Susan Faludi, "The Naked Citadel" and:
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Faludi and Tannen: Gender and Learning
In your last essay, I asked you to demonstrate whether or not a culture's
traditions had some inherent right to exist. In Susan Faludi's "The
Naked Citadel," we saw the Citadel's controversial fourth-class system
as a means of breaking cadets before rebuilding them, and the conflicts
raised when women were introduced into that environment. She claims that
"[W]e are at a psychic and economic crisis point for manhood,"
both in confronting the traditions of the Citadel and on a larger scale.
Deborah Tannen goes beyond tradition as well to the roots of learning
in Western culture, and there finds what could be the same roots for the
violence at the Citadel. Tannen sees Western education as being based
in a system of confrontation and aggressive argument, and proposes a compromise
between debate and dialogue which would involve less the questions of
"wrong" and "right", and more the possibility for
constructive agreement and disagreement. She claims that the current
system is based in a militaristic model that is also responsible for the
exclusion of women in certain academic arenas.
For your next essay, I would like you to consider the following question:
How might a shift in the way we think about learning change the way
we think about masculinity? As you write, you may also consider the
following questions: Why do you believe that an agressive, militaristic
model of education has perservered for so long? Would the Citadel be able to exist in a revised system like Tannen's, or would its traditions
be destroyed? Finally, a question which could potentially stir controversy:
Do you agree with Tannen? Is such a change really necessary? Remember
to use at least three quotations per author (one per support; six quotations).
Megan Heller, Rutgers University, Summer 2002
In the previous assignment, I asked you how Tannen's essay would be interpreted within a standard academic community--and how the assumptions behind my initial paper question factored into this scenario. Now, I want you to consider Tannen's observations about adversarial training/education within the context of Faludi's discussion of the Citadel. This task requires more than a simple compare-and-contrast method. Although you will find many elements in Faludi complementing Tannen's claims, Faludi's discussion also significantly complicates Tannen's views.
Examine the ways communication, debate, and alienation (gender bias) operate in the antagonistic environment of the Citadel. To what extent would the incorporation of Tannen's concept of dialogue improve learning and communication at the Citadel? To what degree would these alterations impair conditioning that the Citadel deems necessary? How would a compromise work? Is a compromise possible? What can you conclude about gender discrimination and education in this context?
Carl Nelson, Rutgers University, Spring 2005
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Susan Faludi and Malcolm Gladwell
In "The Power of Context," Gladwell suggests that: "behavior is a function of social context." Do you believe Faludi would agree or does her essay suggest other truths about our society? If so, what would they be? What is your understanding of the most significant determinants of human behavior?
Jack Jarmon, Rutgers University, Spring 2005
Tensions between the Public, the Private, and the Personal (Assignment 5)
In “the Power of Context: Bernie Goetz and the Rise and Fall of New York City Crime,” Malcolm Gladwell proposes a new theory of behavior: that rather than fixed character traits or motivational stimuli, subtle shifts in the environment may determine behavior on individual and social levels. In “The Naked Citadel,” Susan Faludi provides an interesting situation in which to test Gladwell’s ideas. The culture of the Citadel promotes a certain set of values and notions about male identity that are encouraged and enforced by certain rules, norms and customs.
In your essay, use the world of the Citadel as Faludi describes it as a test case for Gladwell’s ideas about change. In formulating your project, decide whether or not a change is called for at The Citadel. If so, what concepts and examples from Gladwell would be effective in this military setting? Which would not? If you think change is not called for at The Citadel, explain why and show how Gladwell’s ideas explain the environment of the school.
Consider the following:
- Can Shannon Faulkner be considered a “tipping point?”
- How do conditions in the Citadel resemble the mock prison example?
- Can solutions for a subway system be applied to a military academy?
- Are gender and language significant aspects of context?
Laura Smith, Rutgers University, Fall 2005
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Tensions between the Public, the Private, and the Personal (Assignment 6)
Both Susan Faludi and Beth Loffreda describe situations that could be considered tipping points: situations that challenged accepted stereotypes of male identity, that resulted in violence, that were taken up by the media, and that became the catalyst for greater public awareness of the issues of women’s equal opportunity, and gay rights, respectively.
In this essay, you are asked to examine the parallels between The Citadel and the world of Laramie, Wyoming, using Gladwell’s theory of social change. Note the key people, messages and situational cues at work. Consider the following:
- What are the parallels between Matt Shepard and Shannon Faulkner?
- How did the media act as a tipping point in each case?
- Which situational factors led to violence?
- How did female and gay identities go against accepted norms of “male” identity? How did stereotypes function to challenge and maintain identities?
- How are larger social tensions reflected in these episodes?
Laura Smith, Rutgers University, Fall 2005
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Defining Truth (Assignment 2)
Both “How to Tell a True War Story,” and “The Naked Citadel” are accounts of young men, who whether by choice or by obligation, are isolated from the rest of society in an unnatural fashion; both sets of men create their own rituals and cultures in response to the stress and isolation.
O’Brien addresses the stress by constantly revising and re-telling his account of the narrator’s experience, wondering if he “could ever get the story right,” (p.396); he finally concludes that “You can tell a true war story if you just keep on telling it.” Many of the Citadel cadets quoted in Faludi’s essay address stress differently: they resist change and cling to the same rituals and traditions, showing hostility and aggression toward any person or thing who threatens those traditions.
Once the men who have lived through these experiences leave the military or the Citadel, and return to the larger world, will either approach be more helpful in adjusting to society and living conventional lives? Is it healthy to “revise and re-tell” like O’Brien, or is it possible to defend traditions and rituals, like those of the Citadel, in a socially productive way?
Mary J. Oltarzewski, Rutgers University, Fall 2005
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Defining Truth (Assignment 3)
In “The Roots of Debate” Deborah Tannen states , “If you limit your view of a problem to choosing between two sides, you inevitably reject much that is true, and you narrow your field of vision to the limits of those two sides, making it unlikely you’ll pull back, widen your field of vision and discover the paradigm shift that will permit truly new understanding.” Tannen continues, “We need to use our imaginations and ingenuity to find different ways to seek truth and gain knowledge,” so that as students and readers, our understanding extends beyond the simple, dualistic, “only two sides to a question” method of debate.
In the three assigned essays, by what means have Tim O’Brien, Susan Faludi, or Deborah Tannen attempted to use their “imaginations or ingenuity to find different ways to seek truth and gain knowledge?” If you believe that any of the three authors was significantly more successful in helping you, the reader, to “seek truth and gain knowledge,” explain why, relying on specific examples of the author’s language and content to support your preference. If you believe that any of the three authors was significantly LESS successful in helping you, the reader, to “seek truth and gain knowledge,” explain why, pointing to specific aspects of the author’s language and content that you believe may have impeded his or her message.
Mary J. Oltarzewski, Rutgers University, Fall 2005
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