A conversation with a young friend entering the second semester of her freshman year evoked this topic. Happily, she managed to avoid encountering what she aptly called “the cussing professor” in her first semester at this small Liberal-Arts college. This semester, though, she is not so fortunate. Here are some thoughts I shared with her.
Ah yes, my friend: the cussing professor! I’d nearly forgotten about this unpleasant phenomenon. Let me try to put some context around it in the hope of making it less personal and disturbing. (And yes, it is disturbing to find yourself captive in a classroom, absorbing the brunt of such ugliness.)
The phenomenon of “the cussing professor” arose in the early 1960s when a handful of professors, particularly at elite schools, began freely to indulge in foul language as they taught their classes. The phenomenon was rooted in the 1950s, though, in the wildness of a post World-War-II culture that, despite looking mostly tame, was bubbling around the edges. It took time for the hip world of James Dean and the devil-may-care artiste fully to infiltrate the college classroom.
Still, think about it: why in the world would otherwise educated adults—teachers presumably committed to molding students in the best aspects of their beloved, time-honored disciplines—reduce themselves intellectually by relying upon a crude menu of four-letter words? Isn’t that the real question?
Here are the best answers I have to that question, having watched this phenomenon nearly from its beginnings. First, certain professors wish to present themselves as “hip”— unfettered, and intellectually beyond the petty standards of decent behavior that most 18-year-olds have been raised to uphold. They are not shackled by stupid rules. Vulgarity becomes a vehicle of their so-called moral superiority. It is also part of an attitude of disdain for the standards that parents sought to instill in these kids.
Beyond that, some professors believe that unhinged language shows them as strong. They are in charge, while your ears are abused (in fact, spouting vulgar verbiage is a form of abuse, and ought to be treated that way by the institution!). If the professor is female, she may equate a vulgar mouth with proof that she is “equal” to the male professors. Funny how that works, isn’t it?
Also, some professors I’ve witnessed actually think they are being “friendly” and better connected with their students through using uncouth language. These professors make their first mistake by presuming the individuals in their classrooms prefer a crude vocabulary. Their second mistake has to do with the idea of “friendship.” Students can (and do) become friends with professors, but it takes a long time and involves the development of common passions, long periods of working together, and the passage of years to ripen the student from grown child to productive adult. These kinds of friendships will never be fostered by the fact that a professor swears with impunity (or wears tacky sweatshirts and jeans with holes.)
Okay, those are the most positive interpretations I can come up with. Frankly, my final interpretation is one I believe often applies: the “cussing professor” is intellectually lazy and resorts to profane language out of lack of rhetorical skills. You can decide, on an individual basis, where the truth lies.
To answer rebuttals, there certainly have been great intellectuals and creative figures known for their salty language. Winston Churchill had a supremely salty mouth, but he knew how to keep it behind closed doors or release it where it belonged. He would not have sprayed such language on the Queen or his radio audience.
Furthermore, people have always cussed. Sailors cuss, laborers cuss, moms trying to unstop a toilet cuss (at times), and Members of the Board of Director cuss too, although hopefully behind closed doors. That’s the key, though: closed doors, and not an open classroom where students have no choice but to listen.
So, my dear friend, you will have to decide how to handle it. But first, try to analyze this sad practice for what it is. If you continue to find this professor’s language abusive, you do have options including speaking with a Department Head or Dean of Students. Presumably the administration would be supportive, although in today’s atmosphere, who knows?
Regardless, the main thing is to keep your own head above the waters. One thing for sure: once you send your own standards down the drain by adopting vulgar language, you reduce yourself intellectually and damage yourself spiritually.
Thank you for this! I just sent this to my daughter – who is now a senior in college. I love your closing thoughts – “Keep your OWN head above the waters.”.
Sadly, I believe she had more than one cussing professor – what we in our home like to call a “good bad example”.
This never happened in my college experience, but then, that was some 50 +/- years ago in a small state university. It’s good to be old.
Thank you for trying to understand this. I think it goes beyond the classroom and is a huge problem degrading our very language and communication. It seems to me a case of using ‘cuss’ instead of a more particular, accurate word to express a thought, thereby eliminating specifics in conversational exchanges. I recently heard an interview which had so much cussing that you could interpret the topics and reactions however you wanted–not too worthwhile. I also agree women have adopted this mode to come across more powerful, which is very sad.
How many authors these days seem obliged to include foul language in the novels and non-fiction that they write when the same points could easily be made with civilized language?
And the same goes for movies. As Thucydides pointed out in his history of the Peloponnesian Wars, civilization is fragile, and at any point, we can easily be reduced to barbarism.