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<DIV><FONT face=Arial size=2>Dear Ahmar, thank you for writing to us about your
experience, which I am afraid that it is not all that rare, nor restricted to
non-western countries. I have been aware of such double standards for people
from politically powerful and privileged countries on the one hand and
from politically less powerful and non-privileged ones on the
other. And though I share your concerns, I don't know how to go
about doing anything about it, other than discuss this situation,
which I believe is linked with structural conditions and
ideologies - including (a) the 'inherent' racism of some members of staff
in various institutions (my experiences are mainly with colleagues in the US and
the UK), (b) with the inability of many westerners to manage and deal with
different types of knowledge and ways of organizing this knowledge for the
benefit of the parties involved in the PhD project and for the
successful outcome of the work (which should ideally be the result of an
intercultural way of thinking and doing), and (c) with the way
that academic institutions in many western countries are evaluated for
funding purposes.</FONT></DIV>
<DIV><FONT face=Arial size=2>Looking forward to hearing what other colleagues
have to say about this issue.</FONT></DIV>
<DIV><FONT face=Arial size=2>Bessie</FONT></DIV>
<DIV><FONT face=Arial size=2>
<HR>
</FONT></DIV>
<DIV><FONT face=Arial size=2>Professor Bessie Dendrinos</FONT></DIV>
<DIV><FONT face=Arial size=2>Department of Language and Linguistics</FONT></DIV>
<DIV><FONT face=Arial size=2>Faculty of English Studies</FONT></DIV>
<DIV><FONT face=Arial size=2>School of Philosophy</FONT></DIV>
<DIV><FONT face=Arial size=2>National and Kapodistrian University of
Athens</FONT></DIV>
<DIV><FONT face=Arial size=2>Panepistimioupoli Zographou</FONT></DIV>
<DIV><FONT face=Arial size=2>15784 Athens, Greece</FONT></DIV>
<DIV><FONT face=Arial size=2>Greece </FONT></DIV>
<BLOCKQUOTE dir=ltr
style="PADDING-RIGHT: 0px; PADDING-LEFT: 5px; MARGIN-LEFT: 5px; BORDER-LEFT: #000000 2px solid; MARGIN-RIGHT: 0px">
<DIV style="FONT: 10pt arial">----- Original Message ----- </DIV>
<DIV
style="BACKGROUND: #e4e4e4; FONT: 10pt arial; font-color: black"><B>From:</B>
<A title=mahbooba@mail.ecu.edu href="mailto:mahbooba@mail.ecu.edu">Ahmar
Mahboob</A> </DIV>
<DIV style="FONT: 10pt arial"><B>To:</B> <A title=edling@ccat.sas.upenn.edu
href="mailto:edling@ccat.sas.upenn.edu">edling@ccat.sas.upenn.edu</A> </DIV>
<DIV style="FONT: 10pt arial"><B>Sent:</B> Saturday, January 08, 2005 2:01
AM</DIV>
<DIV style="FONT: 10pt arial"><B>Subject:</B> [EDLING:520] Double standards in
higher education - my paranoia or a global concern?</DIV>
<DIV><BR></DIV>
<DIV class=Section1>
<P class=MsoNormal><FONT face=Arial size=2><SPAN
style="FONT-SIZE: 10pt; FONT-FAMILY: Arial">At a recent meeting with some
well-respected academics at a good (western) university, I was griping about
one of my international (non-native) Ph.D. students. During the course of the
conversation, one of the professors told me that I should not worry too much.
This person said that since my student plans to return to his country after
graduation and since he will not be seeking a job in a western country, I do
not need to worry about the quality of his work. While I did not say much at
the time, this comment has really disturbed me.<o:p></o:p></SPAN></FONT></P>
<P class=MsoNormal><FONT face=Arial size=2><SPAN
style="FONT-SIZE: 10pt; FONT-FAMILY: Arial"><o:p> </o:p></SPAN></FONT></P>
<P class=MsoNormal><FONT face=Arial size=2><SPAN
style="FONT-SIZE: 10pt; FONT-FAMILY: Arial">I have been aware of such double
standards for a while, but this was the first time I heard someone (a senior
professor for that) state it so matter-of-factly. I was wondering if any of
you have experienced such attitudes. How have/do you react to this? I find it
extremely unethical to make such distinctions and to give differentiated
treatment to my west-bound and non-west-bound students. I expect my students
to perform at or above a certain level. If they are not performing, then I try
to find ways to help them. I cannot just let them be because they will take
their degrees back home. If we permit this to happen, how are we contributing
to the fall of academic standards internationally?
<o:p></o:p></SPAN></FONT></P>
<P class=MsoNormal><FONT face=Arial size=2><SPAN
style="FONT-SIZE: 10pt; FONT-FAMILY: Arial"><o:p> </o:p></SPAN></FONT></P>
<P class=MsoNormal><FONT face=Arial size=2><SPAN
style="FONT-SIZE: 10pt; FONT-FAMILY: Arial">PhDs from the west are treated
with great respect in many countries. They are given better salaries and
higher positions vis-à-vis local PhDs and are given more say in policy making
etc. By permitting these double standards, we are in a way sabotaging the
educational standards of these (developing) countries. What we are saying is:
you are not good enough for us and we will never consider hiring you as an
academic here (in the west), but we will (take your money and) give you a
degree to take back home. How much more unethical can academics become?
<o:p></o:p></SPAN></FONT></P>
<P class=MsoNormal><FONT face=Arial size=2><SPAN
style="FONT-SIZE: 10pt; FONT-FAMILY: Arial"><o:p> </o:p></SPAN></FONT></P>
<P class=MsoNormal><FONT face=Arial size=2><SPAN
style="FONT-SIZE: 10pt; FONT-FAMILY: Arial">While I hope that my experience
was an uncommon/rare one, I fear that this is a growing tendency. This
tendency is probably supported by (if not rooted in) universities’ desire to
attract more full-fee-paying-international-students. Universities are
investing huge amounts to attract new international students and part of their
promise is that we will give you a western qualification that you can take
back home and prosper from. In this race for attracting and keeping more
students (read as ‘money’), universities seem to be losing sight of their
integrity. Like other money making corporations, universities seem to be
selling their brand-name rather than focusing on the quality of education.
This is a deplorable act and I think one that needs to be
exposed.<o:p></o:p></SPAN></FONT></P>
<P class=MsoNormal><FONT face=Arial size=2><SPAN
style="FONT-SIZE: 10pt; FONT-FAMILY: Arial"><o:p> </o:p></SPAN></FONT></P>
<P class=MsoNormal><FONT face=Arial size=2><SPAN
style="FONT-SIZE: 10pt; FONT-FAMILY: Arial">As you can probably guess, the
casual conversation that I had earlier this week has really upset me. While
I’m not sure what we can do to counter these growing tendencies, I feel that
the least we can do is to discuss and expose
them.<o:p></o:p></SPAN></FONT></P>
<P class=MsoNormal><FONT face=Arial size=2><SPAN
style="FONT-SIZE: 10pt; FONT-FAMILY: Arial"><o:p> </o:p></SPAN></FONT></P>
<P class=MsoNormal><FONT face=Arial size=2><SPAN
style="FONT-SIZE: 10pt; FONT-FAMILY: Arial">Best
wishes,<o:p></o:p></SPAN></FONT></P>
<P class=MsoNormal><FONT face=Arial size=2><SPAN
style="FONT-SIZE: 10pt; FONT-FAMILY: Arial"><o:p> </o:p></SPAN></FONT></P>
<P class=MsoNormal><FONT face=Arial size=2><SPAN
style="FONT-SIZE: 10pt; FONT-FAMILY: Arial">Ahmar<o:p></o:p></SPAN></FONT></P>
<P class=MsoNormal><FONT face=Arial size=2><SPAN
style="FONT-SIZE: 10pt; FONT-FAMILY: Arial"><o:p> </o:p></SPAN></FONT></P>
<P class=MsoNormal><FONT face=Arial size=2><SPAN
style="FONT-SIZE: 10pt; FONT-FAMILY: Arial; mso-no-proof: yes">**************************************</SPAN></FONT><SPAN
style="mso-no-proof: yes"><o:p></o:p></SPAN></P>
<P class=MsoNormal><FONT face=Arial size=2><SPAN
style="FONT-SIZE: 10pt; FONT-FAMILY: Arial; mso-no-proof: yes">Dr. Ahmar
Mahboob</SPAN></FONT><SPAN style="mso-no-proof: yes"><o:p></o:p></SPAN></P>
<P class=MsoNormal><FONT face=Arial size=2><SPAN
style="FONT-SIZE: 10pt; FONT-FAMILY: Arial; mso-no-proof: yes">Department of
Linguistics<o:p></o:p></SPAN></FONT></P>
<P class=MsoNormal><st1:place w:st="on"><st1:PlaceType w:st="on"><FONT
face=Arial size=2><SPAN
style="FONT-SIZE: 10pt; FONT-FAMILY: Arial; mso-no-proof: yes">University</SPAN></FONT></st1:PlaceType><FONT
face=Arial size=2><SPAN
style="FONT-SIZE: 10pt; FONT-FAMILY: Arial; mso-no-proof: yes"> of
<st1:PlaceName w:st="on">Sydney</st1:PlaceName></SPAN></FONT></st1:place><SPAN
style="mso-no-proof: yes"><o:p></o:p></SPAN></P>
<P class=MsoNormal><FONT face=Arial size=2><SPAN
style="FONT-SIZE: 10pt; FONT-FAMILY: Arial; mso-no-proof: yes">#245 <st1:place
w:st="on"><st1:PlaceName w:st="on">Transient</st1:PlaceName> <st1:PlaceType
w:st="on">Building</st1:PlaceType></st1:place> (F-12)</SPAN></FONT><SPAN
style="mso-no-proof: yes"><o:p></o:p></SPAN></P>
<P class=MsoNormal><st1:City w:st="on"><FONT face=Arial size=2><SPAN
style="FONT-SIZE: 10pt; FONT-FAMILY: Arial; mso-no-proof: yes">Sydney</SPAN></FONT></st1:City><FONT
face=Arial size=2><SPAN
style="FONT-SIZE: 10pt; FONT-FAMILY: Arial; mso-no-proof: yes">, NSW 2006
<st1:place w:st="on"><st1:country-region
w:st="on">Australia</st1:country-region></st1:place></SPAN></FONT><SPAN
style="mso-no-proof: yes"><o:p></o:p></SPAN></P>
<P class=MsoNormal><FONT face=Arial size=2><SPAN
style="FONT-SIZE: 10pt; FONT-FAMILY: Arial; mso-no-proof: yes">Office:
61-2-9351-3548</SPAN></FONT><SPAN
style="mso-no-proof: yes"><o:p></o:p></SPAN></P>
<P class=MsoNormal><FONT face=Arial size=2><SPAN
style="FONT-SIZE: 10pt; FONT-FAMILY: Arial; mso-no-proof: yes">Fax:
61-2-9351-7572</SPAN></FONT><SPAN
style="mso-no-proof: yes"><o:p></o:p></SPAN></P>
<P class=MsoNormal><FONT face="Times New Roman" size=3><SPAN
style="FONT-SIZE: 12pt; mso-no-proof: yes"> <o:p></o:p></SPAN></FONT></P>
<P class=MsoNormal><FONT face=Arial size=2><SPAN
style="FONT-SIZE: 10pt; FONT-FAMILY: Arial"><o:p> </o:p></SPAN></FONT></P></DIV></BLOCKQUOTE></BODY></HTML>