University of Venus

I spent the day grading my midterms, never a fun task. Usually I get into a vague kind of automaton state; as I read for key phrases, look for definitions and the critical use of concepts, and references to key authors and guest speakers. Check, check, check, grade. But this time, I noticed a pattern that I’m sure I’ve seen before but just ignored. It is the gendered attribution that says so much about how students view “authority” (in the author sense) in academia.

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I will threaten financial, if not physical, punishment for the next student who sits opposite me and glibly announces that s/he desires, “time off.” These seniors then expect me to find them a fellowship for the self-proclaimed period of inaction.

I am in year one as the Chair of the Academic Women’s Caucus on campus. This includes all women faculty (all streams and part or full-time, as well as Librarians, who are tenure-line faculty). As I have noted elsewhere, I have made mentoring a major mandate of my leadership on campus in this position, and my philosophy in and outside of the classroom with students.

Mentoring graduate students constitutes a significant part of many academics' scholarly activities. On the surface, the mentor's role is straightforward: assist the student’s selection of courses so that she is adequately prepared for comprehensive exams or field papers; guide the student’s selection of a doable and marketable dissertation project; and work assiduously to place the student in the highest ranking university for which she is prepared.

UVenus Around the Web....

Thursday, October 20th, was the National Day on Writing created by the National Council of Teachers of English (NCTE). In order to celebrate this day, programs like the National Writing Project asked readers to share why they write.

I got an A+ in Porn. That fact still amuses and delights me, and in certain circles I am sure to find some semi-awkward way to bring it up in conversation. And while I would never claim to be an aficionado of pornographic film or erotic text, I did spend a great deal of time this past Winter in a Special Studies course exploring pornography, erotica and romance, focusing on the production of erotic writing by women.