Heavy Fundametalisms Conference

Metalheads.  I know you get a little scared when they’re around, but you gotta love ‘em.  The guy wearing all black, long unbathed, headbanging to his I-Pod: he’s interesting.  Even better is the mulleted guy at the truck stop wearing a Pantera shirt from 1990, sporting a black eye from last night’s mosh pit.  What is it that makes metal culture so winsome and all-encompassing for so many people?  And why are its adherents something like 85% male?

One of the less dusty academic conferences coming up is the second Heavy Fundametalisms Conference, to be held in Salzburg (Austria) 10 to 12 Nov 2009.  Its sessions will cover everything from ideological domination in lyrics to the musical significance of the power chord.  The last one drew some serious interest; this one promises the same.  Though it’s not touted as a gender studies conference, that’s clearly what it is.  Hopefully there will be some deep analysis going on there with regard to the construction of masculinity, not just a point-scoring session by shaking one’s head at the obvious posturing and power-grabbing of heavy metal culture. 

If I were going, I’d start growing my hair out now.  Rock on, Salzburg.

Online Master’s Degree Available in Men’s Studies

Would you believe that there is now a graduate-level program for men’s studies?  Through Akamai University one may receive a Master of Science degree in Men’s Studies and Fatherhood.   The degree is online, and the university isn’t accredited – the latter a major down side.  Nevertheless, my interest was piqued by the class titles, which demonstrate overt Jungian themes and sound substantial in content.  The core curriculum is listed below.

Required: The following nine credits:

MSP 531: Rites of Passage: Ancient and Modern (3 credits)
MSP 532: Developmental Male Psychology (3 credits)
MSP 533: Issues in Male Sexuality (3 credits)

Plus nine additional credits selected from the following courses:

MSP 534: Men in Literature (3 credits)
MSP 535: Issues Facing Men (3 credits)
MSP 536: Models of Masculinity (3 credits)
MSP 537: Marriage and Fatherhood (3 credits)
MSP 538: Male Victimization (3 credits)
MPS 539: Male Archetypes (3 credits)
MSP 540: Men’s/Fathers’ Rights (3 credits)
MSP 541: Patriarchy (3 credits)
MSP 542: Male Spirituality (3 credits)

Got Kids? Consider a Manny.

The Daily Telegraph (Edinburgh, Scotland) recently featured an article on “mannies,” male nannies. They do most of the same stuff as female carers, though they seem to work especially well with little boys, playing hard and showing them what a balanced man can look like. Annie Merrylees, co-founder of manny company My Big Buddy, says, “These days nannies, carers, nursery- and primary-school teachers all tend to be female, and there can be a need to redress that imbalance with a great role model who can not only play sport and relate to boys but also reveal a softer side.” Even girls seem to have good relationships with these very able guys. They play with dolls as well as they do SuperSoakers.

I am impressed with how qualified these young men appear to be. They’re compentent college students for the most part, excelling in school, hard-working and well-adjusted. The wage shows it: at ten pounds an hour, they’re commanding higher compensation than most carers. And, from my experience, boys just eat up time with older males. The most significant down side to this whole deal is that, in some of these cases, children who are feeling distant from their fathers will struggle even more to relate, and not learn how to relate healthily to male authority figures. A “big buddy” only goes so far in communicating that dynamic.

Will this be a new wave in the United States too? I hope so. In a day and age when people are increasingly reluctant to have men around children, the hiring of mannies could be a positive phenomenon.