soundcloud archives 1984 and catalytic letters

my mother and i listen to the soundcloud audio archive
"they're giving me the privilege of their brilliance"
http://bambuser.com/channel/maryeng1/broadcast/1052808

of course i should have had a lawyer present---

sad about how [1984] denied some of the things he said---and which i have record of---that willingness to mis-remember the truth . . .

loudly
in the presence of one's peers
for self validation

i don't like lyingness

sadly a lot of the subtext was doubletalk and tripletalk.

like when i want to delete names to protect my pell grant---and replace them with [orwellian black hole] or [1984]

when i called women "minutiae" i was giving parody to the bizarre way we are treated as such----

and then instead of grasping my polite sarcasm, he plays like see, its minutiae.

like yeah, to you.

i note to mom the chance that the @ might be the problem with the fried brain cells vs. my other theory of @

the main point being

how can people be this stup
COLD SOBER?

maybe its just the LA smog making everyone act so declasse and last century

teachers being a little foolish in portland caused me to give birth to a sister blog.
less than 48 hrs old, it does not index well. yet.
http://therealpsu.blogspot.com/

i hope it doesn't need to get out of hand.  there are lots of great teachers---so it won't be necessary to stick around for drivel

i met the bias response team, the affirmative action office, the dean's office and the chair of philosophy, tom seppalainen who called my legalese "pasted rant."  he was raising his voice and honestly admitted no knowledge of any civil rights law whatsoever, which in my book makes him a good candidate for former chair of philosophy.  it is better to pretend to know the laws that your teachers are breaking, at least.
he said it didn't matter.
he's sure off on the wrong foot with me.
perhaps i should send him link to catch him up to speed.
but then again, he was completely confused by my email.  so i don't want to overwhelm him, with the future of equality.
it was funny to see him take his best philosophy wits out for a spin, get totally ostentatious with all his triple syllable words,  but then to disavow any knowledge of the law or any harassment training.
and then to say it doesn't matter.
he raised his voice.
he defended the porn-talker and obesity-insulter.
should we wait another 100 years to be treated like humans?

what a bad flashback to hear the audio of wendel eckford calling my email "crazy" . . . in the meeting precipitated by my reaching out to the women of USC anthropology . . .
i was wondering if they were the roll over and play dead type, or whether they cared.  i think they are bought off . . .
eckford went thru his litany of epithets and slurs, defending them all
as though i were the recepticle of his epithet knowledge and a perfect victim
it's kind of sadomasochistic to me, to invite someone who feels uncomfortable around yr pottymouth disorder, to come listen to you regurgitate it all over her uncomfortable ears again.
eckford began raising his voice at me, which point i had to gain clearance for the awesome recording.
he chilled a bit, despite saying preposterous things such as: the english language is an ever evolving thing and b*tch is not offensive in the the lingua franca of english (paarphrase.  find it. its funny.)

he was recording it too, so he could  . . . hear the shift in his tone when my copy commenced ?????
well .....

so sorry to bother you !

From:	mary eng  View Contact
To:	jhoskins@usc.edu

---

janet, so kind of you to write.

the administration does not care and protects the abuse thus far.

when i try to talk to him he raises his voice, and other people too express that they do not feel comfortable talking to him.

i was very initially impressed with his knowledge but feel that his poor use of words detracts from the impact.  

i feel so sad and depressed and dismayed, as many other teachers here have similar negative things to say towards women at LACC.

it seems systemic.

i think he is diluting his quality for the community college and in a sense condescending, assuming we are too stupid to notice, or too brown to complain.

a lot of the other ratemyprofessors.com say similar things about his hostile tone, attacks on christians, etc.

i guess i wanted to know if this were a normal standard at USC?  and if not, why his sensibility degenerated.

i went to a nice school before where professors were extremely educated and articulate and careful and yet there was full range of possibility for engaged discussion of many things linguistic and otherwise.

it is only now that i realize how lucky i once was to be shown respect.  and similarly the lectures i follow online are immune from epithets and curse words.

i reach out to you, because i think a serious lack of professionalism will hurt him eventually.

i am so sorry for the email.  surely every one else will ignore me.  if you are in touch with him, maybe you can convey the depths of my anguish and sorrow to him.  initially, i felt that i could subtly influence him, for his own safety.

instead of politely disagreeing, or taking a word to the wise, he is making a mockery of his post with displays of anger and more cursing.

i want the women of the future to be free to study in a non-restrictive atmosphere.

many of the men in the class have confided how uncomfortable they feel as well.

it is an assault on all of dignity, and the sacrifice we undertake to go to school, despite the economic obstacles.

in my project on shariah, i seek to find ways that the accusational tone towards islam, masks certain repressed misogynies within our culture, and how the chronic objectification of the feminine based on dress, and the material realm, does disservice to the future of human rights.

its a very simple idea, and i sought help from him about how to be more respectful of my interviewees. and he ignored me, and then his classroom anger got so out of control, that i realized, i will learn nothing about respect from someone who can't control his temper and tongue in the classroom.

i have experienced severe anguish and depression in consequence to his screaming tits and ass at me when i asked him to be more respectful, after he kept saying, "you know, mardi gras, show your tits."

i tried to overlook the red flags, and dismissed them all, until this.

and now he is talking about "bitching" at us.

even if the word's merits are arguable i think he could err on the side of safety and respect.  to continually push the boundaries of the acceptable seems to serve no purpose than to make him seem less educated than he is.

i am so sorry to bother you.  if there is anything that could be done in the name of educating educators to be culturally sensitive to women, maybe we will not face such anxiety attending classes in the near future.

as to what is appropriate, i have exhausted the administrative remedies, and they have proven futile, and i write to you in anguish, looking for strength, and how to go on.

oh the broadcasts were not a big deal, but indeed, he restricted them after i complained about, "tits" and "tits and ass."

thank you so much for writing, i did not expect a response, and apologize for the negativity i express, and for what can seem one-sided hearsay to one not a witness.  i am fascinated by notions of equality and freedom from harassment and epithet and slur as expressed in CA and federal law, and fascinated with disregard for the law. and i  feel sorry that the academic level is so sub-standard.

blessings, and good luck to you.

i wish i had more positive role models.

i am so sorry to put you on the spot.

what do you think about "i have absolutely no sympathy for anorexia and bulimia."

this hurts.

i have had friends nearly die from this.  i think it is extremely insensitive.

bye

mary eng

earlier that day:Sun, May 23, 2010 8:15:53 AM

From:	mary eng  View Contact
To:	jhoskins@usc.edu; jacobshu@usc.edu; lutkehau@usc.edu; kondo@rcf.usc.edu; jrhawkin@usc.edu; epm@usc.edu; arenteln@usc.edu; walterlw@usc.edu

---

hi---i go to los angeles city college, where USC alum brian bartelt teaches anthropology. at first i was impressed by his knowledge and thesis, but now i am not able to suppress the discomfort i feel in his classes. he repeatedly curses, has stormy tempertantrums, and insults many people. he also gives preferential treatment to the men in class. he gets extremely argumentative.  i wonder what the atmosphere is like at USC.  i think i would enjoy anthropology if it were taught with less anger and curse words. is there a rough atmosphere at USC or an enlightened one? did any of you know him?  was it true, he was fired?  he claims the complaints were ideological, but now i see that the agressive behavior and sexism and general offensiveness might have been a factor.  many of us in class are very unhappy. one girl says she won't talk in class bc she doesn't want to be shot down. a guy says he sees the girls look down when he says sexist things. another girl signed my complaint memo and says he is so close-minded. it is hard to learn in this atmosphere. he even hit a student over the head with a project proposal to show the scorn for the student's ideas. i thought it was very immature and non-professional. he talks about  "tits and ass" screamed at me when i told him he was making me uncomfortable---see the email below "show your tits" "shitty" this and that "margaret thatcher is a man" "the asshole hypothesis"---a tiresome story and "bitching" he talks about being "white" and the "whiteman" and self-identifies thusly and brings along a lot of stereotyping i don't believe in this way of talking, i think it perpetuates racism he said also "i have absolutely no sympathy for anorexia and bulimia" which is ironic, because my anorexic tendencies are recurring around this abusive atmosphere.  i did not drop the class bc i need my financial aid. he also insults christians and overweight people. he loves animal sacrifice and has a perverse joy in grossing us out with his disembowelment and animal sacrifice videos. he is mean to the vegans and vegetarians in the class as well. he said transexuals show women how to be "real women."  i think this is unfair to everyone, women and transexuals. when i spoke against that statement citing judith butler and gender spectrum theory, he said 'you don't want to wig any one out" to dismiss me. he won't accept dialogue or questioning of his authoritarian teaching style. everything has to be a "you are wrong" dominance play. this is his email which i found disgusting.  can you imagine a grown man teacher writing a female student who asked for more respect, a dictionary definition of the word "tit"?????? i have reported it---but LACC protects other harassment too.  i am getting out.  i just thought you might like to know.  and if anyone has any advice how to deal with the stress of degradingly banal teachers i could use some help. i think his sexism is an antiquated way of seeing the world, and his vulgarity brash and potentially dangerous to the school, which is being sued for a teacher calling a student a "fascist bastard." i think he needs to clean up his act. the department chair seems irritated that this is a recurring problem. i am washing my hands of this---but if you have any advice---or any ideas about how to protect future students/victims . . . well wishes! mary eng

4-16-10:

RE: the t&a video response

From:	"Bartelt, Brian A" <bartelba@lacitycollege.edu> View Contact
To:	mary eng

---

Mary,

With all due respect, you are completely out of line.  In no way can my class be described as "vulgar and antiquated."  I take offense at this gross misrepresentation.  Before you levy such a charge against me, I strongly suggest you think hard about what you are saying.  You will see that you have no case.

I take pedagogy seriously.  I take accusations like this seriously.  In no way do i think this a laughing matter.

Finally, before you make a mountain out of a mole-hill, perhaps you need to revisit the entomology of the word "tit."  It derives from teat, meaning nipple, and can be pronounced as tit or teet.  Both men and women have them, as do the cows on the farm on which I grew up.

I also do not appreciate your calling me a fascist.  These are serious charges/accusations and I will not stand by and let a student throw such accusations my way - especially when they are completely unwarranted.  I always welcome questions and discussion.  In fact, I go out of my way to facilitate that.

I tried to accommodate you and your desire to video my lectures.  However, these base-less accusations have left me with no choice but to forbid all filming and taping of my lectures, as my academic freedom is now at stake.  I will make a formal announcement in class next week.

-Dr. Bartelt

a startling lack of sympathy, in my "inappropriate" opinion in my "inappropriate" blog and my "inappropriate" belles lettres:

From: Janet Hoskins <jhoskins@usc.edu>
To: mary eng
Sent: Sun, May 23, 2010 1:41:38 PM
Subject: Re: bartelt terrorizes LACC
Dear Mary,

I am sorry if you have not had a good experience in Brian's class. I was one of his teachers at USC, and found him a very intelligent and hard working anthropologist.  It seems from his email to you that there were certain conflicts involving your request to videotape his classes.  I cannot speak to that context, since you do not explain it in your letter.

I completely understand why he tried to explain to you that "tit" is not necessarily an offensive word, and its use should not in itself put him into the category of someone who "terrorizes" women.  But I think the best thing for you to do would be to meet with him and explain to him if there are things that make you uncomfortable.

Brian was a highly rated teaching assistant at USC and he was not fired.  He has also taught at several other institutions. I would need to know the context of the various things you say he said which you found offensive.

I really do not know why you felt the need to send this email to Brian's former professors.  These seem to be issues that you should take up with him face to face.

You have my sympathy, since you seem to have had a hard time in his class. But the email that you sent to all of us does not seem to me to be an appropriate response.

Best wishes,

Janet

Janet Hoskins
Professor of Anthropology
University of Southern California