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To: H-OIEAHC@H-NET.MSU.EDU X-Mailer: Novell GroupWise 5.5.4 Delivered-to: H-OIEAHC@H-NET.MSU.EDU Original-recipient: rfc822;john.saillant@vmh.cc.wmich.edu "Finally, who among us would use any historically-correct but pejorative term without an obviously raised eyebrow, an arm-motion for "quotes," or an explanation that history is often painful and this is part of the pain. Anyone who answers, "Not me," should be summarily drummed out of the profession." At the risk of being drummed out, I have to join in on this debate. Any professor who does not account for the power of his or her words as interpreted by their audience has missed the last fifteen years of scholarship. I am reminded of an English professor I had, who liked to use the word "c- - t" in class, always, of course, with the "quotes" indicated with his fingers. No doubt he thought he was being cutting edge, and the poems he quoted did in fact use that word to describe women, but the use of the word led to an intimidating atmosphere for the eighteen-year-old students listening. Not many women felt comfortable visiting this professor, and I imagine that a significant number of African American students would feel the same towards a professor that used the "n" word even with caution. It is the audience's interpretation of this word that matters most, not the professor's intent. Melanie Perreault Salisbury State University
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