Socialization and masculinities: Tales of two disciplines.

摘要

Although stage models of socialization explain how students acquire the skills to succeed in an academic discipline, they are content- and identity-neutral. Since stage models address how socialization occurs for all students, they cannot account for the idiosyncrasies of disciplines or how social identity influences an individual's integration to a new department. This dissertation introduces gender into models of graduate student socialization. Using interviews, observations, and document analysis, this study focuses on the experiences of male doctoral students in English (a predominantly female discipline) and Aerospace and Mechanical Engineering (or AME, a predominantly male discipline). The dissertation considers how socialization both shapes and is shaped by gender as well as how socialization differs by discipline.;Theories of gender performance suggest that gender is created in response to structures and through interactions. This dissertation proposes that the same holds true for socialization and considers the ways in which the two theories inform each other. Findings highlight the relationship between the features of a discipline, such as the curriculum and the nature of students' assistantships, and the types of masculinities that are produced. Interactions with professors and peers also play critical roles in transmitting skills and values, which shape students' identities.;The dissertation uses analytical categories of structure, culture, and reflective identity to illuminate the gendered nature of each discipline. Culture is further divided into discussions of the future of the discipline, professional roles and relations, and gender roles and relations. Findings indicate that AME is characterized by clarity in each of these areas while English contends with ambiguity across categories. For example, strict hierarchies operate between professor and student in AME. Students understand what is expected of them, both in their roles as students and in acceptable norms of gendered behavior. In contrast, English students contend with more ambiguity in both professional and gender roles. Such ambiguity translates into more latitude for students to craft their own identities, thus creating openings for a wider range of identities to pursue degrees in the field. This dissertation inserts gender into models of socialization and explores how students' experiences and masculinities differ by discipline.