination.