I did pass him on to a colleague without saying anything nasty at all, intimating that said colleague was far more familiar with the epistemological literature in my field than I.
---
I don't think he meant this to sound as snooty as it did when I first read it, but it's been a bad day. Here is the email:
Professor Black,
I would really appreciate it if we could meet sometime this week. I'd really like to sort out the situation with my midterm [which he screwed up in submitting] , as well as discussing ways to improve my writing on the [final paper] topics. I also wanted to talk about the analytical approach that Second Tier Author takes to epistemology in relation to some of the scholars he cites (particularly First Tier Author 1 and First Tier Author 2). I'm also in the process of planning a trip this summer to [Bushwaristan] and the [Banana, No, I Mean Copper Republic] to do independent research on ["Asian Tiger Country's"] 'soft power' and resource extraction.
I will try to stop by you office hours again tomorrow (although I have class at noon), but if you are free to meet sometime tomorrow after 4pm, Thursday after 2pm, or Friday after class, please let me know.
Thanks!
Epistemological Eddie------
I should be delighted that he wants to discuss Second Tier Author's epistemology. Frankly, though, at this point in the term we've established that I don't particularly play the jargon game and I'd rather talk about "ways of knowing what we know" and so on. It seems to (oddly enough) help my students understand what the hell I'm talking about. Sure, I might be doing them a disservice when they get into seminar-level pissing contests, but I'd rather all of us be able to have a meaningful exchange of ideas just now.
In terms of responding, I actually would like to write back to EE and tell him that if he's concerned about epistemology, he might want to spend some time sucking my heuristic dick so that he can get a firmer grasp on the phenomenology of subaltern subjectivity.
(While it is possible, of course, to be in a position of authority whilst performing fellatio, my Lacanian possession of the phallus renders any relationship other than Eddie's submission utterly impossible.)
I can't send that email. * sigh *
Frankly, I'd kill for an e-mail that literate, that polite, and that precise about what a student wants, as well as one indicating that he'd stop by rather than asking that I make special accommodations. If it came with a polysyllabic or two, that would be fine.
ReplyDeleteReally? I personally don't find the tone 'snooty' -- though I, too, wouldn't expect to receive such a coherent email from an undergraduate student.
ReplyDeleteI'd kill to get this email. And last time I checked, "epistemology" wasn't jargon - it was a field of study. Most epistemologists I know certainly prefer using the one word to describe what they do rather than going around saying "I work on figuring out how we know what we know" all the time. It's shorter - just sayin'.
ReplyDeleteThe only thing I found snooty about it was your response. If it's not something you find interesting, pass him off to a colleague who would find the conversation worthwhile. Or, at the least, give him a reading list.
ReplyDeleteI personally find epistemology to be quite boring, but I know professors at the nearest State U who don't so I can send my students to them if they desire to converse on the subject. Plus, I have a few books on the subject that I can refer them to.
Mathsquatch out.
In'shalla, may the Taliban or the Jaish Al-Mah'di not capture Eddie and use him for a sex toy before decapitating the naive little brianiac. However, if he doesn't watch himself he might wind up doing the Karatchi Two-step if he doesn't boil the water right.
ReplyDeleteAs for the insurgency, may I take my Crysknife out of its sheath and shout LONG LIVE THE FIGHTERS!
Oh BlackDog...
ReplyDeleteYou just have an e-mail hangover. E-mails are fast becoming one of the most common ways for students to communicate (esp. In a purely online environment like how I teach) and they are often difficult to guage. I've resorted now and again to emoticons and !! Points to soften the blow of bad news because the bare truth sounds stark and heartless. In written form.
It seems to me this e-mail was well drafted and probably lovingly edited so that the student made himself seem as intelligent as possible. His snobbery in using lots of verbage may come naturally, and he was just making sure you took him seriously. If he said it to you in person, he probably would not have sounded quite so stilted. In written form it just seems that he was "name dropping."
I've been guilty of wanting to draft a scathing e-mail to some sttudent where they either sounded incredibly stupid or incredibly hostile. I spend a lot of time drafting the response and using the backspace key by which time I've gotten over my initial indignation and just try to be as calm and objective in my response as possible. Sometimes things just strike me wrong in the first reading. I'm sure that goes both ways.
There might be a book in this (or at least a thirsty)
"The E-mail Whisperer"