The week's articles

Wow, these articles went in a totally different direction than I was expecting! I predicted that they might make a case for trauma lit based on vicariously experiencing traumatic events or as a form of bibliotherapy for those in similar situations. I never expected them to question the ethics of exposing students to trauma literature nor did I foresee the depiction of a student's rebellion against Holocaust lit. -Even though, I probably should have.

You see, I had a similar experience with my brother involving a women's studies course he was taking. I accidentally came across his final paper for the class and decided to read his thoughts on the oppression of women in third-world countries and I was appalled. In a way similar to Steve's, my brother powerfully argued that the oppression described in the class's books and lectures was not really happening. This was a few years back, so it is difficult for me to recall what his basis for the arguments was, but he is an excellent students and I remember the paper being extremely well written and thorough.

I was so upset that I woke him up to talk about his work. Like Steve, he said that he didn't really believe that these women were not be oppressed and abused, however, he was angry at the professor for providing only one option for the paper. He described her as a "man-hater" that would have to give him an A because he did his research and supported his argument well. And, he did get an A on the paper and in the class, but his teacher expressed her disappointment and concern when he met her to get the paper back.

He shared the paper with my parents, proud that he had "out-witted" the professor and I wondered how she felt. I wondered if she felt like she had failed when in actuality she had instead without her knowledge or consent engaged in one of my brother's intellectual competitions. -He has been this way his entire life. He challenges ideas that others present as facts and is intelligent enough to argue his way out of almost anything. In a way I think his questioning is a healthy critical thinking strategy and I admire the way he takes nothing at face value, however, I can see how this would be extremely frustrating and disheartening for an invested teacher who believes strongly in her content and students.

Upon further discussion, my brother indirectly confided another thing Janet discussed in her article. Without directly admitting to feeling and rejecting guilt as result of male based oppression and dominance over women, my brother did remark that he was sick of being blamed for what other guys had done, saying "I never did any of this, so why the hell do I have to listen to and engage in a semester long man-hating course?" I offered the cliche answer of history being taught so that we can remember and grow from the past -he wasn't buying it. I think my brother was rebelling from not only the constraints of the class but also against what he misconstrued as a personal attack. He was one of only two boys in a class of about 20.