Implicated Privileges and Stigmas

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May 5 (W), 2021 Inklings By Crystal LC Huang
Topic: the Implicated privilege and stigma

Mary double checked the competencies and the rest of the course components of the coming unit of her Introduction to Diversity Studies online class. This semester, she had two sociology sections (one face-to face-and one online), three diversity studies (one face-to-face, one blended, and one online), and one Contemporary American Society (fac-to-face).
Colleagues in similar academic fields to Mary's, tended to express a preference: not to be assigned for facilitating Diversity Studies and Contemporary American Society courses on their teaching-preference sheets. As for Mary, usually, she did not express a preference. Being an active union member, after Act 10, Mary could smell a vague silence and passivity lingering around campuses. To be more viable as the only minority faculty in this college, she tried to be as accommodating as best as she could.
Why did Mary check Competencies first? That was the kick in the tech college teaching environment. Competency-based learning is emphasized in many tech colleges. They are required by the educational policies of the State. It is a framework for teaching and assessment of learning, which is also described as a type of education focusing on outcomes and real-world performance. Based on the objectives, Mary designed course contents, learning activities and assessments aligned with each competency.
For this unit, the competencies were "Assess how power and privilege impact individuals and groups," and "Examine the impact of biases and behaviors on relationships (personal and group).
Mary checked again all the grammar, spellings, lecture notes, PowerPoint, worksheets/assignments and guidelines of each hands-on project. Viola, "Well done," she, patted on her own back.
Some homework started appearing in the assignment area of the Learning Management System. Mary read each student's submission carefully and returned with a grade and feedback as timely and effective as possible. Recalling when Mary was a student, anxious about how well she was doing on the homework, and what the score was, were the main concerns during those days. For this quick-feedback to students' assignments earned for Mary high evaluation and praises from learners in the online learning environment.
As usual, some assignments were completed in a hurry; some, were based on "the least effort principles." The rest, were part of the teaching-n-learning Routine Tasks. "The best, yet to come...," Mary patiently waited for the most rewarding moment to happen. In every class, there was always, approximately, 10 to 15% of students' work that brought forth great joy to Mary. That was the most exciting moment to be an educator.
Then, suddenly, Ryan's assignment showed up. That was what Mary called "joyously exciting moment." Ryan was a very good student, turning homework on time, and completing each worksheet gingerly. So far, he was in the A grade level. Mary could not wait to read his assignment.
Mary eagerly opened his worksheet. Then, "what was going on?" Mary was shocked. Ryan typed with all capped big font size with bolded sentences all over his worksheet,
"WHAT PRIVILEGE"? JUST BECAUSE I AM WHITE MALE?"
"THIS ASSIGNMENT IS FILLED WITH NONSENSE! LIST THE TOP FIVE PRIVILEGES AND STIGMAS THAT I POSSESS? LET ME TELL YOU, I DON'T HAVE ANY PRIVILEGE. I WORK 2 PART-TIME JOBS, AND LIVE IN THE TRAILER PARK! "
Seemingly, shouting at Mary, Ryan continued, "WELL, STIGMAS, YES, I HAVE A BUNCH: A POOR GUY, RAISED BY A SINGLE MOM, NO HEALTH INSURANCE, NO STABLE JOBS, LIVING IN AN UNDESIRABLE CONDITION... WHAT ELSE DO YOU WANT TO KNOW?"
"Wow, what a genuine writing..." Mary murmured to herself, "at least, Ryan did express his deep concerns. Though he was unhappy about this assignment, he did not submit a get-by, perfunctory homework." You know, once in a while, some students in order to get the 3 required credits without "troubles", write something to fit teachers' basic "expectation" or "taste" to avoid any ramifications.
"Well, how do I write a feedback to him...," Mary started thinking of questions that Ryan raised entangled with many socio-economic issues, such as the socialization process and agents, cultural capital, life chances, social class, social mobility within capitalism and so on so forth, not just race, ethnicity, gender etc. which were the main themes of this Diversity Studies course.
Usually, Diversity Studies is the upper level of course in the 4-year college, listed under the Department of Sociology. It is an interdisciplinary course that requires the knowledge of sociology with some basic economics, and political sciences understanding. In the two-year tech college setting, there is no prerequisite for this type of the upper level of courses. For this unique condition, Mary tended to provide a basic review of sociology during the first week of face-to-face Diversity classes. But for the online section, it was not so flexible to ask students to review sociology before taking on Diversity Studies.
"What is the best and clearest way to communicate with Ryan, without his potential denial or rejection, or even a worse scenario, dropping this course?" Mary was thinking and looking for a venue to feedback to Ryan. Then, based on the experience in sociology teaching, Mary found most students understanding the concept of "role and status" easily through her meticulously designed in-class activities and worksheet. And role-and-status is precisely related to Ryan's questions.
"Ryan, you are doing well for this class so far. I would like to discuss a couple of ideas related to your questions. I know this feedback is long. Hopefully you can spend a little bit of time with me. I understand your feeling about your stigmas and non-privileged conditions, and I am trying to share some thoughts with you in this regard."
"I teach sociology too. I would like to begin with the ideas of 'role and status' relevant to your current conditions. We as human beings are the product of our society and culture which offer us both freedom and constraints, based on sociological perspectives. There are many invisible social forces that shape the way we think and act that tend to be taken for granted, in addition to genetic makeups."
"Like on the stage, there are many performers with different roles and statuses based on scripts written by writers, and/or screen playwriters, directed by the film director. Some might act like puppets, some puppeteers, and some act both roles. They interact with one another to act out a drama. Let me begin with two interesting human conditions: ascribed status and achieved status, guiding roles in the drama's scripts. Ascribed status is the social position that is born with, or involuntarily assumed in the later life. For example, you don't have a choice to be born with skin color of your preference, such as white, black, yellow, brown or any other colors. In this case, you were born white. You don't have choice to be born into Bill Gates' family, or born into a ghetto or slum. You don't choose to be born into the US, or Afghanistan. And you mentioned, being poor, living in the trailer park. You don't have a choice to be born a boy or a girl, and we know there are still cultures that prefer boys and some practice female-infanticide, or aborted when sex was identified in the womb. In your case you were born, a male. (I know, born to be a boy nowadays, might not be privileged as it used to be 😊.) So, before a life is born, there are many conditions predetermining the life chances and opportunities in the people's life."
"So, the ascribed status enables or disables in positive, negative, or cancel-out ways on people's lives in race, class, gender, nationality, localities, sometimes, even in religions, before one is born."
"Fortunately, human beings are not like other animals. They don't change much of the genetic features and most of them live by instincts. For we humans, through personal endeavors (both positive and negative) with opportunities (positively and negatively available), the life journey can be changed in positive and/or negative ways. This is called 'Achieved Status". One, based on the ascribed positive and/or negative statuses achieves positive and/or negative statuses during the trajectory of one's life. For example, some individuals achieve as a con-artist, or a drug-addict, while others, achieve as an excellent student or employee of the month," Mary wrote.
As you said, "I am a white-male student." You were not ascribed a color, or female sex. Though born into a male and white might not privilege as you feel, that I can understand. You mentioned the "stigmas" that you possessed as a poor guy, raised by a single mom, living in a trailer park. In fact, you referred to the concept of social class which was the most important, yet invisible, elusive notion in the Diversity Studies. Social class strongly correlates to the life chance, life opportunities, and cultural capital which link to access to health care, education, and jobs. In short, a person's social class intersects with his/her race, gender, sexuality, ability/disability, nationality, language, physicality and so on bio-cultural features affects his/her social mobility tendency."
"Ryan, I know the notion of ascribed-vs.-achieved statuses as the beginning point of our conversation about privilege and stigma might seem abstract, and not exactly related to your conditions. What I think about you is that your race and sex/gender might be offset (or cancelled out) by your social class condition. Thus, you feel you have no privilege at all and the stigmas are a bundle. In the previous Unit, we discussed the concept of "Intersectionality" which can be useful to unpack some social phenomena, particularly, privilege and stigma. I remember I used an example for you guys to explain what the intersectionality was about: "the life chance/opportunity of 'a blind, slave-descendant, lesbian, living in a poor area'," what could happen, if there is no awareness, knowledge and social policy to support the less fortunate people with various predicaments, who have no direct fault of their own?"
"Let me know if you have further questions. Welcome to my office for a chat if by chance you stop by the main campus. Mary."
Mary sent the feedback to Ryan, attached with extra information for his reference:
1. Video https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vX_Vzl-r8NY
2. Check list https://sites.google.com/a/u.boisestate.edu/social-justice-training/about-us/our...
3. Book: The Implicated Subject: Beyond Victims and Perpetrators by Michael Rothberg for an extra reading.
(Word count: 1717)