In the fourth chapter of Unlocking the Clubhouse, Margolis and Fisher spend a good bit of time describing the CMU environment, and discussing the mythology surrounding the computer geek persona. They discuss popular culture portrayals of technogeeks, as well as internal institutional imagery.
One of the reasons Tona and I felt it made sense to do our study is that at RIT, the distinction between IT and CS (as well as SE) creates a different type of environment. At least from the faculty point of view, IT and its students vary significantly from the standard geek persona. The “persistent image of the the computer science student” that the book describes is something that IT has tried to distance itself from.
Our biggest question, really, is whether IT has done that successfully. Do the students perceive IT as qualitatively different from CS? Or do the same images persist in their understanding of the field? This is important. At CMU, they found that:
while the stereotype of the computer science student as someone who is myopically focused on computing is rejected by many male and female students, women report more distress and are more affected by the perceived diference between themselves and their peers. […]
The rub for women in computer science is that the dominant computer science culture does not venerate balance or multiple interests. Instead, the singular and obsessive interest in computing that is common among men is assumed to be the road to success in computing. This model shapes the assumptions of who will succeed and who “belongs” in the discipline.
It’s also worth thinking about this from the end of the chapter:
It is important to note that it is not only women who resist a myopic focus on computers. Some men resist a narrow orientation but do not question their ability to become computer scientists because their gender has not rendered them suspect. The social history and culture of computing, based on the activities and culture of boys and men who have made computing the central focus of their lives, contribute to boys’ sense of belonging and girls’ sense of “outsidership” in computer science. The model of a successful computer science student is viewed through a male prism. This perspective bolsters men’s confidence and sense of belonging. The same culture expects little success from women. Women’s interest in and attachment to computing are considered outside the norm, and their abilities are never taken for granted. This places women students, especially those who resist becoming myopically focused, at high risk in the discipline.
Given all this, and the fact that there are very few women in our entering class, I’m thinking about expanding the first year of the study to include the handful of women entering CS at RIT this year. It would be interesting to see how much the “geek mythology” perceptions differ (if at all) between students in the two disciplines, and how they perceive each other.
(This is one in a series of entries from <a href=”<$MTBlogURL$>”>mamamusings related to the book Unlocking the Clubhouse, by Jane Margolis and Allan Fisher. For the whole series, go to the “unlocking the clubhouse” category page.)
Discovered Breaching the Web via my Technorati Cosmos (which, alas, has shrunk considerably due to the domain change).
Can’t find a name for the blog’s author, but I quite liked the post entitled “Don’t Assume I’m Like You,” which I will quote extensively here:
Don’t assume that because I’m successful, my parents never divorced. Don’t assume that because I’m progressive, I’m also vegetarian. Don’t assume that because I’m a professional, I don’t like homemaking. Don’t assume that because I dress conservatively, I disapprove of clothing you think is “skanky.” Don’t assume that because I’m married, I like children. Don’t assume that because I have a Ph.D., I look down on people who didn’t finish high school. Don’t assume that because I criticize a country, I don’t love it. Don’t assume that because I look a certain way, everyone in my family looks that way. Don’t assume that because I work with you, I like you. Don’t assume that because I’m straight, I don’t know (and love) any gay/bi/trans people. Don’t assume that because I’m quiet, I have nothing to say. Don’t assume that because I go to your church, I agree with your politics. Don’t assume that because I’m a feminist, I look down on housewives. Don’t assume that because I knit, I want to make something for you. Don’t assume that because I’m cute, I’m not strong. Don’t assume that because I act unashamed of something, you can comment on it. Don’t assume that because I’m related to you, I agree with you. Don’t assume that because I’m smiling, I’m not angry. Don’t assume that because something is in a predicate in this paragrah, it’s true. And most importantly, don’t assume that if I look like you, I am like you.
Nice.
Sounds like it’s probably a woman. And probably a woman I’d like to have as a friend! (Though, of course, that means I’m making assumptions!)
For the past several weeks, I’ve been participating in the beta test of the new Movable Type-based hosted blogging service, TypePad. The service will be going live on Monday, and it’s now fair game to blog about it. So here’s my take.
I love MT (it’s what powers this blog), and its range of features. But there’s no question that it takes a fairly high level of technical sophistication to install and configure it. When people who want to start a blog ask me how to go about it, I end up either installing MT for them, or (reluctantly) pointing them to Blogger’s Blogspot hosting service. (It’s not that Blogger isn’t a good tool. It’s just that MT is…well…better. It has integrated comments, trackback functionality, customizable archives, and other things that just make it work in a way that’s more elegant and functional.)
TypePad takes the power and flexibility of the MT engine, and puts it into a user-friendly hosted service. At the basic level, it is truly point-and-click. No writing HTML, no tweaking CSS templates. Drag-and-drop layouts, menu-based component addition, and automated content generation take much of the stress out of blog setup and maintenance.
Beyond that, TypePad adds a lot of nifty features that aren’t available (yet, at least) in MT. One of those is an excellent photo blogging tool. It alone is worth signing up for, I think. Easier to use and configure than the iPhoto/.mac combination I used to use. As easy as Ofoto. (Hmmm. Would be even more perfect if Six Apart cut a deal with Kodak to provide prints from TypePad photoblogs…)
The big problem with hosted services, of course, is the dependence on that service for your URL. If you decide to switch from Blogspot to TypePad, for example, you can’t keep your blogspot.com address. The idea that you should keep content you value on a domain that you control has recently been termed Robb’s Law, based on John Robb’s experience moving his blog from a hosted service. That’s why this blog now lives at mamamusings.net, rather than www.it.rit.edu/~ell/mamamusings/, too.
TypePad, however, will be offering domain mapping on Plus and Pro accounts, which means you’ll be able to have your own domain point to your TypePad site. That’s a big, big deal. And it means I can recommend TypePad to new bloggers with a clear conscience.
The only downside of TypePad vs Blogspot, so far as I can tell, is that Blogspot offers a free option (which includes banner ads), while TypePad’s basic service starts at $4.95/month. A small price to pay, I think, for an ad-free, feature-rich service…but there will still be people drawn to Blogspot for free service. On the other hand, TypePad is wisely offering a 30-day free trial option for new users, which means it’s easy to try it first and see if you like it enough to pay.
I’ll be signing up for a TypePad site, even though I still plan to run mamamusings here on a full MT engine on its own server. I’ll probably move lawley.net to TypePad once domain forwarding is enabled, and use it to set up blogs for family members.
Meanwhile, if you count yourself among my friends, I might be able to help cut you a good deal on a brand-new TypePad account of your very own. Drop me an email (not a comment here, please) if you’re interested.
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