Received: from iatro.unt.edu by gwia.unt.edu; Wed, 11 Sep 2002 08:35:05 -0500 Received: from mailhost.unt.edu (mailhost.unt.edu [129.120.209.40]) by iatro.unt.edu (8.9.3/8.9.3) with ESMTP id IAA08417 for <[log in to unmask]>; Wed, 11 Sep 2002 08:33:58 -0500 Received: from listserv.unt.edu (listserv.private.acs.unt.edu [192.168.221.131]) by mailhost.unt.edu (8.11.4/8.11.4) with ESMTP id g8BDdYV20191; Wed, 11 Sep 2002 08:39:34 -0500 (CDT) Received: from listserv.unt.edu (listserv.private.acs.unt.edu [192.168.221.131]) by listserv.unt.edu (8.11.4/8.11.4) with ESMTP id g8BDXeO04701; Wed, 11 Sep 2002 08:33:40 -0500 (CDT) Received: from UNT.EDU by UNT.EDU (LISTSERV-TCP/IP release 1.8d) with spool id 386330 for [log in to unmask]; Wed, 11 Sep 2002 08:33:40 -0500 Received: from mailhost.unt.edu (mail2 [192.168.220.42]) by listserv.unt.edu (8.11.4/8.11.4) with ESMTP id g8BDXdO04694 for <[log in to unmask]>; Wed, 11 Sep 2002 08:33:39 -0500 (CDT) Received: from mail08.voicenet.com (mail08.voicenet.com [207.103.0.34]) by mailhost.unt.edu (8.11.4/8.11.4) with SMTP id g8BDXca17946 for <[log in to unmask]>; Wed, 11 Sep 2002 08:33:38 -0500 (CDT) Received: (qmail 4826 invoked from network); 11 Sep 2002 13:33:34 -0000 Received: from lata222-0643-pri.lata222.voicenet.com (HELO ?207.103.48.110?) (207.103.48.110) by mail08.voicenet.com with SMTP; 11 Sep 2002 13:33:34 -0000 User-Agent: Microsoft Outlook Express Macintosh Edition - 5.01 (1630) Mime-version: 1.0 Content-type: text/plain; charset="ISO-8859-1" Content-Transfer-Encoding: 8bit X-MIME-Autoconverted: from quoted-printable to 8bit by listserv.unt.edu id g8BDXdO04695 Message-ID: <[log in to unmask]> Date: Wed, 11 Sep 2002 09:33:33 -0400 Reply-To: -- AEJMAC -- <[log in to unmask]> Sender: -- AEJMAC -- <[log in to unmask]> From: "Karen M. Turner" <[log in to unmask]> Subject: FW: [SCATFAC] Discussion part II: Race and gender in communication Comments: To: HERS <[log in to unmask]> To: [log in to unmask] In-Reply-To: <3D7B8EE5.19467.14263AE@localhost> I think you will find this posting of interest. -kt *********************************************** Injustice anywhere is a threat to justice everywhere. Martin Luther King Jr., Letter from Birmingham Jail, April 16, 1963 Karen M. Turner Chair & Associate Professor Department of Journalism, Public Relations & Advertising 2020 N. 13th Street, 2nd floor Temple University Philadelphia, PA 19122 215.204.8386 (voicemail)/ 215.204.1974 (fax) *********************************************** ---------- From: Matthew Lombard <[log in to unmask]> Organization: Temple University Reply-To: Matthew Lombard <[log in to unmask]> Date: Sun, 8 Sep 2002 17:54:45 -0400 To: [log in to unmask] Subject: [SCATFAC] Discussion part II: Race and gender in communication FROM THE SCATFAC LISTSERV: [These messages about the role of race and gender in the academic field of communication, followed the workload discussion on the VIS-COM listserv. The final message is from a SCAT alum. Again, apologies for cross-postings... --Matthew ] From: Mike Cuenca <[log in to unmask]> Subject: Re: [vis-com] we are so lucky! Date sent: Fri, 30 Aug 2002 13:13:18 -0500 All- What has been most amazing about following this dialog is that those of you who are engaged in it are the people who do the most for this "industry" (for lack of a better word.) Paul, Jean, Joel, thom, and others of you who are the most active outside your own institutions are doing the most to help keep vis-com education at its cutting edge. Regardless of your varying workloads, most of you are the de facto leaders and the heart and soul of visual communications academe. You're all to be commended. And, as Jean said, you're also all very lucky to have your jobs, whatever your work loads. Because when it comes right down to it, for many professors tenure is not about accomplishment in the classroom, nor is it about performance as a scholar or professional. Tenure is often about race and sex and politics and personalities. If an institution wants to grant someone tenure, it will. If that institution doesn't want to grant someone tenure, it won't. And it can defend either position, knowing full well that few, if any, people will speak up against the institution or make sense of their standards. (Of course, those who are granted tenure will always defend the system as being solely merit based--even if they're one of the ones who truly deserved it but who can still see the abuses around them--because to accept the system as broken might mean that they'd have to consider that they also didn't deserve it. This is sad because it's those people who are the most protected and have the least to lose by standing up.) Of course, everyone knows it happens, but few have the guts to acknowledge any individual victims. Keep up the good work. And look around you for the missing faces of those with "other" skin colors, cultures and politics. I'm looking forward to the day that it starts to really bother you. _________________________ Mike Cuenca Humanities Program Director The Civil Society Group, LLP 3019 Longhorn Dr. Lawrence, KS 66049 Research Associate Haskell Environmental Research Studies Center Haskell Indian Nations University Lawrence, KS 66046 785-842-8954 (home office) 785-838-9617 (fax) 785-691-6927 (cellular) mailto:[log in to unmask] Vita/Resume: http://www.mikecuenca.com Domain: http://www.seekpeace.com ********************************************************* From: Jean Trumbo <[log in to unmask]> Subject: [vis-com] Racism (long but important) Date sent: Mon, 02 Sep 2002 01:10:29 -0500 Is White the Only Color in Visual Communication Education? How would we feel if as designers or photographers we lived with a monochromatic color palette? How would we feel if our pull down menus gave us only one color option white? I am a white woman who grew up in a culture of other white people where discrimination meant being Irish Catholic in a largely German Lutheran town. Bigotry was a small stakes issue except when I was not allowed to date Lutheran boys. At the time, that was a big deal. When I entered the work force I learned that discrimination based on sex is a real thing. I learned to fight for my rights. I learned to challenge a system that would allow a colleague to pinch my behind or make demeaning comments about other body parts. In my career I have been referred to as "window dressing," "added aesthetic value," and "cute as a blue speckled pup" by different administrators at different campuses. Iım not kidding. At 40 or so, I am not quite the blue speckled pup that I was at 26 when I started teaching. The funny thing is that I didnıt find those descriptions flattering then and I still donıt. It was sexist and it struck a nerve with me that was palpable. I didnıt always have the tools to fight but one of the benefits of experience is the time Iıve had to hone the tools. I am a devoted colleague and good departmental citizen to men and to women but I donıt accept that kind of junk anymore whether it is directed toward me or toward others. A few years ago, one of my colleagues referred to me as a "No bullshit broad," and for the first time in two decades I relaxed into such a flagrantly sexist comment because I realized that it was true. I have the tools and I know how to use them. I learned to fight sexism without leaving too many bodies in my wake. I learned to fight for salary and benefits. I have a great career. Sexism is something that I feel empowered to deal with and I feel educated enough to help others. It doesnıt always work out fairly, but thanks to those who came before me the academy is a much better place for women than it used to be. It has become increasingly clear to me that race is an issue that I do not know enough about. Iım being educated on the topic by some of my colleagues who do not happen to be white. I have noticed at our annual conference that diversity is not one of our strong suits. In fact, the only real differences in color that Iıve noticed among the visual communication group over the years are the seasonal tans and the changing hair color of colleagues. Why are we so white? And, whose voices are not being heard in the classroom because of this? Can a group of educators who are monochromatic really provide multi-cultural perspectives to our students? I know that each of us work hard to do this. We pat ourselves on the back when we develop great lectures on the use of Native American images as sports mascots, or when we explore the issues associated with darkening an image of O.J. Simpson on the cover of a magazine. I know that I work hard to do these things because I see the diversity of my students and I want to do the right thing. We are a group of good people who happen to be predominantly white, Caucasian. I canıt think of a mean-spirited member of the visual communication group. We support each other. We share. We laugh. We want to make the world a better place one classroom at a time. I doubt that we think of ourselves as racist. A startling fact is that the colleagues that I have challenged on issues of sexism did not think of themselves as sexist either. Each individual was shocked to learn that I did not like being treated as a sexual object in the workplace. In one instance, the colleague involved was so upset at his own behavior (dirty jokes, grabbing and pinching) that not only did he tearfully apologize to me, he also voluntarily attended training on sexual harassment. He learned. Of course, there were remnants of sexism in his personality. He was not "cured." But I remain impressed that he stepped up, took responsibility and worked to change his behavior. We remain good friends. Through this experience and others, I learned to stick up for myself without fear. I learned that salary and tenure are negotiable but that dignity is not. Racism among faculty is an issue that makes me uncomfortable. I donıt think of myself as racist because the group of people that I consider friends is quite diverse. Nonetheless, I am guilty of ignoring the lack of diversity in my own field. Like many of us, I spend a great deal of my time working and it bothers me that the lack of diversity in our field hasnıt bothered me enough. Oh, Iıve done some of the right things over the years. For example, I once served on a search committee that labeled a Jewish, black woman candidate as a "home run" meaning that not only was she a woman, but she was Jewish and she was black. One committee member said, "the only thing that would be better is if she were disabled, too." That experience bothered me enough that I spoke up, I wrote a formal complaint, I tried to explain why I thought the dialogue was racist, sexist, and demeaning. I was not successful in convincing colleagues, but at least I didnıt feel complicit. Not surprisingly, she is no longer an academic because she was not supported by faculty in the department that she joined. In fact, neither was I. Weıve both gone on to better things and better places but there is no question that the culture was personally damaging. It was a long time ago and Iıve largely forgotten about it, until recently. We can and do blame the lack of minority representation in visual communication education on many things. For example, we become comfortable believing that 1) there are no candidates of color who would like to join our field; 2) we select candidates based on qualification with no consideration for ethnicity; 3) we support candidates as they pursue tenure based on merit with no consideration of race. If all of these things are true, we convince ourselves, that weıve done enough. I think weıre wrong. And, I feel uncomfortable as hell about it. Twenty-five or 30 years ago when women looked around the academy and noticed a white, male majority some of my predecessors opened the door and progress was made. It is largely acceptable now to admit that sexism exists on campuses. Some of us feel empowered to step up and fight it. The culture has changed ever so slowly. Nonetheless, there are still problems in many fields and at many institutions. Women do not occupy positions of power on many campuses, but weıve grown comfortable seeing that there has been change. Today being a woman in our field is not such a bad life. It would be easy for me to relax at this point in my career, because the sexist demons in my path no longer scare me. I know the rules, I know the law, and I no longer take it personally. It is ignorance and bigotry and power that lead to sexism. I am of the mind that if colleagues donıt want to "play" fairly with a woman, tough. Iıll go around them or over them or Iıll fight until the last dog is standing, but I will continue to "play." Thatıs been my own personal battle in the academy and it really hasnıt been that bad. Iım still standing. But, I think I have relaxed. The lack of color in my chosen field has been visible to me for some time, and Iıve been willing to do little bits here and there to deal with situations as they occur to me. I am hardly an activist on the topic, though. While Iıve been sitting at the pool working on my tan or changing my hair color, the field is no more diverse than when I began teaching. A big, cold bucket of water was recently lodged over the e-mail fence at me from a colleague screaming, "What a minute! Racism is rampant. Just because youıre not a bigot in some areas does not mean that you are arenıt oppressing others through blind neglect." Iım awake now and I realize that I have no legitimate response. Iım uncomfortable again and I am ignorant again. Not stupid, certainly, but ignorant of the issues facing minorities in our field. I get the part about sexism but like a sloppy research project, there are variables that I have overlooked in order to reach a conclusion. I retract my submission. I want to work on the data some more. I want to move beyond my own comfort level and understand why such good people in such good places are so damn white. As visual communication educators weıve taught one another about ethics, technology, research methods, history, and countless other topics that are important to our students. I want to be educated on issues of race in our own profession. I do not want to be part of the problem. I want to attend a visual communication conference where the business meeting, the luncheon, the sessions, and the after-hours socials are filled with colleagues who are not like me. Our professional color palette is ridiculously narrow. Weıd be livid if a Dean told us that we could only design in black and white. Weıre all familiar with the visible spectrum and I, for one, want to see it represented. Why are we so white? And, more importantly what are we going to do about it? Jean Trumbo Associate Professor Reynolds School of Journalism, MS/310 University of Nevada, Reno Reno, NV 89511 office: 775-784-4752 home: 775-624-0962 FAX: 775-784-6656 e-mail: [log in to unmask] ********************************************************* From: "Maria Santana" <[log in to unmask]> Subject: [vis-com] I disagree, I think it is very important! Date sent: Mon, 2 Sep 2002 12:58:12 -0400 Jean, I salute you on your observations. Your essay should find its way to a printed form. You are so right about your comments on sexism and about VIS COM not having ethnical diversity. I know because I am Cuban, raised in Puerto Rico and a Vis Com member since 1994. Some of the designs I prefer are pages that most people will not like. Our business is Mass Communication teaching and we have to understand our audience. Indeed, our audience is and will continue to change in color, age, and culture. We, as educators, should continue to strive for a more open ending solution. I do not think a white person lacks ethnicity. I believe we all do and I celebrate the differences as well as the commonalities. All I do in my classroom is to give my students choices; perhaps that is how I built in diversity and inclusion. The examples not always come from design books or even award winning entries but for magazines and newspapers breaking the norm. I think my students learn to see differently and to take chances. In the future, they will be winning the award and writing the textbooks. How could they like the same things I do today when their future is still in the making? M C Santana [Nicholson School of Communications University of Central Florida Orlando, Florida ] ___________________________________________ Matthew Lombard, Ph.D. Associate Professor Director, Mass Media & Communication Ph.D. Program Temple University (215) 204-7182 [log in to unmask] http://matthewlombard.com ______________________________________________________________________ This e-mail is from SCATFAC, the listserv for full-time faculty in the School of Communications and Theater at Temple University. To post a message to the list, send e-mail to [log in to unmask] All messages from the past 12 months are available at: http://listserv.temple.edu/archives/scatfac.html.