In our first meeting we separated into groups to discuss what makes us unique and how those experiences contributed to our educational paths. The Chronicle of Higher Education published an article today on Diversity in Academe and the desire to have more female philosophers in the classroom as well as in the field of Philosophy.
As I am interested in the opportunity for women to move forward in higher education (especially after reading this book the book Breaking Into the All-Male Club: Female Professors of Educational Administration), I felt that this article added to the discussion the perspective of teaching the classics. Regan Penaluna cut right to the salient issue in that women are more prevalent in the teaching of history and English since the issue of gender inequality can be discussed and put into a particular context, while this cannot be done for philosophy. Students in philosophy are studying the great arguments of Aristotle and find the commonality between the student and the philosopher. It is definitely difficult, as Penaluna describes, to identify "with a thinker who has exceptionally low expectations for you" (Penaluna, 2013, 9th paragraph).
Penaluna goes on to illustrate what educators can do to increase participation by women in the canon particularly attacking the misogyny that is apparent. It is my hope that department chairs and faculty are paying attention to the exclusion of women from the field and move quickly to correct what has been put in place.
Thank you, Holly, for posting this article from The Chronicle because I have never taken a philosophy class. I found this very interesting. When Penaluna stated that philosophers might not consider feminist perspectives because they would then have to challenge the misogyny of the most influential philosophers, it seemed like this meant that the scholars in the field are lazy. Thus, I got the feeling that current leaders in the field would rather take the easy way out. In my opinion, this means that the field lacks integrity. It is more interesting to me when professors challenge what past scholars and leaders have said; to poke holes in arguments; and to consider what others haven't. Wouldn't this challenge students more? Challenge them to consider many perspectives? Sorry if this is harsh. I agree, I hope educators notice these issues and take them seriously. I think dealing with this issues could help the field and help students.
ReplyDeleteInteresting article, Holly. Thanks for sharing.
ReplyDeleteSuzi - I understand what you mean when you talk about leaders in the field seeming to take the easy way out. I think you're getting at the reason many people do not care for Philosophy, that it seems stagnant and exclusive. In my (limited) experience with college Philosophy classes and professors, there seems to be an assumption that the material is always to be taught in a specific way and the conversation always centered on predetermined themes. The article addresses this problem in terms of women and Philosophy, but I think it is true with many of other aspects of Philosophy as well.