THE DELIBERATE RELATIONSHIP - A FRAME FOR TALKING ABOUT FACULTY-STUDENT RELATIONSHIPS

Increasing attention to sexual harassment has raised awareness of othe r abuses of the power imbalance between university faculty and student s, which now raises the exciting task of creating frames for relations hips between faculty and students that respect real and continuing pou rer differences without exaggerating or entrenching them. Contemporary responses to this power differential are characterized as positions o f either distance or denial; neither of these positions satisfactorily addresses the demands of creating a dynamic, respectful, and mutually rewarding relationship. Drawing on experiences in research, mothering , and teaching, and on literature in feminist ethnography and psycholo gy, this article proposes the deliberate relationship as a frame that can help faculty consciously and purposefully carry out their roles. S ix elements of the deliberate relationship are suggested: acknowledgme nt of the rewards of teaching; awareness of power; maintenance of limi ts; recognition of the dynamic nature of power relationships; transpar ency of practice; and personal presence.