Az Eszterházy Károly Tanárképző Főiskola Tudományos Közleményei. 2002. Vol. 8. Eger Journal of American Studies.(Acta Academiae Paedagogicae Agriensis : Nova series ; Tom. 28)

Studies - Lenke Németh: Academia as a Carnivalized Space: A Bakhtinian Reading of David Mamet's Oleanna

CAROL, a different economic ... JOHN... . Look: CAROL. No. I: when I came to this school: JOHN. Yes. Quite ... (Pause) CAROL... . Does that mean nothing? JOHN. ...but look: look... CAROL... . I ... (7-8) Again, the professor's business-oriented self prevents him from taking any notice of Carol's plea. A "paired scene" of the above incident in the second act, however, spotlights a totally different side of the professor, for whom financial security and upward mobility seem to be the first priorities. The two scenes taken together reflect "the ambivalent whole," namely the professor's hypocrisy when in power and his true motives when deprived of power. In his "critical situation," the impending threat of losing the tenure brings to John a revelation about his own nature and his relations with others. As his chances of obtaining the tenure severely diminish, due to the student's charges against him, he discloses his true motivation for the tenured position: "That tenure, and security, and yes, and comfort, were not, of themselves, to be scorned; and were even worthy of honourable pursuit" (44). By complaining about the personal loss, he would suffer if he did not get the tenure, he tries to win Carol's sympathy: "I will lose my deposit, and the home I'd picked out for my wife and son will go by the boards" (45). The empowered Carol, however, turns out to be an excellent student who has mastered her professor's strategy. Adopting the same cynical attitude as John exhibited toward her in the first Act, she entirely ignores his plea, and replies: "[wjhat do you want of me?" (45). In addition to its character-shaping power, business space also operates as a structuring principle in Oleanna. As a result of the destructive influence of business space, higher education has undergone a process of commercialization both in its aims and practice: knowledge has been commodified, and simultaneously, the method of instruction has been depersonalized. Concurrently, both the professor and the student appear to be the beneficiaries as well as the victims of these phenomena, as I will argue below. Ironically, the professor's opinion highlighting these disturbing tendencies in higher education unambiguously reveals a fundamental "carnival istic 241