Blue ring around a white collar: an application of marginality.

Introduction

ENTERING A GRADUATE PROGRAM directly following the completion of my Bachelor's degree was not completely understood by people in my home town. The stigma of "professional student" was felt. Even if getting a Masters degree seemed alright to some, pursuing the Ph.D. seemed excessive. Getting that all important first job at the rank of "Assistant Professor" was exciting to me, but the title seemed to indicate to some that I was merely "assisting" a professor, perhaps similar to the job of research assistant that I held in graduate school. It is exasperating to explain to those outside academe the meaning behind the various ranks and, more importantly, that there is more to this job than the actual time spent in the classroom teaching. Academe is truly a different world -- especially where I come from.

Marginality

We know who we are. The American Dream is realized in us for we have experienced upward social mobility. But, in spite of our good fortune, we find that we face a situation which is somewhat puzzling. In their book, Strangers In Paradise: Academics from the Working Class, Jake Ryan and Charles Sackrey note that academics from the working class face an unusual and complicated set of circumstances. I suggest that Robert Park's concept of the "marginal man" is helpful in attempting to understand what it is like to be an academic from the working class. (1)

We think immediately of geographical mobility as an example, but class mobility can have the same effect.

Park's usage of the term was in reference to the results of migration -- the "man on the margin of two cultures and two societies, which never completely interpenetrated and fused" (quoted in Turner 1967, p.205). Much of the research in this area has focused, following Park, on the marginal position of peoples of dual or multiple racial heritage (see Gist and Dworkin, 1972). Yet, this concept has also been adopted and used more broadly in the social sciences. For example, "marginal" has been used in reference to certain occupations, such as chiropractic (Wardwell 1952) and social work (Enoch 1989). Another contemporary example of a position considered to be marginal is middle management. Individuals occupying middle management positions may not feel certain about where they "belong" or what they should be doing.

The concept of marginality in the social sciences can refer to "a situation where an individual or group is part of two cultures, but not completely in or of either" (Bealmear 1992, p.25). We think immediately of geographical mobility as an example, but class mobility can have the same effect. As Norman Frost (in Ryan and Sackrey) says, "[b]eing a working class academic is sometimes very lonely. It's difficult to relate to most colleagues, but it is also difficult to relate to working-class folks, who tend not to trust you since you got to be a 'Doctor'" (p.257). Indeed, you feel a little foreign in your academic world, and you also feel foreign in your world of origin. Moruzzi (1991) said that, at most, the margin is the unclear area "between two worlds" (p.110). Indeed, this is how I feel -- that I am "between worlds." To embrace one world more strongly than the other is to risk not being accepted in the other. I do not wish to risk that. I am proud of my blue-collar roots. My parents have worked very hard all of their lives, and at jobs that do not bring them a lot in return. An obvious clash between my blue-collar and my academic world is the way in which "work" is defined.

In the world that I had been accustomed to, hard work is defined as involving sweat, body aches, tangible results, a clear beginning point and a clear end point, and the idea that a certain amount of work is equal to a certain amount of money.

In the academic world, however, hard work is defined as tenacity, intangible results, an emphasis on the "process" (not necessarily an end point). Teaching, in particular, is the type of work which does not provide immediate, tangible results. Michael Schwalbe (in Dews and Law 1995), a sociologist originally from a working-class background, expresses greater attraction to research than teaching. He explains it this way:

I need to see a tangible product in order to believe I'm doing real work .... I learned that real work is done with the back and hands and results in things you can see and touch and use .... At least if I write a paper I can heft it. I can see that something exists where nothing existed before. And if I write lots of papers, I can see lines add up on my vita. All this is evidence of my ability to produce, which I also somehow learned is an important measure of a person's worth (p.320). (2)

How could my dad, who stands at a noisy machine for eight hours on his midnight shift, making plastic parts for cars, consider my sitting at a desk revising a paper or preparing a lecture "work"? How can I alleviate the guilt I feel for "having it so good"?

Another way in which academic work differs from the working-class definition of work is that it may not be compensated with money.

Another way in which academic work differs from the working-class definition of work is that it may not be compensated with money -- but rather with personal pride or public recognition. Consider how output is defined in academe as opposed to most other occupations: In our capitalist system, output is directly related to remuneration. Within the university, on the other hand, professors are encouraged to publish articles and books which are not in any direct way related to salary. With the exception of textbooks, many academic books generate little or no income. And with regard to writing textbooks, this is not considered "research." In academe, there is no direct payment for many of the professional activities we are expected to perform, such as presenting papers at conferences, reviewing articles for a journal, or writing and publishing articles and books. While such activities may slightly boost one's merit pay, there is no direct payment. Viewed from the working class, this seems rather strange.

Aspects of my professional life are always filtered through the working class conception and understanding of work. I experience a mix of emotions -- happiness and gratefulness for where I am at in my career, but also guilt and a sense of displacement when comparing my situation to that of my parents. Marginality is thus both structural in the sense that it can characterize a position one occupies, and psychological in the way in which it is individually experienced. Stonequist (1937) suggested that marginality was a dissonance-producing situation for both the individual and the society. His proposed solution:

In general, the marginal individual may evolve in one of three major directions: (1) assimilation into the dominant group, (2) assimilation into the subordinate group; or (3) some form of accommodation between the two societies (p.337).

It seems that the last option -- that of accommodation between the two societies -- is the one with the most promise. In this way, I suppose I do not give myself fully over to the academic world, nor do I lock myself into my blue-collar world, for I do not wish to be estranged from either. It is in this position of attempting to accommodate between the two worlds that I am discovering positive implications of my marginality. Following Simmel's concept of "the stranger," Park made reference to the marginal man as an emancipated individual. Indeed, as Simmel described, the stranger is "freer, practically and theoretically ... he is not tied down in his action by habit, piety, and precedent" (quoted in Wolff, p.405). To the degree that the marginal person is not bound by a certain society's (or status's) rules and traditions, he or she is free.

A great appeal of academe is the autonomy and freedom it affords. Perhaps the academy allows one to be marginal without necessarily administering harsh sanctions. In fact, to some extent, marginality -- in one form or another -- may even be expected among professor-types (e.g., the proverbial eccentric intellectual). Perhaps I can embrace the marginality rather than fight it. Is it not possible that the very position of marginality broadens my perspective, opens worlds to me to which others might not have access? There is the opportunity to be richer in experience and perspective than a "monosocial" person. I suggest, in fact, that my marginal position makes me a better (and perhaps more credible) observer of the social world. I may be more capable of truly being a participant observer, whereas a traditional academic intellectual is not able to be a "participant" to the same extent.

Following the interpretation of the marginal individual as one who is somewhat emancipated and one who has the capacity to exercise a broader perspective, perhaps I will arrive at a point where I will not feel the need to be so defensive about my roots. I have decided that it is okay that I like listening to country music and that I prefer beer over wine. I will not succumb to feelings of inferiority because I know much more about basketball than ballet. I am a sociologist. I am a teacher. I want to make valuable contributions to my field and I want my classes to be meaningful to my students. I hope I can accomplish these things without losing myself in the effort to fit an image that seems inaccessible, unattainable, and inauthentic.

Lessening the distance between student and professor is perhaps more natural for the blue-colloar professor.

Classroom Implications

Classroom implications (in the public university, anyway) of this type of marginal position can be quite positive. Oftentimes the armchair theorizing of academicians is not taken all that seriously. The assumption is that the philosophizing about the real world by those who live in the academic world lacks sincerity and applicability. Students seem to appreciate real-life applications of the material they study in their classes. I find that I often allude to jobs in the "real world" that I had as a college student or that my relatives have in order to illustrate a concept or idea. The majority of college students today must work while enrolled in college. They can relate to examples coming from the world of work.

Lessening the distance between student and professor is perhaps more natural for the blue-collar professor. Rapport may be established more easily. The current generation of college students are, in general, less respectful of the traditional hierarchical relationships that are prevalent in our social institutions. Blue-collar academics might be somewhat uncomfortable occupying a position of authority and judgment. This combination can make for more positive student-professor relations. Students may find these professors more approachable. It has been my observation that many of my students benefit greatly (both in terms of understanding the subject matter and experiencing an emotional satisfaction from the learning environment) when they discover that they can identify with their professor.

Conclusion

I have suggested that the sociological concept of marginality is best suited to help explain the position of the working class academic. My application extends the concept beyond its original meaning as articulated by Park. Rather than thinking of this position of marginality in strictly negative terms, positive aspects are identified. Both at the subjective, personal level and at the more structural level, occupying this marginal position can be an emancipatory kind of experience. The blue ring on this white collar is there to stay, and with no apologies.

NOTES

(1.) The terms "working class" and "blue collar" are used interchangeably in this paper. Interestingly, I do not think my parents would describe our family with either of these labels. Determining which social class designation best "fits" is not necessarily simple and straightforward. One would consider variables such as income, occupation, highest level of schooling completed, hobbies and interests (e.g., cultural capital), and values.

(2.) Interestingly, it seems that in the new service economy, work is less concrete and quantifiable, and more intangible. Our shift from production to information and service has meant that fewer jobs directly lead toward tangible outcomes. For example, in many occupations we hear talk of "task forces" and "committees" that are designed to compare notes, exchange ideas, or arrive at possible solutions. Perhaps work is being redefined in general.

REFERENCES

Bealmear, David A. (1992). Marginality and Creativity: The New Blues of the Kinsey Report. Popular Music and Society 16(2): 23-42.

Dews, C. L. Barney and Law, Carolyn Leste (editors). (1995). This Fine Place So Far From Home: Academics from the Working Class. Philadelphia: Temple University Press.

Enoch, Yael. (1989). Change of Values During Socialization for a Profession: An Application of the Marginal Man Theory. Human Relations 42: 219-239.

Gist, Noel P. and Dworkin, Anthony Gary. (1972). The Blending of Race: Marginality and Identity in World Perspective. New York: John Wiley & Sons, Inc.

Moruzzi, Norma Claire. (1991). Re-placing the Margin: (Non) Representations of Colonialism in Hannah Arendt's The Origins of Totalitarianism. Tulsa Studies in Women's Literature 10: 109-120.

Park, Robert. (1967). Person in Social Process. Pp. 169-206 in On Social Control and Collective Behavior, edited by Ralph H. Turner. Chicago: The University of Chicago Press.

Park, Robert E. and Miller, Herbert A. (1921). Old World Traits Transplanted. New York: Harper & Brothers Publishers.

Ryan, Jake and Sackrey, Charles. (1984). Strangers in Paradise: Academics from the Working Class. Boston: South End Press.

Stonequist, Everett V. (1964). The Marginal Man: A Study in Personality and Culture Conflict. Pp.337-345 in Contributions to Urban Sociology, edited by Ernest W. Burgess and Donald J. Bogue. Chicago: University of Chicago Press.

Wardwell, Walter I. (1952). A Marginal Professional Role: The Chiropractor. Social Forces 30: 339-348.

Wolff, Kurt H. (1950). (translator and editor of:) The Sociology of Georg Simmel. New York: The Free Press of Glencoe.

Janelle L. Wilson *

* Janelle L. Wilson, Ph.D., is Associate Professor of Sociology in the Department of Sociology-Anthropology, University of Minnesota Duluth. She has written several articles for ETC, including "Women in Country Music Videos" in the Fall 2000 issue and "Nerds? or Nuts? Pop Culture Portrayals of Mathematicians" (co-authored with Carmen M. Latterell) in ETC Summer 2001. The author thanks Dr. Milan Kovacovic, at UMD, "for the sensitivity, understanding, and insight he has shown in conversations we have had about this piece and our shared experience of being 'between worlds.'"