Women Discuss Gov Sections

A panel of six women government concentrators told a group of approximately 20 undergraduates and teaching assistants Thursday evening that they believe discussion in government sections is often overly aggressive and dominated by men.

Panelists said that the over-heated atmosphere occasionally present in government sections is not conducive to learning, especially for women who lack confidence or are reluctant to speak.

"I want to talk about my sophomore tutorial which was a case study in bad gender dynamics," said Bridget C. Asay '92, the former treasurer of the Radcliffe Union of Students. "If they had given us weapons there would have been no one left."

Yanira I. Baez '92 said she was in a section where the four women were intimidated by the overwhelming male majority. "The freshman women would never speak. They were intimidated to break into the debates," she said.

Some panelists said debate in sections would grow so heated as to limit the exchange of views. "Men and women did not always listen to each other," said Merrill P. McKenzie '93, of one of her government classes. "More emphasis was put on winning the argument than on understanding each other."

Kathie J. Donnelly '93 suggested that the relative silence on the part of women was a result of additional factors. "I think women formulate their arguments differently than men," Donnelly said. She suggested that women may think through their arguments before they speak, while men build their arguments as they talk.

The Panelists directed solutions to the problem towards teaching fellows, suggesting that they split large sections into smaller groups, give equal speaking time to section members, and leave section participation ungraded.

Those panelists who spoke of positive section experiences praised section leaders who carefully mediated discussions. "[The teaching fellow] would call on us...he was in control of who spoke. When I did speak he would listen really well and respect what I said. Tutorial was a place where I could learn," said McKenzie.

But some of the teaching fellows said such remedies are often difficult to implement. The teaching fellows said they were worried that excessive attention to the growth and feelings of individual students could interfere with preserving of an intellectually challenging discussion.

"[Creating a positive section environment] is an art, not a science," said Paul Pierson, a government tutor, and the panel head.

The discussion was organized by the Harvards Danforth Center for Teaching and Learning.