Anyone ever confused by your profession?

[Early]

If people need me to explain what sociology is I usually just tell them I don't know.

[rogue]

If people need me to explain what sociology is I usually just tell them I don't know.

Love it. I think I will start doing this.

[piccgeek]

Now there's a new one to add, thanks to Avatar: "Like the guy who created Na'vi?"

Apparently we're going to actually do something with Na'vi in one of my linguistics classes this semester, though, so at least I'll be able to indulge these fans by discussing alien phonology. I just know this is going to end by someone becoming convinced I'm a Xenolinguist in the tradition of Lt. Uhura...

If I could major in xenolinguistics, I would start tomorrow.

[UnlikelyGrad]

If people need me to explain what sociology is I usually just tell them I don't know.

You win the prize. Hilarious.

[JerryLandis]

It really is annoying when people expect history students to know everything that ever happened in human history. I do medieval history, a period which falls roughly between the years 500 and 1500, however everyone seems to think, mistakenly, that the medieval period was from around 1300-1700. And then they treat me like an idiot for now knowing some small detail of Napoleon's military career despite that not even being part of medieval history at all. I don't know what they think happened between 500 and 1300, I guess just those ever mysterious and exaggerated Dark Ages, which is actually the period I study. When I say that I do medieval history, specifically within the 600s/700s, people say, 'That's not medieval history.' Apparently all that ever happened in the middle ages was the Renaissance (load of bullshit anyway) and the 100 Years War, neither of which I know much about. But even after I clarify my specific interests, people are keen to make me look like an idiot and show off their History Channel knowledge by giving me a lecture about something to do with Agincourt or Da Vinci.

Normally it's fine and I'm not bothered. I know from my own middle and high school experience that people are systematically taught lies about the middle ages in order to instill in young people the illusion that history travels along some progressive and positive path all leading to the awesomeness of the USA being founded. So I don't blame people for believing this. But what does annoy me is when people act all condescendingly about it and try to catch me off guard with some random piece of trivia. I bet those are the same people who blurt out 'Excuse me, YOU'RE WRONG' to teachers and professors in the middle of a lecture. Guess I'll be dealing with these types for the rest of my days!

Other than that a lot of people ask me if I drink mead or am into jousting. I do like mead but that's about as far as it goes. And I don't play World of Warcraft.

[gildedProgressive]

I know from my own middle and high school experience that people are systematically taught lies about the middle ages in order to instill in young people the illusion that history travels along some progressive and positive path all leading to the awesomeness of the USA being founded.

I study American history, but this description hits the proverbial nail on the head. Thank you for making me lol--literally.

You also might appreciate this: My friend, who has changed majors several, several times has now decided what she wants to do. She is still having to take some introductory courses, and right now she is taking music appreciation online. One of their discussion boards was for them to choose a movie set in the medieval/Renaissance period and describe the music used in the movie. According to her classmates, apparently 300 and Troy are great medieval/Renaissance movies.

[LateAntique]

I'm double majoring in Classics and Religious Studies, both of which are seen as esoteric and useless in our modern society.

I get a lot of this:

Person A: So what do you study?

Me: I'm a Classics major.

Person A: Like Moby Dick/Shakespeare/Catcher in the Rye?

A: What do you study?

Me: Religion

A: So you want to be a priest?

OR

Me: Religion

A: Well I think [insert insane rambling on the nature of religion/Jesus/god/whomever based mostly off of the DaVinci Code/Wikipedia/History Channel].

Basically, when I tell people I study Classics, they just have no idea what it is. When I tell people I study Religion, they have a few responses: they confess to me, they give me their own personal faith statement (which is typically a bullshit 'citizen of the world, I hold to mutually exclusive theologies because I'm too stupid/lazy to study' statement), or they find out I'm a Roman Catholic and try to witness to me (this is the Bible belt, ya'll).

[rising_star]

If people need me to explain what sociology is I usually just tell them I don't know.

I SO need to start using this. My discipline is hard enough to explain, and it's hard to explain how my research fits within it and isn't anthropology. Or I could go back to the literal meaning from the Latin...

[Sparky]

A: Well I think [insert insane rambling on the nature of religion/Jesus/god/whomever based mostly off of the DaVinci Code/Wikipedia/History Channel].

Oh, gosh, how many people here have Dan Brown-related horror stories? Seriously, I have friends in theology, history, literature, art history, and several other fields who ALL have tales of other people being like "Ooh! So Jesus and Mary Magdalene..." *headdesk*

(I'm aware he didn't make that up. But that's still everyone's 'reference' point. He gets 120% of the blame from me).

Edited January 21, 2010 by Sparky

[modernity]

Normally it's fine and I'm not bothered. I know from my own middle and high school experience that people are systematically taught lies about the middle ages in order to instill in young people the illusion that history travels along some progressive and positive path all leading to the awesomeness of the USA being founded. So I don't blame people for believing this. But what does annoy me is when people act all condescendingly about it and try to catch me off guard with some random piece of trivia. I bet those are the same people who blurt out 'Excuse me, YOU'RE WRONG' to teachers and professors in the middle of a lecture. Guess I'll be dealing with these types for the rest of my days!

This is how I felt when I was working with the public teaching about anthropology... They would ask a question about race/gender/etc. and when I would explain what the current theories were... they would be like "No that's wrong...what I think is...so I'm pretty sure that's right" I had many many questions, where I knew they were simply asking so they could respond with "No, I don't think so..." This was particularly the case with questions surrounding evolution of course.

The worst was, as I mentioned earlier, when I had an older gentleman come in and asked to speak to an anthropologist, and when I responded that I would be more than happy to help him, he stared at me blankly and said "No, I mean a real one. They told us upstairs there would be real ones on staff. Isn't there anyone (older/male - i forget his exact words but this was his implication) around?" While I was trying to stay calm, and politely explain that although my age and gender might make him question my intelligence I could certainly answer his questions, or direct him to material that would... my coworker was muttering under her breath about how people might take us more seriously if we had our whips and leather hats on.

[Sparky]

my coworker was muttering under her breath about how people might take us more seriously if we had our whips and leather hats on.

OT, but...wow, the first time I read this I totally missed the word "hats."

That sentence took on an ENTIRELY different meaning.

[melusine]

OT, but...wow, the first time I read this I totally missed the word "hats."

That sentence took on an ENTIRELY different meaning.

giggidy! I admit, that's the first picture that crossed my mind too.

[NEPA]

Yeah, I know what you mean. People keep thinking I'm totally fluent in Russian, even though I tell them that 3.5 years of studying it isn't enough to be fluent because it's such a hard language. They also ask me questions about Russian politics as though I'm the world's expert on it. Granted, I know more about Russian politics than most people, but I don't like feeling like they're taking my perspective as the gospel truth.

I usually get the same with people thinking I'm fluent in Arabic because I've studied it for while. Or sometimes, they want to know how to say "bomb" or "terrorist" and/or lecture me on why people become suicide bombers (they usually have no actual idea). I get sick of explaining to people that there's so much more to the Middle East than terrorism, that it's much less dangerous there than people think, and that it's a really fascinating region to study!

Edited January 21, 2010 by rwfan88

[LiteratureMajor]

This is as good a place as any to voice my frustration about this. Here is a conversation I've had wayyyy too many times.

Person: What do you want a PhD in?

Me: English. Hopefully a cross-disciplinary study in British lit and gender and women's studies.

Person: Oh. What are you going to teach? Elementary school?

Me: (Resisting an eye roll, because who the hell teaches British lit and GWS to first-through-fifth graders...) No. I'd like to become a professor and publish books and articles in those areas.

Person: Do you like to read?

Me: Yes.

Person: I hated English in school.

Me: "Uh..." (Thinking: Aw, fuck it.)

[modernity]

giggidy! I admit, that's the first picture that crossed my mind too.

Hahaha. I didn't even think about that being taken the wrong way (minus a word).

[piccgeek]

Oh, gosh, how many people here have Dan Brown-related horror stories? Seriously, I have friends in theology, history, literature, art history, and several other fields who ALL have tales of other people being like "Ooh! So Jesus and Mary Magdalene..." *headdesk*

(I'm aware he didn't make that up. But that's still everyone's 'reference' point. He gets 120% of the blame from me).

+1. When people want me to "interpret" the Da Vinci Code, I usually just snarl. (note: this is also my reaction to 'interpreting' Twilight. The people who ask definitely do NOT want to hear my real thoughts.)

[javagdss]

I asked my grandparents to proofread my statement of purpose for a Master of Urban Planning (concentration in community/social development). My grandfather (an engineer and a Republican, if it makes a difference) sent an e-mail back saying I should remove all of my community development volunteer work and talk more about sewer systems.

[Smaudge]

(In addition to the "You're a linguist? So how many languages do you speak" / "My daughter's a _______ language major")

Me: I'm going to study linguistics!

Lady: What's that?

Me: It's the study of language

Lady: Oh. So are you going to tell me I don't talk good?

Me: I'm going to study linguistics!

Man: Oh. You know my daughter had trouble with her r's when she was little. Took her to one o' those speech pathologists.

Me: Well linguistics is different than speech pathology. But you know the /r/ sound is pretty interesting because...

Man: (glazed over look)

Me: (disappointed that I didn't get the opportunity to nerd out on someone) ...Nevermind.

Me: Who should I go with?

My mom: It's "With whom should I go". What about THAT, Miss English Major?!

Me: .......

(I explain that I'm a Linguistics major, yet again.)

Edited January 21, 2010 by smaudge

[iWILLgetin]

for background: undergrad majors are math and physics, hopeful grad program in biomedical engineering

with regards to physics major:

me: I'm a physics major.

mom: So you can change lightbulbs

dad: So you can fix the TV

grandma: So you're going to be a gym teacher

various other responses: What's physics?

Don't blow yourself up

OOOhhhh you get to study frogs

with regards to the math major:

me: I'm a math major

mom: so you can do my taxes

other responses: you're going to work at the bank

that's nice you're going to be a math teacher (this is the most common)

with regards to BME:

me: I'm going to study BME

grandma: You can be my doctor!

other responses: What's that? (admire the honesty)

you're going to build bridges with bones?

I thought people were already designed!

you're going to work at the pharmacy, aren't you?

[eiren8]

Oh, gosh, how many people here have Dan Brown-related horror stories? Seriously, I have friends in theology, history, literature, art history, and several other fields who ALL have tales of other people being like "Ooh! So Jesus and Mary Magdalene..." *headdesk*

(I'm aware he didn't make that up. But that's still everyone's 'reference' point. He gets 120% of the blame from me).

I used to get super annoyed when I told people I studied European art history (Renaissance and Baroque) and they would go off on a Da Vinci Code tangent...mostly because I didn't want to come of as a superbitch by shooting down their hopes of an international Jesus conspiracy by telling them Dan Brown is full of ****. And that the main issue with the man is not his ability to make lots of cash money, but the page at the beginning of the DV code that says all of the historical and art historical content is FACT.

Now I study Chinese art history which elicits a stunned silence, sometimes followed by "oh, like blue and white pots?"

Yes, I love pots.

Edited January 24, 2010 by eiren8

[repatriate]

"Organizational behavior."

"..."

"It's basically psychology."

"Oh! I get it. Cool."

I've learned to just wince and say "basically psychology" first.

Before that conversations went like this:

X: What are you studying?

Me: I'm getting a masters in cognition and culture.

X: What and culture?

Me: It's like psychology meets anthropology.

X: So what do you study?

Me: My research topic is....

I haven't figured out a way to say, "We look for the underlying, universal patterns in human cognition by testing them cross-culturally," in a way that is interesting to non-academics.

But I love meeting a linguist; you guys get it right away.

[BlueSwedeShoes]

I haven't figured out a way to say, "We look for the underlying, universal patterns in human cognition by testing them cross-culturally," in a way that is interesting to non-academics.

I got the same problem with "the representation and manipulation of knowledge in natural and artificial agents"...not the best icebreaker.

[melusine]

"We look for the underlying, universal patterns in human cognition by testing them cross-culturally," in a way that is interesting to non-academics.

Wow! Allow me to borrow that from you for my next explanation of Comp. Lit.:

"We look for underlying, universal patterns of (literary and artistic) expression by surveying them cross-culturally"

Thanks for that!

[Sparky]

I got the same problem with "the representation and manipulation of knowledge in natural and artificial agents"...not the best icebreaker.

See, this says to me, "ROBOTS!" Yet for 'program,' you have listed "Human Factors."

Does not compute.

[repatriate]

I got the same problem with "the representation and manipulation of knowledge in natural and artificial agents"...not the best icebreaker.

Exactly! The problem isn't so much picking out the vocabulary (though sometimes 'cognition' is a bit much, and I imagine 'agent,' too) as it is making the academic un-academic while still being accurate.

Wow! Allow me to borrow that from you for my next explanation of Comp. Lit.:

"We look for underlying, universal patterns of (literary and artistic) expression by surveying them cross-culturally"

Thanks for that!

You're welcome! I like that, and I think you'll have more success with it than I have.