The University of Hawaii at Hilo has told a philosophy lecturer who swore in the classroom that his services won’t be needed next semester, according to an article in The Honolulu Star-Advertiser. The lecturer, Daniel Petersen, said he had told students that “stuff happens”—though he used a more emphatic word than “stuff”—to illustrate concepts like free will and determinism. Parents complained, and Mr. Petersen was suspended without pay. Then he was informed that he wouldn’t be returning to teach next semester. Mr. Petersen told the newspaper that he planned to sue the university.
- 1255 Twenty-Third St, N.W.
- Washington, D.C. 20037
- Copyright © 2013 The Chronicle of Higher Education
“Parents complained.”
That’s what we’re coming too, then. I know nothing about Mr. Petersen’s teaching, which could be great or could be lousy, but it’s telling that the trigger was “parents complained,” and not “students complained.”
He’s gonna sue? Hey Prof. get over it, sh!t happens.
Wow. . . half of my professors should have been canned by this standard. Personally, I find swearing unprofessional, but, fired? Unconscionable. If he were belittling students through use of degrading epithets, that would be a different story.
What, all the sweet, innocent little University students in his class never swear? Hmm. . . .
And total genius that they complained about his use of a word that their darling children probably use 100 times per day (not to mention they themselves) and not about his teaching. Cannot believe that any “real” university would fire someone over swearing in class…. this is worse than the story last year about the student who was expelled because he swore in front of a teacher…
All because he said “stuff” (I assume it was spelled s-h-*-t)?
Good. One more open slot for me. Hot sh*t!
geochaucer makes the point that we don’t know anything about the other circumstances surround the professor’s dismissal, so it is well to withhold final judgment. However, if he really was “non-renewed” for saying, you know, the s-word (shudder) to adults, the wrong person got fired. It should have been the spineless idiot in the administration building who thought they were running an elementary school and not a university.
Fired for dropping an S bomblet in a class? What a fustercluck.
Dear CHE: You have every professional, fact-reporting reason to use the word “shit.” Dancing around it in this cutesy way is beneath journalistic dignity and effectively provides a warrant for administrative behavior that, absent other information, seems entirely bizarre (and will be litigated soon, I have no doubt). Seek and get an editorial ruling that when specific language-items are port of a story, they will not be addressed with euphemisms.
I’ve certainly heard students use worse language than this. If professors initiated disciplinary action against them, I wonder what their parents would say.
I do not use profanity and request my students refrain from using it in my classes. I view it as a matter of respect. There is nothing respectful about profanity nor its use.
I am certain many of you — those who use it freely — will disagree, and, of course, you are welcome to do so.
As has been stated in previous posts, we are not privy to the entire story and do not what else figured into the decision not to rehire the instructor.
Hmmm. A philosophy professor is canned using a swear word. Reminds me of a rather notorious, yet brilliant, article in Telos by Michael Kosok, published in the 1970′s. Here is the URL:
http://www.thenewdialectics.org/fuck.htm
Guess he should have been fired, too. Maybe he was!
Due to my reading disability, at first I read the headline as “University Canes Cursing Philosophy Lecturer”. My initial reaction was, “Finally, it’s legal!” I then re-read it and was disappointed. It happens.
I agree with profadavis (5th up), Chronicle of Higher Education, grow the hell up and ditch the euphemisms and talk arounds. He said the perfectly good and old English word ‘shit’ — why can’t you? You are not writing for kindergarten children or the PTA. Nor even the Church Lady.
Early in my career during the Cal-Berkeley “dirty speech” era and after one of my lectures a student came to my office with a Bible.
She showed me in several places how swearing was a bad sin. I listened and then told her that I would not swear anymore but only because it offended her values. I did say that the Bible verses that she read could be interpreted differently than what she had been taught and believed. It was then difficult for me to join the “clean speech”, one-person movement.
Let’s hope the classics department stays far away from Catullus’ carmen 16.
And keep those students away from classes in Medieval English Lit…much to coarse for their virgin ears. Oh, we do not offer that course anymore…no gainful employment out of that one.
this is excellent info i have interest in it.
Regenerate MD
Finally, an issue where it actually is an issue of academic freedom. I hope he sues the “shit” out of this two bit minor pissant university. I hope they bleed money. They ought to be ashamed. FIRE should take this one up.
Good points, all, but look at the underlying situation. He wasn’t fired for being incompetent; his contract wasn’t renewed. That’s just plain insidious. Personally, I’m not a fan of tenure; it promotes laziness and disregard for students and the needs of the larger university community. Contract work is at the other extreme. One is too favourable to the teachers, the other to the administration. Where’s the union here, trying to cut down on contract work for obviously long-term positions?
Why don’t we all indulge ourselves with some bigoted speculation on the quality of the the firing authority’s personality? Perhaps a bible-thumping male 60 year-old? My guess is a 50-ish female over-promoted secretary whose kids have grown up and has no place left to focus her maternal instincts upon. Come on; give it a go…
Gee, wonder if he had the book “On Bullshit” by the esteemed philosopher Harry Frankfurt on the reading list.
Hello amnirov; FIRE did take it up. See: http://www.thefire.org/spotlight/codes/2507.html. It gave the university a “RED” Speech Code Rating. Also see: http://www.thefire.org/article/12600.html. This last article applies to students, but one might wonder about the instructor parallel.
I find reality offensive—let’s fire it.
As an administrator for over 25 years, I have never seen anyone let go because of one minor infraction. There has always been a consistent pattern of behavior, and a single incident may have been the proverbial, “straw that broke the camel’s back.” If this was an isolated incident, then the institution truly over-reacted.
However, if the words are not pertinent to the subject being studied, as mentioned by several comments above, why use them in class? If we are trying to challenge our students to a higher level of thinking and functioning, why would we intentionally model and condone the use of ‘swearing’ in class? We choose to model good communication skills or reinforce our culture’s message of loud, boisterous behavior, which many faculty find inappropriate in class and in private conversations.
Bravo, tomupnorth.
Unfortunately, we also know that antagonistic behavior is often appluaded in a university setting. That is, the louder, more anti-establishment a person is, the more they’re viewed a a defender of academic freedom. Academic freedom isn’t personal freedom to be abusive and create an uncomfortable working and learning environment for others–regardless of the shroud you’re covering it.
And I agree with blisterfish. Philosophically speaking, Shi!t happens.
What makes the case even more sad is that he’s refusing to give grades to the institution, which is nothing more than a punshiment to students.
You’re right Tom, something else is going on or the administrator is a nutter. Vulgarity of language is often associated with rude, abusive conduct. It is the responsibility of instructors to act as a model of restraint and thoughtfulness to students which is reflected in language. However, in this case this could merely be a register shift by the instructor. If so, the administrator is acting on cultural bias. In other words, upper class people who speak in a high register look down on lower class people who speak in lower registers. Registers may be defined by how one culture speaks as opposed to another in varying social contexts. So suddenly, this is a racial/cultural discrimination issue. Saying ‘shit’ and ‘fuck’ are something often done in the military and sports (note: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=q430P9Sz1hI) and other minority cultures. So if you punish me for shifting to a register which includes ‘shit’, then you are punishing me for being a member of a particular culture. Don’t forget that language is a conditioned behaviour; most of our word choices are not intellectual, but are reflections of mood shifts, and grammar and lexicon are subconscious functions. Language is a patterned bahaviour. You learn it by doing it, not by reading or thinking about it. I’ve learned (mainly to pronounce) about 8 languages; it’s true.
“[H]e’s refusing to give grades to the institution”!!! What?! That’s unethical. He was paid to do a defined amount of work. He is required to do that work, or he’s committed fraud. He had a contract and is obligated to fulfill that contract. The next contract is another block of work unrelated to his last contract. This is a major mistake. Now we’re seeing into his character and maybe why he wasn’t re-hired.
Just yesterday, I was out walking and exclaimed, “Oh Shit! I stepped in dog pooh!” There are times and places for “shit,” and times and places for “pooh.” Presumably, University of Hawaii today is a time and place only for “pooh.” Pooh happens, we see, even in paradise. But is it really better, even in paradise, to be called a “pooh-head”? When I was a child in school, I had a Sister Delores (or perhaps it was Sister Dolores) who would put your head in the toilet, for saying “pooh.” Can’t imagine what she’d do for “shit.”
Really? Do “parents” think their 18-year-old college students are kindergarteners who need to have their innocent ears protected from the evil profanity they’ve never heard before? Ridiculous. Curse words, like our entire language, are simply a social and historical construction. There is nothing inherently, eternally improper about them, even if there may be something improper about them in certain rhetorical situations. I think most college students are mature enough to handle an occasional curse word. They’re not going to go about like 3-year-olds blurting it out at inopportune, awkward moments.
If we are trying to challenge our students to a higher level of thinking and functioning, why would we intentionally model and condone the use of ‘swearing’ in class?: Some of us do not subscribe to the hierarchizing idea that some types of language are inherently more “higher-level” and intelligent than others simply because they’ve historically been used by the working and not the wealthy classes. :/ Of course, as an instructor, you’re going to use discretion. We want students to know what is and is not rhetorically effective and appropriate for various situations. But unfortunately it doesn’t make a person any less intelligent simply because they curse occasionally – or a lot, in casual situations.
If there was in fact a *pattern* of abusive behavior beyond cursing, then there may have been a more legitimate reason to let him go, in which case this Chronicle blurb would seem to be terrible reporting.
Yes, taboo words shift with time and place. I never used profanity until I was an officer in the navy. It was expected. It took 10 years of being out before I stopped using profanity. It still comes out when I’m relaxed with men, speaking personally at a bar. Now get this: I went up to Nova Scotia where Scottish immigrants came about 150 years ago (and haven’t really changed much). Little old ladies say “shit” but not “Christ” or “God” (cursing/swearing are really terms for using God’s name; names for bodily functions are not considered vulgar-a difference from the English). So I’m catching myself, trying not to say “shit” but they don’t care; then I say, “My God, it’s good to see you Tom,” and an entire room full of people fall silent and stare at me. Taboo words shift from culture/class to culture/class.
Everyone is making such good points. What a great discussion today.
I suppose if these 18 and 19 year olds go into the military parents will complain about the language of their educator (the D.I.). Walking across campus I hear language from both men and women students that would make a D.I. blush. There are certain words that I wouldn’t use out of courtesy but…give me a break! “Shit happens” is a philosophy of life very proper for a philosophy class. Don’t get me started on words that we folks in anthropology and religious studies have at our disposal.Curses to make your blood run cold.
Changing times, changing cultures, changing individual attitudes.
Shift happens.
I’m a David Mamet scholar. We study Mamet scripts. We read thema aloud. College is a place where any and all words should be spoken aloud. A person should feel free to speak and then the group can logically discuss their reactions to the thoughts associated with those words. Words are tools. As students have FERPA rights, so too should instructors. The only people who have grounds for complaints are the students, and they need to stay out of the class if they can’t think critically rather than emotionally. The only place for “censorship” on a college campus is in a dictionary.
Comments about him on RateMyProfessors.com:
“One of the best classes and best teachers I’ve EVER had. Peterson is very entertaining, extremely passionate and knowledgeable, helpful, funny, sexy, and do I really need to say Handsome? Plus his shirts rock. Do yourself a favor, take this class and learn how to think like a Handsome Person! I had to study hard for it, but I got an A.
What an awesome and inspiring man! Full of charm and wit and a clear understanding of his field. In good humor he is ready to battle any student who wishes to contest him. Yet he is always willing to give his own time to help students. Ironically we laugh through the struggle because we know we are in a one of kind class with a handsome man!
Great teacher, love his opinions but if you are going to argue against them be ready with a good argument! Take any class from him very good for expanding horizons!
Other students have rated this teacher rather harshly. He DOES know what he’s talking about, and teaches it to you. Yes, he has strong opinions about religion (all of which he backs up logically,) and many other things, but that’s his right. Don’t let his crazy stories and opinions fool you; he’s a very nice person, smart, and grades fairly.”
Knowing U Hawaii Hilo, I’m sure this was about internal politics rather than the actual complaint.
When seeing the title I first thought that some University’s football team named “Cans” (derived from the holder of a substance favored by their fans) were putting a curse on a philosophy professor.
I hate these story soundbites that are becoming the norm in the media and now the Chronicle. There is not enough information to make any conclusions except the one-sided one we just read.
Professors can rate themselves on ratemyprofessor.
I attempted to follow the link article using the word “fuck” in its title. A tad too dense and erudite for me and I gave up about half way through. One semester of philosophy as a Freshman wasn’t enough although it helped me get through to a Ph.D. eventually.
Somewhere in my archives I have a list of a dozen or more uses and meanings of the term. Some flat sexual, and insulting, others descriptive of things or circumstances, some perjorative and some complimentary.
The same holds for “shit” in English and likely in most other languages although all I know of is “merde”in French,.
True, we do not know (and might never) the full circumstances but as reported, the U of H administration seems to have acted like asses and are full of crap. Note that these two terms are
perfectly acceptable for use on TV by the morality managers of the FCC.
As may be inferred, I was and am an admirer of the genius of the late George Carlin.
WOW! That language had to be a complete mystery to those students. It was so beyond their comprehension that they had to go to their parents to receive an interpretation. In a related matter, but an important one; all young competent and aspiring faculty members are advised to immediately redline The University of Hawaii as a potential destination for your services. Believe me, you do not want to EVER work in any collegiate institution where parents control the rational thinking and decision making process of its administrators.
tidewaterglacier knows about UH. “Outsiders” are often given a very cold shoulder, particularly by some students who resent the presence of anyone not born there. An Australian friend of mine found out when he was a post-doc there. That is quite contrary to the experience I had as a post-doc on the mainland.
You have to be very careful with students these days, particularly first years. The generational/life experience gap is often too wide. They will and do report on you to their parents, their highschool principals (I am not joking), heads of school and faculty deans. It makes for dull classes but so be it.
I’m concerned that Mommies and Daddies are being given that much control over hiring and the curriculum. What will happen when a Mommy finds out what kind of language the lecturer in women’s studies is using, for example?
Come back, George Carlin — we need you!