Pssst… *her *comments.
Debatable.
I can point out the girly bits, if you like.
Bonus points if you use a telestrator.
The overlay will look something like this.
No, we still hang out sometimes.
Agreed. I’d probably say something like, “I understand you’re from Iran. If you have any family or friends still there, I hope they’re all OK.” Then see where the conversation leads you.
Are people from other countries really that sensitive? If a foreigner said to you, “I see you are from America. Congratulations on the New York Yankees winning last night!” (obviously means well, but confused)
Are you going go cross-eyed mad and tell them that they can go fuck themselves because you are a Cubs fan?
No one thinks the professor is going to have that reaction–just that it’s not good to assume that he cares to be identified as Iranian or that he knows anyone in the country now, just because that’s where he did his undergrad.
Thanks everyone for your thoughtful responses. To weiming, I do not make a habit out of giving sympathy or singling people out because of their nationalities. The class I am taking is graduate level, so it is small (fewer than 10). In addition, we meet 5 days a week for two hours a day for a month. That equates to a lot of time around my classmates and the professor. The conflict in Iran is a major world event, as opposed to the day-to-day conflicts that happen around the world. To be honest, I really haven’t had very many professors from outside of the United States (I know, pretty unusual for a mathematics-heavy curriculum, but true). If I knew a major event was occurring in that person’s country, I would probably want to let him or her know that I wish that country’s people the best.
I think that’s a bit presumptuous, don’t you? You have no idea about my intentions. Why must you assume that they are less-than-genuine?
First and foremost: Holy geez, totally sorry Sot From Guns, gender pronouns will be duly corrected in the future.
I get the feeling that the general thrust of most recent posts have been “aww so what, it’s not a bit deal”. But it is a big deal and we all know it, that’s why it’s the subject of debate on a discussion board.
statsman1982, I’ll assume I’m included in your thanks, since I put a lot of careful thought about exactly how to make you see how your intentions (genuine or otherwise) might be perceived in a worst-case scenario by the person(s) you are prepared to lavish them upon. So no problem, that’s what we’re all here for right?
You did mention the amount of time you spend with your professor but failed to address the more fundamental question of your relationship.
You also didn’t shoot down my sarcastic dig about how exactly your professor’s information is “readily available”(do you consider not locking your computer making information “readily available?”–j/k).
I’ve had co-workers I spent huge chunks of 40 hour work-weeks with and we never got beyond “how was the weekend?” levels of intimacy. So “we spend a lot of time around each other” is not convincing me that you’re ready to broach, breach, bungle, or otherwise stumble into completely avoidable delicate conversation territory.
You then continue to confirm my doubts, not assuage them. If the basis of your sympathy is “the degree to which the media has made me aware of this event” then you’re already in trouble. This is really about what’s on your mind and worrying you, not what’s on your professors mind and worrying him, a-can’t you see?
Now to totally contradict myself. Having made a quite convincing–and I dare say ,at times, riveting–argument to the contrary, it’s really all about how you puncture delicate conversation topics, witness:
Professor: …as we discussed last week, mathematical figures are not restricted to the imaginary plane, and have wide application in spacial relations in everything from the pyramids to the Rubik’s cube. Ah, I see there is a question [glances down at roster], yes…statsman198…2 is it?
statsman: Aren’t you from Iran? [for some reason the chirping of crickets is suddenly the loudest sound in the room…in the middle of the day]
Professor: [glances around the room and tries to force a grin] Yes, I’m originally from Iran, that information is on my readily available CV. …So, some postulate that even Pythagoras took some of his theorems from the Egyptians who used their knowledge of spacial mathematics to build the…statsman1982, again, yes?
statsman: There’s been a lot of news about y-know protests and nuclear threats and the threat of war in Iran and such, so I hope you’re OK. [for about three seconds nothing is heard but a single cough from another student]
Professor: [clears throat] Yes, the ongoing conflict there is a concern for us all–PYRAMIDS are a readily recognizable geometric structure…
But I’m sure it wouldn’t even happen that way. At any rate, statsman1982 you claim your motives are pure, and I sincerely believe that’s what you believe, as other posters so keenly pointed out, the worst that could possibly happen is you mildly discomfit your professor—and he ends up being present when you’re defending your Masters thesis (ouch).
I think what we have on our hands here is a genuine social experiment, and wholly encourage you to go ahead with your plans and then report every detail here, if for no other reason that those of us posting can get some closure.
Oh, and just be sure that your professor never sees this thread. Ever.
I meant: “totally sorry Shot From Guns” sorry again! (it’s like a curse!)
i wouldn’t go cross-eyed mad, or suggest they practice self love, however as a red sox fan i would say, oh, i guess everyone has a good day every now and again.
Bwahahaha, I wouldn’t have even noticed the typo had you not pointed it out. I’m sure there would be some here who would agree with the characterization.
No offense taken on the pronoun thing. I’m a woman on the webbernets who tends to use gender-neutral usernames–I’m pretty well used to being mistaken for a dude. (One of my favorite features ever on another board was the ability to specify your gender, which would then throw an icon next to your username, so that people could address you by whichever pronouns you preferred instead of just taking a stab at it.)
What kind of icon?
You know, it’s been so long I don’t even remember anymore. I think it was a colored dot or figure or something.
I’m still not sure that his intention not being 100% pure (which, face it, it can’t be, as everyone has biases) is really grounds for not saying anything. As long as his intentions are not self-serving to the point where they actually hurt someone else, I don’t think it should be a concern.
That said, even with the purest intentions, I don’t think he should bring it up unless he has a rapport with the professor. Or that there is some other way to gauge what his reaction might be without bringing up the actual topic. Even though it is likely that he won’t be offended, the chance that he would be offended is still statistically significant. And while some might argue from a moral stance that he shouldn’t be offended, this argument becomes moot when his “wrong” offense could negatively affect you, as he is in a position of authority over you.
After considering all of your input, I decided that I couldn’t go wrong by keeping my mouth shut. So I said nothing. I don’t really know him that well, after all.
What really concerns me, though, is that I’ve done something like this before. When the tsunamis hit parts of Asia that I knew some of my colleagues were from, I asked those colleagues if everyone they knew was okay. After the Mumbai attacks, I asked a colleague who I knew was from a town near there if he was okay. I never stopped to think that my actions might be seen as condescending. Here’s my perspective:
Let’s say I’m in my office on 9/11/2001. If one of my colleagues from India, China, Spain, Russia, Germany, France, Nigeria, etc., were to come by to express their concern and ask if my family was okay, I would be touched by their thoughtfulness. I wouldn’t see it as a condescension. I suppose someone could argue that since I’m from the U. S., it’s not condescending since it’s a superpower with a good deal of influence, that it can “take care of itself,” if that means anything.
Geopolitics aside, I must insist that I wasn’t trying to garner favor from the professor. I was just trying to be a human being. Maybe I’m just not so jaded as to see an ulterior motive in every act of kindess…:rolleyes:
You’re overthinking it. Be a human being, and speak to another human being whose country of origin is going through some big problems. Even if you don’t have a rapport now, this could lead to the establishment of one. Speaking to him would be a small, thoughtful gesture that is worth making.