By Mira Sucharov, Associate Professor, Department of Political Science
I generally find teaching stimulating, invigorating and frequently fun, on one hand, and often emotionally draining, on the other. Part of this is my tendency to obsess and self-doubt, which sit atop my general confidence and assertiveness. Thinking about the skill set required to be a scholar and professor, I suspect I am not alone among my colleagues in this strange admixture of qualities.
Amidst the mental chatter accompanying me through my daily life is a lurking fear of my students interpreting some classroom moment in an unsavoury way. There’s the fear of unintentionally uttering a classist or sexist remark (though as a woman, I suppose I feel some natural immunity — whether justified or not — from being perceived as sexist).
But since I present as White, I do fear that students might interpret some comment or another as unintentionally racist or otherwise offensive (I say “present as White” because I am Jewish, and Jewish identity and Whiteness co-exist in complex ways; Jews who present as White no doubt benefit from White privilege while also living in the shadow of the legacy — and lurking threat of — anti-Semitism).
Part of this fear of being perceived as unintentionally racist or offensive is fuelled by not scripting my lectures or seminar-teaching. There’s a lot left to chance as I inhabit the moment and enter a sense of “flow” in my commentary and examples as I draw on memories and anecdotes to help students connect to the material.
One topic among many that I cover in my courses — for example, in my graphic novels and political identity seminar — is race and ethnicity. From experimental data we learn that racial bias can be deeply ingrained, despite our best efforts to hold and nurture non-prejudicial beliefs and attitudes.
It’s by now quite clear in the zeitgeist of 2017 in Canada (and certainly at Carleton) that students and faculty want to be — and are — sensitive to issues of racism on one hand, and tolerant, accepting, inclusive and multicultural on the other. But it doesn’t mean we always get it right.
Should professors make a concerted effort to highlight this issue directly? Would it be seen as self-serving, as a sort of misplaced disclaimer? “I’m not racist or prejudiced or bigoted so I apologize in advance if something I say comes across that way?” That seems problematic. Shouldn’t we be held accountable for our words even if they are laden with unintentional meanings?
And, similarly, what if a student says something that doesn’t quite land right but one senses that the student did not intend it to be offensive? Should the professor call the student on it, or just move on? The risk of saying something would be that the student would be shamed. The risk of not saying something would be that the rest of the class might be hurt and that a small injustice would be left unaddressed.
For now, I don’t have firm answers. Perhaps I will broach this with my class at the beginning of next term. All I know is that among my many unwanted fearful fantasies — around garden-variety issues like loss, failure and abandonment — are my students thinking that something I’ve said comes across in a way I really did not intend.