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[dreamingwideawake]

I posted this on the balancing work and life forum but was kindly redirected here. My original post was:

Dear regular posters (and lurkers),

Over the past year, I became an avid reader of the chronicle forum. The advice was very helpful to me in applying for jobs, and then successfully receiving an offer from a large North Eastern university. I am posting here for the first time because I want to talk about an issue that is rarely broached on this forum, but is very important: diversity and the academe [and I have discovered that you have this forum which is really great!].

One of the posts that really piqued my interest (and worry) was on teaching styles and the way in which students responded to a middle eastern visitng academic. Even more interesting (and worrying) to me was the way in which  forumites responded.

I am really interested in hearing from people who have migrated to North America and are currently teaching and researching there. How did you find your transition? What do you think you could have requested that could have aided your integration into the new faculty? Are you in a residential area/city that has others of your background? Did you ever feel socially isolated? Was there any experience of racism from your colleagues, your students or others in the town?

I know this may seem confrontational to some readers. But these are important issues that some academics have to deal with. Interestingly, at the institution where I am now in the UK, I work with a number of US academics, who have also had to put up with stereotyping etc from their colleagues and students. Anti-american sentiment is very high in some parts of the world and this to me, like any other form of racism is sad and maddening.

I also noticed that there were very few self identified African American/other minority persona's on here. Why is this? 

I am genuinely interested by these questions and don't mean to be inflammatory.

I look forward to your responses.

[voxprincipalis]

If I am correctly identifying the thread to which you refer, the poster in question generally received the replies he did not because of his heritage, but because of the ways in which he refused to accept the realities of the teaching situation in which he found himself. There are plenty of examples of similar situations with American instructors that have the same features -- "these students aren't what I expected/deserve to teach; they refuse to meet my standards and expectations; how do I make them change, because this is totally unacceptable?"

I am not saying that the prejudice you see doesn't exist. But I do think that it's important to separate the idea of "they dislike me because I'm XXX nationality" from "they dislike me because they are frustrated by my condescending attitude." Additionally, that poster was not open to hearing the suggestion of others and became pretty aggressive. Anyone who is that aggressive (regardless of race or nationality) will not find a warm reception here.

On the fora it is often unnecessary to self-identify either race or gender. For example, OP, I don't know whether you are male or female, and it doesn't matter. I don't know what your race/ethnicity is, and that also doesn't matter to me. Nor do I know your age.

We also have a history of rabid discussions about affirmative action (due largely to the malicious efforts of a troublemaking former poster), and there seems to be a general reluctance to retread those conversations, for which many of us who remember the venom of this former poster are quite grateful.

VP

[yellowtractor]

No, not inflammatory at all.  I wonder, however, if you could be a little more specific about what your concerns are.

So much of what you ask depends on a given school, location, regional culture, etc.  Your experience at an R1 in a large northeastern urban setting might be very different from your experience at a mostly-white SLAC in, say, the Midwest (and I'm not at all implying that the latter would be "worse").  Of course, as Vox implies, your response to a given situation or milieu will matter a great deal.

Teaching styles will likewise vary from institution to institution.  Right now, for instance, I'm at a SLAC at which various forms of discussion dominate the pedagogical scene, especially in the humanities.  I know of a few humanities professors who lecture, but they are known for that, and known as exceptions to the general rule.  To arrive at this school in the humanities with an expectation of lecturing in every class would both frustrate potential students and run counter to the general trend.  You would in fact be counselled to incorporate more discussion--more give-and-take--into your classroom approach.  Class sizes here are kept quite low (especially compared to some larger R1 schools); students pay for a more personalized approach to the classroom and have learned to expect it.

All of which is to say that at my present employer there exists a very definite pedagogical culture, which may or may not run afoul of new hires' expectations, depending on their backgrounds and expectations.  Since the spectrum of academic institutions and approaches in the USA is so broad, it's always good to sound out one's new or would-be colleagues about the particular academic culture of a given institution, either before you get there or just after you arrive.  As with any new environment, paying close attention to the cues will go a long way toward "integration."

As for the rest:  in short, yes, I've experienced prejudice, but it is the exception rather than the rule (making allowances for the well-intentioned and curious who phrase their inquiries in hapless ways).  Learning how to negotiate such moments (either the well-intentioned or the not-so-well-intentioned) within the context of Difference simply becomes part of one's professional life.  I think about it much less now than I did when I was first on the market and starting as a professor.

If there's any way you could express your concerns more specifically--without outing yourself or your new school--perhaps we would have more to share.  For now, congratulations, and good luck!

[zharkov]

I know this may seem confrontational to some readers. But these are important issues that some academics have to deal with. Interestingly, at the institution where I am now in the UK, I work with a number of US academics, who have also had to put up with stereotyping etc from their colleagues and students. Anti-american sentiment is very high in some parts of the world and this to me, like any other form of racism is sad and maddening.
 
 

I used to work in industry for a multinational corporation and worked with people from all over the world.  One thing I noticed among Europeans that it seemed OK to stereotype co-workers in ways that would be rude in the US.

Euro-Boss: I need you to work with Johan on this project.

Dr. Zharkov: Sure, can you tell me about him?

Euro-Boss: You know, typical Austrian.

The Euro-Boss didn't mean anything bad by that and liked Johan, but such a comment would be very rude if spoken by an American in the US.  Maybe that is b/c most Americans have a mix of ancestors and you never know who you might insult.

Rule 1 -- avoid ethnic stereotypes

Rule 2 -- While a guest in the US, don't insult the US.  Ask questions about why things are the way they are, but lay off the severe criticism, it will come across as rude.

Rule 3 -- Realize that we expect most HS graduates to go to college. That means that the average college student may not be as prepared as the average college student in your home country, assuming that only a minority of childen make it to college in your home country.  Don't disrespect your students.

[dreamingwideawake]

Hello,

Thank you for taking the time to answer the mish-mash of questions I posted earlier. I was experiencing extreme happiness (I can't wait!) and also some anxiety (hence my question) at the time. Since then, I've had some time to settle down and have been reflecting on the underlying reason for posting here in the first place.

I want to clarify one thing: I wouldn't dream of being rude about the place that I am going to be calling home for the next few years (maybe longer!). As trite as this sounds, every place is different and every place has it's good and bad. I grew up in the UK and my family migrated there when I was an infant. I've worked in Asia, Australia and the UK. My experiences have been in countries that are multicultural/ethnic and I loved it. I don't see anything wrong in questioning things, as zharkov pointed out. I am looking forward to the experience, of meeting people like yourselves, meeting students and the communities that they come from.

I would like to know that I am welcome too and this was my main concern.

The idea of the USA is big in all the places where I have been; we outsiders construct images of it from the images we see on TV, what we read in the papers and what we are shown on TV. We read political books which comment on the negative implications of the hegemony of the US in the global world order, and sociological tracts on race relations. Some of us even study the impact of the US on other countries. Of course, I subscribe wholeheartedly that one should not believe everything one hears or reads, particularly when it comes to fictitious TV shows, even if there is hardly ever a 'minority' character in them! Nor should one judge a country by the actions of the State.

So, the issue of race relations is my biggest worry. I have had to navigate and deal with this all my life as I grew up in the UK (I was born elsewhere). Yet, the cultural context is different and it is just something that I will have to learn to deal with.

One of the concerns I have is that the KKK is meant to be active in the area I am moving to.

The other thing is, that the area is 87% white.  I worry about feeling excluded from the community, or not making friends (what am I, 12 years old?). I guess though this is ot reflective of race relations. this could apply to anyone.

Hmmm...writing this out makes me think I am exaggerating my fear, and trading in worst scenario situations. 

A very important point was raised by yellowtractor, and that was  about pedagogical culture, which it seems to be was the issue in the thread I mentioned. I think the best way to go about this is to find a mentor and support team in the faculty. Also, from what yellotractor describes, this doesn't seem that much different from the UK. I don't want to completely change my teaching style but I am open to suggestions.

Thanks again for your advice!

[iomhaigh]

Oh gracious, the Klan? .... please don't let those nutjobs instill any fear in you.  I have seen more than a few Klan marches in the Bible Belt (kind of like watching a bad accident in slo-mo), and there were always more protesters than Klansmen.  I imagine that if your school is in the northeast, then you're also more likely to be surrounded by protesters than Klanners. 

The Southern Poverty Law Center keeps a map of active hate groups. 
http://www.splcenter.org/intel/map/hate.jsp

It isn't perfect, but it is telling.  The rest of the site might be interesting reading to you as well.  Personally, I would be more worried about someone trying to convert you to another religion or the feds harassing you, but that's my cynical side coming out. 

As to race relations, I find that the students are not particularly aware of the history of race relations in this country and are not particularly good at noticing the less obvious and more institutionalized signs of race troubles.  Too many of them also swallow the Bush Admin's views of the world without questioning it.  Many lack exposure to other cultures -- which is the source of many problems. 

It was really bad after 9/11 where I lived then -- but the backlash was also swift, loud and public.  Should there need to be backlash, of course not.  But, the fact that this largely apathetic generation of students managed to react publicly to people who were shouting slurs at women wearing scarves on campus gives me some small glimmer of hope.  Or maybe I'm grasping at what I can find and assuming that there will always be hate-mongers among us.  So long as we join together to drown out their voices and support the targets, I will continue to have faith in this country.  Of course, if you measure the current gov't by that yardstick then we are failing quite miserably. 

People will be narrow-minded and hateful everywhere, but I guess that I'm much more used to seeing religion used as a reason to be openly hateful these days.  The race issues are still there, of course. 

How's that for an utterly rambling non-answer?  I need to get to class, so I'll leave this in its current messy state.  Good luck with the new job!

[yellowtractor]

I've taught recently at three schools, all with quite low percentages of non-white students, and also quite low percentages of non-whites in the town/city and surrounding area.  The question, really, is what you mean by "feeling excluded from the community"--of scholars and colleagues?  I've never experienced that.  Of people who are visually or culturally identifiable as one's own?  I have experienced that, and know many others who have too.  For some colleagues it has proven too much, and they've moved on to other schools.

But again, it varies so much from situation to situation.

Actually, I've struggled less with feeling included/excluded than with cavalier reactions of my students when confronted with texts by non-white or non-USA authors.  There is often a low-grade, collective puzzlement as to why they should care, why they should be expected to care what these writers say.  This puzzlement can be prodded into frustration and resistance.  It's a pedagogical challenge, and one I've encountered fairly often.  I'm still not sure what the best ways to deal with it may be.  Perhaps this won't be a challenge in your field.

The KKK is a small organization throughout the USA, even in most of the Deep South locales.  Its sort of racism is in some ways easier to deal with--because it is so obvious--and also quite rare (rarer than, say, Nazi skinheads in Germany or the UK).

The thing about the USA that continues to be uncanny to me--from travels, and from talking to friends who live abroad--is that somehow both versions are true.  I mean the globalizing, culturally totalitarian entity that so many people elsewhere on the planet perceive (and experience!), alongside the fairly gentle life I've had in several college towns in the South, Midwest, and West.

Good luck, and best wishes.  If you feel like sharing your experiences here once you've arrived, we'd all be interested to hear them.

[iomhaigh]

The thing about the USA that continues to be uncanny to me--from travels, and from talking to friends who live abroad--is that somehow both versions are true.  I mean the globalizing, culturally totalitarian entity that so many people elsewhere on the planet perceive (and experience!), alongside the fairly gentle life I've had in several college towns in the South, Midwest, and West.

This is a great way of explaining it, yellowtractor.