A place for professors of Spanish Literature to complain about or defend the field.
Sunday, February 1, 2009
Doctor, Professor or Dude?
Joe Biden's wife has a Ph.D. Reporters are rather amused that people are referring to her as "Dr. Jill Biden," since she isn't a physician. This article brings up some interesting notions about the public perception of people with doctorates.
I think the issue here is what the doctorate is in. Let's face it, education is what people who don't give a damn about the life of the mind study so they can eventually become college administrators. I can see how this might stick in one's throat. Is my chiropractor a doctor? (Well, I don't have one, but you get my point.) Unfortunately, in my weaker moments I suspect this is also how people generally view professors of Spanish. It's not like History or Philosophy, or for that matter Math or Chemistry. Nobody's going to argue about whether there's something there to actually study.
Why don't Ed.d's get a degree in what they actually teach? I agree with Kent's assessment of this degree--worthless. As far as the journalists in the article and their envy of those of us who have PhD's, I'm sure there are many MDs who can't heal and who believe what they do is more of an art than a science. I think we who have a PhD in the humanities are healers of a different sort. We attack the cancers of illiteracy, bad grammar, poor writing, sloppy thinking, superficial reading, and much beyond that comment and interpret many forms of cultural production that matter to a lot of people and in a way that goes beyond Oprah's Book Club or High School. There is certainly an anti-intellectual strain in American history and a relaxing of official titles in our society today. I think Dr. is more commonly used in the private colleges and professor in the publics. What is your experience? Do they call you Dr. or professor. I think we must be vigilant about defending the life of the mind and correct perceptions that diminish our value to our students, departments and universities, even if it's only in a title, but one that is connected to important discourses and important intellectual production, including teaching of course.
3 comments:
I think the issue here is what the doctorate is in. Let's face it, education is what people who don't give a damn about the life of the mind study so they can eventually become college administrators. I can see how this might stick in one's throat. Is my chiropractor a doctor? (Well, I don't have one, but you get my point.) Unfortunately, in my weaker moments I suspect this is also how people generally view professors of Spanish. It's not like History or Philosophy, or for that matter Math or Chemistry. Nobody's going to argue about whether there's something there to actually study.
Like Gertude Stein's comment about Oakland: "There's no 'there' there."
Why don't Ed.d's get a degree in what they actually teach? I agree with Kent's assessment of this degree--worthless. As far as the journalists in the article and their envy of those of us who have PhD's, I'm sure there are many MDs who can't heal and who believe what they do is more of an art than a science. I think we who have a PhD in the humanities are healers of a different sort. We attack the cancers of illiteracy, bad grammar, poor writing, sloppy thinking, superficial reading, and much beyond that comment and interpret many forms of cultural production that matter to a lot of people and in a way that goes beyond Oprah's Book Club or High School. There is certainly an anti-intellectual strain in American history and a relaxing of official titles in our society today. I think Dr. is more commonly used in the private colleges and professor in the publics. What is your experience? Do they call you Dr. or professor. I think we must be vigilant about defending the life of the mind and correct perceptions that diminish our value to our students, departments and universities, even if it's only in a title, but one that is connected to important discourses and important intellectual production, including teaching of course.
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