Class reaction

[alexthebird]

My wife is a history professor and was teaching a course on American material culture (the history of things, as opposed to politics, economics, etc.) and was discussing the history and evolution of fashion as an expression of material culture. She brought the book Men in Skirts that was the result of the exhibition at the Victoria and Albert Museum a few years back as a visual aid and mentioned that her husband (me!) often wore skirts and then attempted to explore the cultural meaning of skirts and trousers as fashion and as an expression of self.

She told me that the reaction of the men in her class was amazing. This was a graduate course for students pursuing a masters degree in history, so we are talking about mature, educated people. The men in class shut right down and were extremely uncomfortable with the entire subject. Some of the women joined in the discussion, but she told me that never experienced a topic she introduced in class that caused as much palpable discomfort as this.

[iain]

It's great that she did it! I guess it shows how thick the ice is in some parts of society. I've found a lot of working class people are more open to the idea.

They have less to lose, less insecurity, and tend to say things like, "good for you, mate." They wouldn't be uncomfortable in the same class--they'd speak right out, either laughing honestly, or saying, "yeah, great, so what?"

I mean, look at the American Chopper guys. They have no insecurities about their role, and they all put kilts on for the cameras while in Scotland. The habitually explosive older guy said, "Yeah, it's comfortable, it's great."

Maybe it's really the educated class which holds things back to a large extent in society.

[hiker]

I teach one or two university classes each year and I teach in a skirt periodically (the topics are technical and not related to skirts at all) just to give my students some exposure to difference in society. The students are 90% male. The reactions tend to be split. The majority are focused on "why I am wearing a skirt" - positive questions. I even have a student who periodically wears a skirt made by his girl friend. The other questions tend to be focused on the students discomfort - frat boy types of jokes. Which give a chance to practice my snappy comebacks. I'll add that I am a very popular professor and I think my students would be disappointed if I didn't wear a skirt to class periodically.

[iain]

Thank God there are people who don't conform all the time!

I confess I don't like seeing people non-conform for some pointless reason like attracting attention or glorifying in being contrary for its own sake. But something like this is really interesting, good luck to all concerned

[Stu]

Slightly off the main topic, but I notice people here who I suspect to be in North America using the term 'professor', and I'm not sure it has the same meaning here.

In the UK, a professor is a very senior and distinguished member of the teaching/research staff at most universities, often a head of faculty and usually someone who has published seminal works in their specialism or someone who has been given a special "chair" in recognition of their prominence. I have a masters degree and am half way through a PhD (in English) at a different university, and I have never even met the only professor of my own faculty. I have no idea what he is called (if it is a 'he') yet I know several of the senior lecturers, all of whom are simply known as Dr. Similarly, I do some part-time teaching of adults in a college of higher education, and none of the staff there hold the title professor, least of all me!

Can someone tell me if the US title 'professor' is automatically conferred upon someone when they become an established university teacher? Or, as in the UK, do they have to be eminent, internationally respected and a senior figure in their university in order to get that designation? I suspect this is yet another of the differences between British and US English and, as a scholar of English, this is of interest to me.

Stu

[gshubert]

Typically, a US university will have "Assistant Professor", "Associate Professor", and "Professor" positions, in order of increasing status. Any of these would be addressed as "Professor" or Dr. So-and-So (since they almost always have doctorates), and would be tenured or on a tenure track.

[Stu]

Thanks, G Shubert. It's obviously different here in the UK where most lecturers have doctorates anyway, and they progress from research fellow to lecturer, to senior lecturer and then to principal lecturer, and that's as high as most get to. They are referred to as Dr, or even plain Mr etc (even the ones who do have doctorates!). Only a select few are elevated to the illustrious title of "professor".

I'm told that in Italy, even some high school teachers are called "professor".

Stu

[Don]

Can someone tell me if the US title 'professor' is automatically conferred upon someone when they become an established university teacher? Or, as in the UK, do they have to be eminent, internationally respected and a senior figure in their university in order to get that designation? I suspect this is yet another of the differences between British and US English and, as a scholar of English, this is of interest to me.

On this side of the pond, the term "Professor" is applied to all but the most junior of university-level teachers, but within the ranks of professors, there are graduations. "Assistant", "Associate","[Full - although the word is never applied]", and "Distinguished" usually preceed the term "professor". I don't think there are specific guidelines for the parameters, and I am sure there is a lot of variance from universty to university.

I recently took a turn as a teacher of mathematics, and felt very much like Alice thru the looking glass - a world where NOTHING made a lick of sense! Many universities use "teaching assistants" - usually first or second year grad students, themselves very inexperienced - to teach freshman classes. Personally, I would have thought that the freshman year was a critical, make-or-break one, and that a competant university would put its most experienced, accomplished teachers in those classes. Not so!

During my own academic career, I encountered an appalling number pf "professors" who could not have taught a rabbit to procreate! I suppose "professor" is very much like any other profession - the top 25% know what they are doing and are effective, the second 25% is marginal, and the remaining 50% haven't got a clue...

[ChrisM]

Alex, in what nation is your wife's teaching position? Was this an American audience or other?

Thanks.

Chris

[hiker]

Contintuing the off topic discussion. In the US you see the increased use of lecturers (non tenure track teaching faculty who have PhD's) to teach classes and you see in England and increased use of the title professor in the traditional US fashion. I have friends in English universities that are assistant and associate professors - so the two are merging. In my case I head a large research group and only teach classes occasionally (once a year basis). But I'm popular when I teach.

[Stu]

But I'm popular when I teach.

I'm not. :shake: I am quite confrontational with my students - nobody hides in my lectures! If they have a book to read, they get two weeks to finish it and, if they are degree students, I expect them to have fully grasped the context (literary and historical), the plot and to have some insights into the characters as a starting point. It doesn't do much for my popularity but people always compliment me on the exam results.

The last class I did was in November when I stood in for another teacher who had been taken ill and the students were taking the International Baccelaureate. I managed to get out of my day job slightly early to attend the class. They were supposed to have finished the whole novel Frankenstein by Mary Shelley, but less than half had done so, and some had barely started it. I was unimpressed and told them so. I gave each student a chapter to read and, after about 15 minutes, I made each one stand at the front and summarise the key points - followed by me, and other students, quizzing them on it. Then I went around the class picking on individuals at random and asking them questions on the plot itself, the parallels, relationships etc between the characters and how the book fits into its genre as a romantic/Gothic novel of the Regency period. After three and a half hours, they were on their knees - exhausted! :whiteflag

They certainly knew a heck of a lot more about Frankenstein than they did when I walked in the room. Anyhow, as soon as the class had finished I went to the bathroom and, when I looked in the mirror, it dawned on me that I was still in my police uniform. They must have thought I had been sent my the college to punish them for their laziness!!!!

Stu

[Ingemar]

Hi!

Great story of yours, would have loved sitting somewhere in the room as audience and seeing the reactions of the students when you came in!

Greetings

Ingemar

[ChrisM]

What a wonderful story, thanks for sharing!

To continue our comparison of scholastic environments, let me observe:

The I.B. is very rare in the US, but basically you are talking about High School students. So now I am trying to picture 16 years olds in the class room... We have no classes that are 3 hours long. Most classes are only 50 minutes duration, and my daughter's schedule included on class that had lunch in the middle of it! They would meet for 30 minutes, recess for lunch, and then reconvene for 20 minutes. Can you imagine anything that would result in lower learning?

Is it any wonder that US students lag so far behind those of the first world.


Best regards,

Chris

[ChristopherJ]

The men in class shut right down and were extremely uncomfortable with the entire subject.

That's very interesting.

It says a lot about the repression and hang-ups that many young and not-so-young men have around any issues related to sexuality. I know that some posters here may object to me saying that wearing a skirt is in any way related to sexuality - but the point is that *we* know it isn't - but many people assume that it is.

I think that reactions like this are all about insecurity. Insecurity with their own bodies; with their own sexuality; with their self-image etc.

[Departed Member]

I think that reactions like this are all about insecurity. Insecurity with their own bodies; with their own sexuality; with their self-image etc.

I'm firmly of the opinion that young men are 'encouraged' to be/feel insecure from infancy, these days. It's all about societal 'control'. Look how many TV adverts are especially geared to 'putting down' the male, and emphasising the 'superiority' of the female mind. Even small boys who might enquire, out of natural curiosity, whether they can try on a dress/skirt will be rapidly 'put down' with a sharp, "Boys aren't ALLOWED to wear dresses/skirts!" I believe it is this early 'forbidden territory' aspect that influences unease in most blokes, rather than any (let's face it, media-contrived) 'sexuality issues'. Equally, young girls (esp. early teens) are 'taught' (teen's magazines, etc.) to 'use' "I can wear a skirt! You can't!" as a sign of their ascendance over their male counterparts.