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In Phillip Roth’s _The Human Stain_ (2000), the protagonist – a revered faculty member at a prestigious university – harbors a secret he feels could be detrimental to his academic standing if revealed. This secret is largely related to his identity. Ultimately, the protagonist devotes a significant amount of time debating the merits and consequences of self-disclosure.
This proposed special session seeks to investigate the notion of self-disclosure in academia. How can/do we – new graduate students, emeritus professors and everyone in-between – negotiate self-disclosure with respect to:
- Race
- Ethnicity
- Sexual Orientation
- Political Ideology
- Religious Affiliation
- Socioeconomic Class
- Disease
- Pro-Choice/Pro Life Stance
Other considerations include, but are by no means limited to:
- Teaching a personally-relevant text and the risk(s) of self-disclosure
- The impact of self-disclosure in the age of Jerry, Oprah, et al
- Self-disclosure since 9/11
Please send abstracts, full-length papers, or questions by March 15, 2003 to (e-submissions preferred) the address below.
Participants must be members of MLA by April 1, 2003. For more information about the conference and/or membership, please visit our website.
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