Dealing with Sensitive Subject Matter II

The following discussion of how to deal with student objections to 
discussing nudes or other sensitive subject matter in class took place
on WMST-L in May 2000.  For other WMST-L files now available on the
Web, see the WMST-L File List.

 Hello all,

 I teach at the University of Nevada, Reno, in the University of Nevada
 system.  A colleague tells me that at another school in the system a 
 student has formally objected to an art history instructor's showing 
 and discussing nudes in class.

 Have any of you experienced or witnessed anything similar?  do you know of
 any such cases?  I'm interested in how things were resolved.

 Thanks much.

 Joanna Frueh
 jfrueh@scs.unr.edu

Nadine Strossen describes similar incidents in the first chapter of
"Defending Pornography) (1995).

Jutta

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Deublergasse 48/5     Phone (office):   ++43-1-712 10 01
A-1210 Vienna         Fax:              ++43-1-710 32 09
Austria               email:            a7400819@unet.univie.ac.at
                                        jutta.zalud@nextra.at
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 Dear Joanna,

 Is the student in question aware of the position (pun intended) of the
 nude, both male and female, in the history of art and photography?
 Unless the instructor discussed even marginally "objectionable"
 materials, say the photography of Robert Mapplethorpe or a video of
 Annie Sprinkle *exclusively*, I would find the student's objections
 ludicrous.  Interestingly, though, the student's acute discomfort with
 the human body (a model or slides?) points up the difference between
 nudity and nakedness in art history, even where a live model is
 involved.

 I too would be interested in how this complaint resolves itself.

 Best wishes,
 Nancy Nield Buchwald
 Art History Dept.
 Univ. of Chicago
 nanield@midway.uchicago.edu

I've had similar situations in my own classes.  In an earlier incident,
a student complained that I was using "bad language" in class.  Indeed,
I was using strong language to paraphrase a situation - though I know
how to swear when I want to, and this language wasn't all that "bad."
My chair (now long gone) and I didn't get along, and he chose to write a
strong letter of reprimand to me.  The then-Dean was also a jerk (to put
it mildly) who didn't like to see people upset, whose injunction was to
"work it out" - which was his typical way of dealing with issues:
refusing to see the other side of the story (my side, in this case),
just telling people to "work it out" (thus giving validity to the
complaint, in this case).

I wrote a strong letter stating that the language I used was appropriate
to the topic at hand; that the student (a young, seemingly mild-mannered
nun, in this case) was previously upset at me for other reasons; and
that in any case, this was a matter of academic freedom, whereby I had
not violated any University policy; and I had the right to make a
professional decision as to which topics to include and what pedagogy to
use.

I discussed the issue with our union (AAUP, in this instance).  I also
sent them copy of my letter.

That was (thankfully) the end of that situation.

More recently, in a Sociology/Women's Studies class, I was told by a
student that she was offended by the fact that material on sexuality -
and homosexuality, for that matter - was included in the course.  I
immediately told her that that material was a legitimate part of the
course material, and that removing it would diminish the necessary
academic content of the course.

I also informed the Dean's Office (new and GOOD Dean); when the student
went to complain, she was told that I was within my rights to include
that material.  Indeed, several colleagues in my Sociology Department
have had similar situations, where "conservative" and "born again"
christians have objected to sexual reference in class.  My colleagues
have rightfully maintained that that material was legitimately included
in their courses.  None of us have changed our syllabi.

A related issue is hostile work enviornment sexual harassment.  If a
professor is using unrelated sexual material to tease or embarass
students, or make them uncomfortable - that certainly could be seen as
sexual harassment.  And I'm sure we are all aware of situations where
this has happened.

However, I cannot imaging teaching an Art History course without
including nudes.  I would encourage the professor affected to contact
his/her union, or a group like the AAUP if their campus is not
unionized; or perhaps a regional or national professional organization
for art historians.  I also would recommend the professor keep detailed
written records of everything.
                - Mary

Mary L. Ertel, Associate Professor, Sociology
Central Connecticut State University
ertel@ccsu.edu      ertel@erols.com

Our sexual harassment policy addresses this issue directly.  It says, under
the sub-heading "Academic Freedom," "Works of art and literature, readings,
and other written, auditory, or visual course materials which are used in an
educational context, including classrooms, academic offices, and all other
learning environments, or which are part of academic or cultural programs,
do not constitute sexual harassment, regardless of their sexual, erotic,
suggestive, or vulgar content and regardless of whether they may be
offensive to some individuals."

on 5/11/00 9:30 AM, Barbara G. Taylor at btaylor@COMP.UARK.EDU wrote:

> Our sexual harassment policy addresses this issue directly.  It says, under
> the sub-heading "Academic Freedom," "Works of art and literature, readings,
> and other written, auditory, or visual course materials which are used in an
> educational context, including classrooms, academic offices, and all other
> learning environments, or which are part of academic or cultural programs,
> do not constitute sexual harassment, regardless of their sexual, erotic,
> suggestive, or vulgar content and regardless of whether they may be
> offensive to some individuals."

Interpreted straightforwardly, it's difficult to imagine a stronger
statement in favor of academic freedom. I wonder if it's consistent with
civil rights law.

Suppose that Professor Himmler, the instructor for the course "Advanced
Thermal Transfer for Engineers," decides to show a pornographic video of
sadomasochistic torture since some of the most graphic scenes involve hot
pokers, blow-torches, etc., and Himmler is beginning the unit on heat
transfer dynamics in fluid media. As is not unusual for engineering courses,
and as Himmler is fully aware, female students are in a small minority in
the class, and the film shows torture by men only of women only, focusing on
their breasts and genitals. Since Himmler had only just had this bright
idea, the only advance warning students get is Himmler's brief remark, made
after all the students have all taken their seats in the crowded classroom,
"I'm showing a video today that will help introduce our next unit."  The
20-minute showing is followed by elaborate calculations to estimate the rate
at which flesh degrades at a variety of temperatures over time.

An engineering class on thermal transfer theory would certainly seem to be
an educational context. Since the policy is not limited to what would likely
be classified as works of art and literature - the materials need only be
"written, auditory, or visual course materials" - then an aesthetically poor
pornographic video of the most extreme S/M activity would not thereby be
excluded (and anyway, one might not wish to include a blanket prohibition
against S/M showings in psychology, psychiatry or performance art classes,
among others). The material is also immediately put to educational use in a
way directly relevant to the specific course topic being covered (not that
the policy as stated actually requires that).

According to the policy, straightforwardly interpreted, whatever
disciplinary actions Himmler might be subject to under other school policies
or applicable laws, he would not be responsible for hostile environment
sexual harassment.

Also apparently consistent with the policy straightforwardly interpreted
would be showings in the lobby of the Student Union on large screens of gay
and lesbian sadomasochistic videos, sponsored by the school's student
government funded gay and lesbian student organization.  When the school's
student group Women of Faith United for Equality, which holds regular
meetings in a room just off the lobby, protests, it would be inappropriate
under the policy for them to complain on grounds of hostile environment
sexual harassment.

Many variants of such cases, some less extreme, may also come readily to
mind.

For all I know, disseminating such policy language may result in the optimal
protection for academic freedom; or it might not. But I would worry a bit
about the school's legal position.

Here's a remark relevant to this general topic:

"Teachers who wish to teach such materials should be prepared to explain
what they are doing to avoid creating a hostile learning environment and to
provide all students the equal benefit of an education....
    Pornography, under current conditions, _is_ largely its own context.
Many believe that in settings that encourage critical distance, its showing
does not damage women as much as it sensitizes viewers to the damage it does
to women.  My experience, as well as all the information available, make me
think that it is naive to believe that anything other than words can do is
as powerful as what pornography itself does [_sic_].  At the very least,
pornography should never be imposed on a viewer who does not choose - then
and there, without any pressure of any kind - to be exposed to it.  Tom
Emerson said a long time ago that imposing what he called "erotic material"
on individuals against their will is a form of action that "has all the
characteristics of a physical assault."  Equality on campuses, in
workplaces, everywhere, would be promoted if such assaults were actionable."
(Catharine Mackinnon, _Only Words_, 108-9, italics in original)

Would giving students in class or Student Union users some (any?) sort of
advance notice be sufficient to alleviate any well-taken concerns along
these lines?

David.

--
David F. Austin
http://www4.ncsu.edu/~n51ls801/homepage.html
Associate Professor of Philosophy
Department of Philosophy and Religion
Box 8103
North Carolina State University
Raleigh, NC  27695-8103
(919) 515-6333
Winston Hall 006
David_Austin@ncsu.edu
Civil Rights Resolution Officer
NCSU Harassment Prevention Policy:
http://www.ncsu.edu/provost/offices/affirm_action/harassment/ROs.html

David, you have an amazingly rich imagination.  We do suggest, during sexual
harassment training, that students (and others) be forewarned of potentially
disturbing classroom materials.  I would also argue that your engineering
professor's video was not a necessary or appropriate illustration of the
class content, nor does it have the sort of direct relationship to the
course that paintings of nudes have to an art appreciation course.  Our
faculty can discuss nude paintings in art classes, teach works of literature
that have erotic content, and discuss human sexuality in psychology classes
without fear of being accused of sexual harassment.

One of the points that I make in sexual harassment training is that it's
often counterproductive to give examples of (especially hostile environment)
sexual harassment, because some people will than assume that anything not on
the list or not mentioned is okay.  Your imagined scenario confirms that
observation.

on 5/11/00 2:20 PM, Barbara G. Taylor at btaylor@COMP.UARK.EDU wrote:

> David, you have an amazingly rich imagination.  We do suggest, during sexual
> harassment training, that students (and others) be forewarned of potentially
> disturbing classroom materials.

That's a good suggestion. For other suggestions that may also be worth
considering, see the paper cited at the bottom of
http://www4.ncsu.edu/~n51ls801/SQwSHandout.html

I'd note that almost anything is potentially disturbing to someone in some
one (or more) of the ten or so protected categories.

> I would also argue that your engineering professor's video was not a necessary
> or appropriate illustration of the class content, nor does it have the sort of
> direct relationship to the course that paintings of nudes have to an art
> appreciation course.

The policy is so strongly worded as to suggest that pedagogical necessity is
not a factor. Arguably, it shouldn't be: one wouldn't want to require
instructors always to use only what's necessary or optimal; some flexibility
should be allowed, since that too is part of academic freedom.

Since the class content and the video both involve heat transfer in, we may
stipulate, fluid-containing media such as animal tissue, and pertinent
calculations follow immediately after the video, in what sense is the video
pedagogically inappropriate or lacking in direct connection to the course?

I do of course think that Himmler's practices are disgusting, repulsive,
harmful, distracting, sadistic, etc. and there may be many laws and policies
he's broken. And there are better ways to accomplish the pedagogical goals,
to put it mildly. But my question was whether the policy as stated would
allow what he did to be counted as sexual harassment.

> Our faculty can discuss nude paintings in art classes, teach works of
> literature that have erotic content, and discuss human sexuality in psychology
> classes without fear of being accused of sexual harassment.

Those are, I think, very good consequences of the policy interpreted
straightforwardly. Not every campus is so fortunate; in fact, I would guess
that few are. As I remarked, for all I know, the language of the policy is
optimal in protecting academic freedom. But I'm not at all sure.

> One of the points that I make in sexual harassment training is that it's
> often counterproductive to give examples of (especially hostile environment)
> sexual harassment, because some people will than assume that anything not on
> the list or not mentioned is okay.  Your imagined scenario confirms that
> observation.

I'm not sure how one instance confirms the general practice, though it may
provide some very weak evidence in its favor.

One of the points made during my training as a civil rights resolution
officer was that a suitably chosen set of varied examples, particularly of
hostile environment, are extremely helpful in engendering instructive
discussion since the language in law and policy is so vague and difficult to
interpret in concrete ways. Among the examples discussed were those in
actual court cases and in local investigations; the attorneys participating
remarked on the close similarity to case law analysis.  In the course of
training, it was also emphasized that no range of examples could possibly
anticipate all the circumstances that one may actually encounter in dealing
with complaints.

David.

--
David F. Austin
http://www4.ncsu.edu/~n51ls801/homepage.html
Associate Professor of Philosophy
Department of Philosophy and Religion
Box 8103
North Carolina State University
Raleigh, NC  27695-8103
(919) 515-6333
Winston Hall 006
David_Austin@ncsu.edu
Civil Rights Resolution Officer
NCSU Harassment Prevention Policy:
http://www.ncsu.edu/provost/offices/affirm_action/harassment/ROs.html

you wrote:

>The policy is so strongly worded as to suggest that pedagogical necessity is
>not a factor. Arguably, it shouldn't be: one wouldn't want to require
>instructors always to use only what's necessary or optimal; some flexibility
>should be allowed, since that too is part of academic freedom.

I do agree.  When I taught Research Methods last year, I used
examples from my research - on sexuality - to illustrate points I
wanted to make.   It's natural to want to bring in your own research
interests - it's what we know best.

I was not allocated teaching this year (I am a grad student) and
although hints were dropped that there were complaints about my
teaching, no details were given nor anything put in writing as to why
I wasn't.  I laid a complaint against them stating I believed I was
discriminated against for the action I took in trying to resolve my fees
status (another injustice).  But it may have had something to do with
my research interests, which seem to go against the value system of
people here.  Talking about sexuality is not well-tolerated, unless it
is in the form of jokes, such as Should Monica have taken her dress
to the dry cleaners or should she have taken Bill to the cleaners? -
the topic chosen for a departmental debate, but changed when I
spoke out about its inappropriateness.

What is tolerated here is sexual behaviour* in the classroom, which I
have felt is questionable,  although I seem to have been the only one
to raise the issue, to the professor, and for that I was harassed by
the secretaries in the department.  It was a situation a few years ago,
and I was a student in a class where a professor was paying
an unusual amount of attention to some of the women students
in the classroom - first one then another and another, beginning the
first day of class.  He ignored many of us altogether, and was rude
towards others of us.  I checked with other students later, in case I
was imagining what I thought I saw, asking them what they thought of
the class, and they laughed, and said he looked like he was trying to
get into their panties.  I have seen him since then and have raised the
issue, and he just waves his hand in the direction of young women
students, as if to say, "they don't mind".  And apparently they don't.
But then they're probably all teaching, and funded, or have flown the
coop.  And there's no one here to speak out.

Recently on this list people mentioned women engineers as
perhaps not being aware but being too tolerant of hostility and
bad behaviour, but there other environments, even in Sociology,
which are behind the times as far as I'm concerned.  One would
think that Sociologists would have more of an awareness of
social issues, or be more caring, but that is not necessarily so.
And I have never been in a place where the secretaries have so
much power, and use it to uphold patriarchal values and make
people's lives miserable.

This is the most backwards little hole imaginable, with a reputation
for being against feminism, except liberal feminism where women
are accepted on men's terms, including men's view of sex as a
form of recreation in which one must participate, or be excluded.
I had thought that I could resolve these differences, but I couldn't.
One obstacle after another is put in my way.  You can't stop them.
They have too much power.  And there is no evidence.  Just my
word against theirs.  The hostility is unimaginable.  And the women
are worse than the men.  They do the dirty work - the lying, the
provoking and harassing and withholding of information.

I have said it before and I will say it again.  If anyone wants to come
here for their postgrad degree, you don't have to worry about whether
you are intelligent enough, or have the qualifications, because that's
not what counts here.  If it did, I'd be funded and teaching.  This
university thrives on mediocrity and patriachal values.

Sue McPherson
Sociology
University of Essex, UK

It's funny that several people have recommended Octavia Butler's work,
particularly _Wild Seed_, in the "Feminist Utopia" thread at the same time
that we have this thread about "objections to explicit material." _Wild
Seed_, which I have taught often to freshmen English students, usually
offends some of my students.  I have never had any formal complaints, but
only because I warn them in advance (the first day of class, in fact) that
the book might offend and give them the option of dropping the course (and
going to another class) or asking me for an alternate reading. So far, no
one has asked me for an alternate reading.

Here in the Bible Belt, many of my students find it deeply disturbing (and
downright immoral) that there is no God, no formal sense of sin or Divine
Retribution in this novel. They are also bothered by some of the sex scenes
and some of the descriptions of carnage.  I have had students tell me that
this novel should never have been assigned.  I have had students tell me
that this is a "sick" work written by a "sick" mind.  My favorite complaint
to date was "Miss [sic] Butler is obviously one of those crazy people who
believe in ghosts, reincarnation and evolution."

Even so, the book has been tremendously successful because students can't
put it down.  Even when they hate it, they are enthralled by the story.
Since my purpose in teaching it is to lead them to think about literature, I
use many of their objections to the novel as a springboard to the points
that I want to make. For example, when they object to a graphic sex scene, I
ask them to consider what effect the scene has, what it adds to the story,
how it works symbolically, how it does/doesn't advance character, etc. After
we have done this for a while the students begin to catch on that even if
the book is "sick," none of the "offensive" parts are gratuitously
offensive, that the novel as a whole reflects a pattern and even that the
pattern is, in its own way, a highly moral one.  The book is full of
biblical references and allusions, so I have my students think about these
allusions (often they find that they are not nearly as well-versed in the
Bible as they thought they were) and how these allusions fit in with the
apparent immorality and the absence of God from the work.  The result, in
most cases, is that the students get an insight into how something that they
initially dismissed as immoral, sensationalist fiction (and which they felt
guilty for enjoying) is nevertheless "art" and that the novel's apparent
"immorality" may be seen as an invitation to the reader to define his/her
own morality more clearly.

I go into all these details because it seems to me that often the question
of student objectives to "offensive" material can be dealt with by helping
the students work their way to an understanding of how/why the material is
worthy of their attention even if (or precisely because) it is "offensive."
Part of the problem that some of my students face is that they are
fascinated by many of these things which their family's standards teach them
are "offensive."  They will go to see slasher movies, for example, and come
out feeling titillated but guilty.  In literature classes I have found that
what makes the students most uncomfortable about some sexually explicit
poems is that by putting them in the curriculum I seem to be endorsing them.
It helps when I tell students that literature is about the complete human
experience and that this thing that they find offensive is part of the human
experience.  I would think that such an explanation would be useful in an
art history course, a sociology course, etc. as well.

In short, a lot of times when students object to "explicit material" they
are really objecting to the _message_ that they get from that explicit
material. Often the message is in their own imagination (nude = naked).
Therefore, if we can help them rethink the message, we can sometimes
overcome the objections.

Elvira Casal
English Department, Middle Tennessee State University
ecasal@frank.mtsu.edu

UMass Boston is a commuter school with a very diverse studentbody
with an average age of 29.

In classes, faculty who announce that potentially offensive material
will be shown well in advance (and give an idea of what the material
involves) and tell the class that they have the option to leave rarely
if ever, have objections.  In our student population, faculty can
be sure that they will have at least one student with a history of
domestic violence/sexual assault/PTSD as well as at least one student
with a hidden disability (learning disability, hearing loss, etc).  We
have found that by announcing what is being covered beforehand and
allowing students to decide what they can tolerate eliminates most
problems.  If students have objections on religious grounds or cannot
be present due to past traumatic experiences, there is no stigma or
penalty to their absence.  Faculty have alternate assignments/work
for those who cannot be present for subject matter that is too much
for them.

Shauna Lee Manning
Women's Studies/American Studies
University of Massachusetts Boston
"shauna@umbsky.cc.umb.edu"

When a category as vague and broad as "hostile environment harassment" -
which includes "verbal acts" - i.e., speech - is let loose in academe, it's
not surprising that anybody can charge anybody else with the claim that they
are uncomfortable or offended by something that went on in class.  This
extension of sexual harassment regulations has extraordinary potentiality
for curtailing the academic freedom of professors.  Although some schools
attempt, in their sexual harassment policies, to have "saving" clauses about
the protection of academic freedom, this is often contradicted by the
conventional language (taken from the OCR) about what counts as harassment.
As with other forms of censorship, the concept of  hostile environment
harassment seems to me like one that increasingly will come back to haunt
women's studies faculty, though clearly they were not the intended target.
Feminists, more than others, have needed -- and have fully used --free
speech and academic freedom to promote the changes they have sought in
curricula and academic life.
        I'm sure you all know about the many cases of professors (mostly
males)  being charged with sexual harassment because of *classroom
discussions* a student took offense at. The literature on sexual harassment
tells us women are more likely to bring charges of sexual harassment in
academe if they are feminists.  This can, of course, be read in two very
different ways.   But bad laws and regulations come home to roost, and it
should surprise no one that feminists are increasingly likely to be the
targets of rules they  have used against others.

Daphne

daphne.patai@spanport.umass.edu

I teach in Oklahoma, where there are many conservative and religious
students.  My first semester, I encountered objections to the use of the
novel Egalia's Daughters in a psychology of women course.  Since then, for
all my classes  I have found that being explicit about the course materials
on the first day has been helpful.  I found that adding this information to
my syllabi and introduction to class has reduced issues, misunderstandings,
and conflicts with students.  Students have remarked that this information
is helpful.  For my psychology of women class, I include the following:

CAVEAT:  Understanding gender involves reviewing research and theories
about potentially controversial topics (e.g., sexual violence, sexuality,
reproduction).  It is likely that you will have strong feelings, values,
and beliefs that will affect the way you interpret the scientific data.
While diversity of opinion(s) is valued in the class, it is essential that
students are able to accurately portray the current status of psychological
research and theory, despite particular values about the curriculum.

Second, given diversity of opinions and values, it is expected that all
class members (including the professor) will treat one another with respect
in all discussions and learn how to respectfully disagree and dialogue with
one another.  This is an essential skill necessary for scholarship to
advance.

Finally, although I encourage students to integrate personal experiences
with research and theory, and emphasize this as an essential part of the
learning process, I want to remind students that the classroom is not a
substitution for psychotherapy.  Students who are grappling with issues
regarding course topics (e.g., personal experiences of sexual assault,
health problems, sexuality) are encouraged to seek help at .......(I
provide on campus and off campus numbers)


Elana Newman, Ph.D.
Assistant Professor
Department of Psychology
University of Tulsa
600 South College Avenue: Lorton Hall
Tulsa OK 74104-3189

Phone: (918) 631-2836
Fax    (918) 631-2833

Email: elana-newman@utulsa.edu
http://www.personal.utulsa.edu/~elana-newman/

I teach Psychology and also stress management classes in southern NY State,
deep in the hills of northern Appalachia. Oddly, out best class discussions
were on the human sexuality parts of the class. People were in dire need of
safe birth control information, basic human physiology, and marital
information.

Other those students who had been in the military, they had no idea that
people in other countries had different marital styles. They had no idea one
could study them. I put the word *anthropology* on the board and told them
they could learn about other countries in classes with that name.

I was so surprised. However, no one ever objected to the course material to
my face. It was after all *in the book. * The chief areas of vocalized
conflict came from students who seemed unaware that academic discussions were
not personal, they were abstract. So, for instance, if I discussed the use of
concubines or prostitutes in the world, or discussed homosexuality, they
seemed to think I thought it was positive simply because I had listed that as
a different marital pattern. (!!!!!) It took many attempts to get them to
understand that we were looking at facts and information, not personal
opinion.

I wonder if this lack of familiarity with abstract academic process is not
part of your conflict with some students. They also seem to think that social
science is like some weird off shoot of AA or other self help groups, wherein
people only instruct in their area of personal experience, rather than
academic study.

Once we cleared this up things seemed to go much better. We have a strong
teachers union here so no one ever complained, about course material, but I
did get some very odd comments (not written) about teaching about post-trauma
and the new research on the neurological studies which indicate methods to
determine truthful recall and the existence of PTSD in people by advance MRI
and PET scans of brain function. They seemed disturbed that I help victims
validate their experiences, both in my clinical practice and writing.

Lil
Adjunct Psy --SUNY system
1000 title Feminist Bibliography
http://hometown.aol.com/PinteaReed/fem_books.html