Art of Disguise, Wednesday, Period One

[faithandscience.livejournal.com]

As everyone came into class today they would notice two things: one, that on every desk there was a single, face-down index card, and two, the Victorian-era detective at the front of the classroom today was not the usual one. Technically, he wasn't actually a detective, but rather an aspiring one. But whatever.

"Mr. Holmes is, at the moment, indisposed," William informed the class. 'Indisposed' was really just a nice way of saying 'distracted by some experiment and completely forgot he had a class to teach'. But that's why he had a TA! "And so it falls to me to teach today's lesson. Which is on stereotypes." He cleared his throat and tugged a bit on the hem of his jacket before continuing. "A stereotype is a standardized and simplified conception of people based on prior assumptions. It differs from a prejudice in that a prejudice is a feeling regarding a person or persons. The difference is reflected in the etymology - the Greek stereos, or firm, and typos, or impression, and the Latin pre, or before, and judicium, judgement. So the former is a firm impression, the other a pre-judgement."

"Stereotypes exist for a reason, and having an understanding of those stereotypes can help us blend in when we find ourselves in situations where people of that particular group may be present. Upon your desks you will find a card, and if you flip over that card, you will find that you have been assigned a role. Your task is to use the totally moddable costume rack at the back of the room to craft an appropriate representation of what you perceive to be a stereotype regarding your assigned role." He paused, considering. "I realize many of these are somewhat specific to a current-era Earth context. If you require assistance, I am of course happy to provide an explanation, and you are welcome to help each other out as well."

[ooc: ocd-acomin all done! posted for the drowning-in-work onemoreproblem.]