"The Department Is Very Male, Very White, Very Old, and Very Conservative": The Functioning of the Hidden Curriculum in Graduate Sociology Departments

Abstract

In this article, Eric Margolis and Mary Romero examine the effect of the "hidden curriculum" on women of color graduate students in sociology. They interview twenty-six women of color enrolled in Ph.D. programs in sociology to uncover how the graduate school curriculum not only produces professional sociologists, but also simultaneously reproduces gender, race, class, and other forms of inequality. In their analysis, Margolis and Romero identify two forms of the hidden curriculum at work: the "weak" form, which is the professionalization process essential to "becoming a sociologist," and the "strong" form, which acts to reproduce stratified and unequal social relations. The numerous quotations from the women graduate students interviewed reveal that many elements of the hidden curriculum — such as stereotyping and blaming the victim — were painfully obvious to them. As Margolis and Romero argue, the women's stories, the authors' analysis, and the publication of this article are forms of resistance to the hidden curriculum, constituting "a lifting of veils to make visible what was hidden."

Contributors to the American Sociological Review, 2010

“…It is a fact that in all three disciplines and others in and out of the social sciences, there are still very serious gender and racial/cultural inequalities (Nelson and Brammer, 2010;DiFuccia et al, 2007: pp. 13-16;Evans, 2007;Jacobs, 2007;Ginther and Khan, 2004;Harley, 2008;Hesli and Lee, 2011;Kaba, 2013c;Margolis and Romero, 1998;Moss-Racusin, 2012;Rosenfeld et al, 1997;" ). A number of factors could be contributing to this important phenomenon and some scholars have examined it considerably (DiFuccia, et al, 2007: pp.…”

Implicit Bias, Stereotype Threat, and Political Correctness in Philosophy

“…Yet Walker only mentions two or three studies of dubious scientific value, including Margolis and Romero [99], whose method was restricted to qualitative interviews of a few sociology graduate students, and works by Hall and Sandler, who are known for popularizing the phrase "chilly climate." Less well known is that "they did not collect any data" [100] (p. 30).…”

Academic Discourse by Turkish Women “Rules of the Game”

“…Besides that, P5, state that she got some assistance from a mentor in order to come over the difficulties. Bourdieu (2001) says that "there are symbolic restrictions and obligations in females' lives, in some fields, the institutions and individuals are open to the change" (Acker and Dillabough, 2007;Clegg 2008;cited in Acker, 2010), and also "Participation in academia requires an accurate deciphering of the "rules" based on a dominant worldview with regard to behavior and practices within university culture" (Margolis & Romero, 1998;Bourdieu, 1986).…”