| Theoretically grounded in social psychological arguments regarding self and identity, along with more structural arguments regarding racial and gender inequality in the United States, this research examines how professors' race and gender affect their perceptions of and experiences in the predominantly white undergraduate college classroom. It analyzes how social and cultural expectations in regard to race and gender influence the emotional labor required for professors in the classroom, affecting the nature of the job itself. In addition to a short questionnaire, the data were generated from 58 in-depth interviews with 29 white and 29 black faculty members across academic disciplines. Twenty-six respondents were female and 32 were male. The findings of this study suggest that professors' race and gender status shape how they experience the emotional demands of teaching. White female professors expressed frustration with having to establish their physical authority in the classroom while also maintaining gender role expectations that they be nice and nurturing. Black male professors expressed frustration with student doubts to their competency, while black female professors managed both racial and gender dynamics. White males were least likely to express frustration generated from challenges to their professorial identity and authority. Black and female professors reported doing more work in order to establish and maintain the respect that usually accompanies the status of professor, making their jobs essentially more difficult than for their white, male colleagues. |
