Word: kleine
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Dates: during 1980-1989
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...have a captive audience, and hence a responsibility not to impose yourself beyond a certain point. I try to challenge people's assumptions that make them very comfortable. All of that is very political," Klein says. "But not directly," she adds. "I will not say, 'I want you here at 2 p.m. for the following event, arms folded...
Dealing with students, though, provokes one of the thornier philosophical conflicts for Klein, who remembers with fondness her politics-centered years at college. Going to school in a politically turbulent era was "definitely a plus," she insists. "It disrupts classroom learning, but the education one gets from experience and the challenge of having to address an issue on the spot without the luxury of sitting down and thinking are worth it. In some ways, it is a very forced research projects...
Many junior faculty at Harvard and elsewhere succumb to the same pressures as Klein's students, in search not of grades but of the elusive academic grail, tenure. Klein insists it's not a trap she will let herself fall into; ask her about her chances for tenure, and she will reply: "Zero. I don't think I could take any other kind of perspective on it. My way of coping with this place is to really work on developing the very best record that I possibly can so that when my tenure decision comes up I will be able...
Diminished expectations are healthy for other reasons, too, Klein says. "One of the dangers of Harvard is that you begin to feel that there's no place else. Students, even the ones who hate this place, have a hard time accepting the idea that they will not be at Harvard next year and not getting all the perks that come with saying 'I'm a Harvard student.' It's the validation par-excellence...
Though she acknowledges she doesn't fit the Harvard pattern, Klein insists that she's felt no pressure from the University because of her political views. "I have not felt persecuted or sought out because of my politics. I don't think the University is out to get me. I don't think they think about me at all....Given my position, I could be Mao Zedong and it really wouldn't matter...