ABSTRACT
This chapter describes the case studies to illustrate some of the changes junior faculty experience as they interact with their departments and institution in the years prior to the tenure decision. The cases of Greta and Jeff illustrates how professors learn to adjust to a new department when their views of social interdependence closely resemble those of the existing departmental culture. The cases of Nancy, Steve, and Cathy demonstrates how beginning professors cope in an environment where their views of social interdependence differ from that of the existing culture. The article concludes with a discussion of the relationships among socialization, acculturation, and gender. Socialization, or enculturation as it is commonly referred to in anthropology, refers to the process by which an individual acquires the norms, values, and behaviors of the group. Junior faculty may find the new culture difficult to understand due to different norms, expectations, and practices.
