Albatross wrote:

 whembly wrote:

 Squigsquasher wrote:
Seems fair enough to me.

So... when YOU write a paper, can you disregard your (looks at your map)“UK-ness, maleness, whiteness, heterosexuality, middle-class status” ??(I'm assuming that you're UK/male/white/straight/mid-class... if I'm wrong, sorry)

Yes, yes I can. In fact I did. I managed to get a 1st. It's not hard to write in gender-neutral, racially and culturally inclusive language. You should probably be doing that anyway if you're writing academically.

 Grey Templar wrote:

 Glorioski wrote:

 Grey Templar wrote:

A political science professor at Butler University asks students to disregard their “American-ness, maleness, whiteness, heterosexuality, middle-class status” when writing and speaking in the classroom – a practice the school’s arts and sciences dean defended as a way to negate students’ inherent prejudices.

Note the bolded part.

He assumes that everyone is prejudiced. He's basically accused all the white male students of being sexist and racist. Plus being uninclusive of other cultures.

Everyone is inherently prejudiced. This article and thread is slowed.

No, everyone is Biased. But thats not always a bad thing.

Not everyoneis Prejudiced.

And what they are really trying to curb is racisim and sexisim. But they've gone one step further and basically implied all White Males are racist and sexist and thus we must censor their opinions. Which is extremely racist AND sexist towards white males.

 Grey Templar wrote:

A political science professor at Butler University asks students to disregard their “American-ness, maleness, whiteness, heterosexuality, middle-class status” when writing and speaking in the classroom – a practice the school’s arts and sciences dean defended as a way to negate students’ inherent prejudices.

Note the bolded part.

He assumes that everyone is prejudiced. He's basically accused all the white male students of being sexist and racist. Plus being uninclusive of other cultures.

ask students “to write and speak in a way that does not assume American-ness, maleness, whiteness, heterosexuality, middle-class status, etc. to be the norm.”

 Grey Templar wrote:

 Albatross wrote:

 whembly wrote:

 Squigsquasher wrote:
Seems fair enough to me.

So... when YOU write a paper, can you disregard your (looks at your map)“UK-ness, maleness, whiteness, heterosexuality, middle-class status” ??(I'm assuming that you're UK/male/white/straight/mid-class... if I'm wrong, sorry)

Yes, yes I can. In fact I did. I managed to get a 1st. It's not hard to write in gender-neutral, racially and culturally inclusive language. You should probably be doing that anyway if you're writing academically.

Yeah, but thats not what the school is asking. They are asking the students to be free of any white male american influence that might effect their work.

If the same thing was said about female, black, hispanic, asian, arab, or any other nationalitys influence there would be outrage.

Its an inherently sexist and racist statement made by the school, but somehow its ok because it was targeting the majority.

Society has basically approved of being sexist and racist against white males. How is this not wrong?

 d-usa wrote:
Are we really looking this hard for something to be outraged about?

I feel that we are just receiving reposts from some sort of "this is what you (the hardworking, patriotic, freedom-loving WASP) should rage about today" mailing list...

 Frazzled wrote:

 Grey Templar wrote:
But why is only a portion of the class being told to set aside their biases?

Its still discrimination and thus is wrong.

The school is making a rather insulting assumption that white males are racist and sexist. The proof is in that they have singled out that particular group and flat out told them to drop their Biases.

By only telling ONLY one group to drop their biases, they have implicitly condoned the biases of other groups.

I was saying he picked out the majority in the class and told them to put aside their bias.

Do you seriously not see what is wrong with this.

And what they are really meaning is Prejudice. Bias is actually a good thing. Bias is an opinion based on knowledge or experience, Prejudice is an opinion based on an irrational assumption or conclusion based on no, or faulty, information.

So what they have really said is the Prejudices of White Males are not going to be tolerated. Well, thats ok, but it implies that other people's Prejudices are ok.

GT has a very good point actually.

 Albatross wrote:

 whembly wrote:

 Squigsquasher wrote:
Seems fair enough to me.

So... when YOU write a paper, can you disregard your (looks at your map)“UK-ness, maleness, whiteness, heterosexuality, middle-class status” ??(I'm assuming that you're UK/male/white/straight/mid-class... if I'm wrong, sorry)

Yes, yes I can. In fact I did. I managed to get a 1st. It's not hard to write in gender-neutral, racially and culturally inclusive language. You should probably be doing that anyway if you're writing academically.

 whembly wrote:

 Albatross wrote:

 whembly wrote:

 Squigsquasher wrote:
Seems fair enough to me.

So... when YOU write a paper, can you disregard your (looks at your map)“UK-ness, maleness, whiteness, heterosexuality, middle-class status” ??(I'm assuming that you're UK/male/white/straight/mid-class... if I'm wrong, sorry)

Yes, yes I can. In fact I did. I managed to get a 1st. It's not hard to write in gender-neutral, racially and culturally inclusive language. You should probably be doing that anyway if you're writing academically.

Unless I'm taking a class specifically to do just that... then, yah I could do that.

But, why just exclude whites/straights/mid-class/etc..?? Don't these "groups" have any play/input in political science?

 whembly wrote:

 Albatross wrote:

 whembly wrote:

 Squigsquasher wrote:
Seems fair enough to me.

So... when YOU write a paper, can you disregard your (looks at your map)“UK-ness, maleness, whiteness, heterosexuality, middle-class status” ??(I'm assuming that you're UK/male/white/straight/mid-class... if I'm wrong, sorry)

Yes, yes I can. In fact I did. I managed to get a 1st. It's not hard to write in gender-neutral, racially and culturally inclusive language. You should probably be doing that anyway if you're writing academically.

Unless I'm taking a class specifically to do just that... then, yah I could do that.

But, why just exclude whites/straights/mid-class/etc..?? Don't these "groups" have any play/input in political science?

 d-usa wrote:
It's not about pretending they don't exist.

It's about acknowledging that just because they are the majority it doesn't make them right or normal and they shouldn't act like it does.

 whembly wrote:

 d-usa wrote:
It's not about pretending they don't exist.

It's about acknowledging that just because they are the majority it doesn't make them right or normal and they shouldn't act like it does.

So... being white/straight/mid-class/american is... what... ?

 whembly wrote:

 d-usa wrote:
It's not about pretending they don't exist.

It's about acknowledging that just because they are the majority it doesn't make them right or normal and they shouldn't act like it does.

So... being white/straight/mid-class/american is... what... ?

 Chongara wrote:

 whembly wrote:

 d-usa wrote:
It's not about pretending they don't exist.

It's about acknowledging that just because they are the majority it doesn't make them right or normal and they shouldn't act like it does.

So... being white/straight/mid-class/american is... what... ?

A state, of many. That is no more/less correct than any other, but is frequently presented as such even if only implicitly. This tends to have somewhat of a blinding effect on those who are white/straght/mid-class+/american, that may require just a bit of extra effort from those individuals to understand how things affect people who aren't white/straight/mid-class+/american.

Not because they're stupid or being white is bad, just because the world as presented to us on TV and in the history books isn't really a one that's as inclusive of people who aren't white/straght/mid-class+/american.

 Glorioski wrote:
Seriously I could rename this thread: College instructor throws celebratory raffle in aid of“American-ness, maleness, whiteness, etc.." ...and it would make as much sense as the current title when you understand the quote comes from “to write and speak in a way that does not assume American-ness, maleness, whiteness, heterosexuality, middle-class status, etc. to be the norm.” and is just encouraging inclusive language in the students writing.

This article, thread is moronic. Wake up.

 InquisitorVaron wrote:

 whembly wrote:

 d-usa wrote:
It's not about pretending they don't exist.

It's about acknowledging that just because they are the majority it doesn't make them right or normal and they shouldn't act like it does.

So... being white/straight/mid-class/american is... what... ?

They're right if they're right. Normal is a majority think so well...
Are you suggesting veing "normal" is racist?

Me thinks eceryone gone off a tangent and are going to indepth...

 whembly wrote:

 Chongara wrote:

 whembly wrote:

 d-usa wrote:
It's not about pretending they don't exist.

It's about acknowledging that just because they are the majority it doesn't make them right or normal and they shouldn't act like it does.

So... being white/straight/mid-class/american is... what... ?

A state, of many. That is no more/less correct than any other, but is frequently presented as such even if only implicitly. This tends to have somewhat of a blinding effect on those who are white/straght/mid-class+/american, that may require just a bit of extra effort from those individuals to understand how things affect people who aren't white/straight/mid-class+/american.

Not because they're stupid or being white is bad, just because the world as presented to us on TV and in the history books isn't really a one that's as inclusive of people who aren't white/straght/mid-class+/american.

I think that's fine and dandy in a cultural studies class... but, not political science.

 Glorioski wrote:
Seriously I could rename this thread: College instructor throws celebratory raffle in aid of“American-ness, maleness, whiteness, etc.." ...and it would make as much sense as the current title when you understand the quote comes from “to write and speak in a way that does not assume American-ness, maleness, whiteness, heterosexuality, middle-class status, etc. to be the norm.” and is just encouraging inclusive language in the students writing.

This article, thread is moronic. Wake up.

No matter how you re-word it, its still discriminatory.

 d-usa wrote:

 whembly wrote:

 Glorioski wrote:
Seriously I could rename this thread: College instructor throws celebratory raffle in aid of“American-ness, maleness, whiteness, etc.." ...and it would make as much sense as the current title when you understand the quote comes from “to write and speak in a way that does not assume American-ness, maleness, whiteness, heterosexuality, middle-class status, etc. to be the norm.” and is just encouraging inclusive language in the students writing.

This article, thread is moronic. Wake up.

No matter how you re-word it, its still discriminatory.

Sorry, there is nothing discriminatory about this sentence: “to write and speak in a way that does not assume American-ness, maleness, whiteness, heterosexuality, middle-class status, etc. to be the norm.”

 Glorioski wrote:

 d-usa wrote:

 whembly wrote:

 Glorioski wrote:
Seriously I could rename this thread: College instructor throws celebratory raffle in aid of“American-ness, maleness, whiteness, etc.." ...and it would make as much sense as the current title when you understand the quote comes from “to write and speak in a way that does not assume American-ness, maleness, whiteness, heterosexuality, middle-class status, etc. to be the norm.” and is just encouraging inclusive language in the students writing.

This article, thread is moronic. Wake up.

No matter how you re-word it, its still discriminatory.

Sorry, there is nothing discriminatory about this sentence: “to write and speak in a way that does not assume American-ness, maleness, whiteness, heterosexuality, middle-class status, etc. to be the norm.”

Right and I'm not rewording anything. Read the article and take note of what is quoted and what is the writer turning what the University is saying into something completely different.

Jay Howard, dean of Butler’s College of Liberal Arts and Sciences: “...students must be told not to assume such prejudices because such assumptions are ingrained into the culture and remain there until questioned. With that, a liberal arts education questions these assumptions, and such questions can make for uncomfortable situations.”

“Sometimes in order to broaden the conversation and broaden the understandings you’ve got to risk making people uncomfortable. There’s nothing about a college education that guarantees you won’t be made uncomfortable. As a matter of fact, if you’re never made uncomfortable in your college education, you’re not really getting a college education.”

Howard said the college he oversees does not want students to continue to harbor such assumptions without question, “but neither do we want to exclude the dominant group in society in our attempts to make sure that we’re leveling hierarchies.”

“In twenty years, white people will no longer be the majority, but they will still be the largest ethnic group...using inclusive language would help students prepare for a changing world as America becomes more diverse.”

He added that American culture makes speaking inclusively difficult, and the English language is partly to blame.

“Our language doesn’t make it easy to write in ways that are inclusive. We don’t have a generic singular, I mean we have he and she. There is no pronoun that is gender-neutral there.”

 Mr Hyena wrote:
Favouring or downplaying anyones opinion on the basis of race, culture etc is inherently discriminatory regardless of intentions. The class is being discriminatory as White Male views are just as important as Black Male views, etc.

 whembly wrote:

 Mr Hyena wrote:
Favouring or downplaying anyones opinion on the basis of race, culture etc is inherently discriminatory regardless of intentions. The class is being discriminatory as White Male views are just as important as Black Male views, etc.

Hey... Glorisky... what ^^^ he said.

A political science professor at Butler University asks students to disregard their “American-ness, maleness, whiteness, heterosexuality, middle-class status” when writing and speaking in the classroom – a practice the school’s arts and sciences dean defended as a way to negate students’ inherent prejudices.

The syllabus of the course at Butler, a small Midwestern liberal arts institution in Indianapolis, spells out that students should use “inclusive language” because it’s “a fundamental issue of social justice.”

“Language that is truly inclusive affirms sexuality, racial and ethnic backgrounds, stages of maturity, and degrees of limiting conditions,” the syllabus states, referencing a definition created by the United Church of Christ.

The syllabus of the class, called Political Science 201: Research and Analysis, goes on to ask students “to write and speak in a way that does not assume American-ness, maleness, whiteness, heterosexuality, middle-class status, etc. to be the norm.” It is taught by a black, female professor.

In an interview with The College Fix, Jay Howard, dean of Butler’s College of Liberal Arts and Sciences, denied this practice essentially presumes every student who walks through the door is a racist or misogynist.

He said students must be told not to assume such prejudices because such assumptions are ingrained into the culture and remain there until questioned. With that, a liberal arts education questions these assumptions, and such questions can make for uncomfortable situations, he said.

“Sometimes in order to broaden the conversation and broaden the understandings you’ve got to risk making people uncomfortable,” Howard said. “There’s nothing about a college education that guarantees you won’t be made uncomfortable. As a matter of fact, if you’re never made uncomfortable in your college education, you’re not really getting a college education.”

Howard said the college he oversees does not want students to continue to harbor such assumptions without question, “but neither do we want to exclude the dominant group in society in our attempts to make sure that we’re leveling hierarchies.”

In twenty years, white people will no longer be the majority, but they will still be the largest ethnic group, Howard said. He said using inclusive language would help students prepare for a changing world as America becomes more diverse.

He added that American culture makes speaking inclusively difficult, and the English language is partly to blame.

“Our language doesn’t make it easy to write in ways that are inclusive,” Howard said. “We don’t have a generic singular, I mean we have he and she. There is no pronoun that is gender-neutral there.”

However, not all writing- and language-intensive classes at Butler University mandate students use such “inclusive” language.

Nancy Whitmore, director of the journalism school in the College of Communication, said in an interview with The College Fix that students in her department are encouraged to use diverse sources with a wide variety of opinions, but are not mandated to use so-called inclusive language.

Whitmore said she is unsure what educators in Butler’s College of Liberal Arts and Sciences mean when they ask students to write without assuming certain things to be the norm.

“I don’t think I could ever write from a black woman’s point of view because I’ve never been a black woman,” Whitmore said.

Indeed.

My name is Ryan Lovelace, and I dropped that politically correct political science class.

Clearly, the College of Liberal Arts and Sciences at Butler University believes its students were raised as racist and misogynist homophobes who have grown to harbor many prejudices, a stance that is both offensive and hostile to any student’s ability to learn.

As a student at an institution predominantly focused on the liberal arts, I expected to hear professors express opinions different from my own. I did not expect to be judged before I ever walked through the door, and did not think I would be forced to agree with my teachers’ worldviews or suffer the consequences.

Being judged and forced to act a certain way is antithetical to how any institution of higher education should conduct itself.

As a journalism major, I will now strive to avoid the liberal arts college as much as possible, not because the college fails to provide its students with any practical knowledge, but because the college seeks to indoctrinate its students with a hostile paradigm that views people like me—an American, white, heterosexual male from a middle-class background—as evil; whitey-righty need not attend.

Many consider higher education to be in turbulent waters because of rising tuition costs and student loan debt, but students who actually graduate may struggle even more if they view the world as Butler’s College of Liberal Arts and Sciences does.

The liberal arts college seeks to include people, but someone will always be excluded, as it is impossible to always include everyone. Furthermore, I’m not sure how to write assuming any other persona but my own. Any attempts to do so would only be offensive to people different from myself.

Lastly, the idea that people have different views from mine is not what makes me uncomfortable. The idea that I must walk, talk and act as the liberal arts college pleases does. I’ll speak as I always have and conduct myself in the way I deem fit. I think paying $40,000 a year should give me that basic right.

Fix contributor Ryan Lovelace is a student at Butler University.

 Medium of Death wrote:

-snip-

Why not post the entire text in the initial post?

 d-usa wrote:

 Medium of Death wrote:

-snip-

Why not post the entire text in the initial post?

If you don't go to the website you might miss out and not realize it is just a bunch of right-wing students writing essays about perceived offenses to their value systems?

 Medium of Death wrote:
[quotes..

.snip.
Why not post the entire text in the initial post?

 d-usa wrote:
Are we really looking this hard for something to be outraged about?

I feel that we are just receiving reposts from some sort of "this is what you (the hardworking, patriotic, freedom-loving WASP) should rage about today" mailing list...

 whembly wrote:
So... ya'll ignoring this too?

Nancy Whitmore, director of the journalism school in the College of Communication, said in an interview with The College Fix that students in her department are encouraged to use diverse sources with a wide variety of opinions, but are not mandated to use so-called inclusive language.

Whitmore said she is unsure what educators in Butler’s College of Liberal Arts and Sciences mean when they ask students to write without assuming certain things to be the norm.

“I don’t think I could ever write from a black woman’s point of view because I’ve never been a black woman,” Whitmore said.

 Grey Templar wrote:
I can't really write from someone else's perspecitive, because its theirs and not mine.

Furthermore, why should I? I mean, I know its important to understand other people, but why should my own experiences be discounted?

It just doesn't seem like an appropriate thing to bring up in a class about politics. Isn't politics about getting your personal views heard?

People have their own leanings, and disallowing their beliefs(especially in such a narrow targeted way) to "interfer" is wrong on all accounts.