Redefining the art of chivalry

Psychology students study chivalry

Originating from the valor of knights in medieval times, chivalry is an art of lost courtesy in a world of newfound offence and independence that came from the feminism movement of the 1960s.

At the start of each semester, the Psychology Department of Liberty University prepares hundreds of students to embark on a study of this “lost” art. The students are urged to ask the question, “Is chivalry indeed dead, simply dying or dormant, or is it still alive and thriving?”

The students of the “Introduction to Research Methods” classes, taught by Dr. Janet Brown, Dr. Brianne Friberg, Dr. Elizabeth Sites and Dr. Fred Volk, conduct the studies.

“Chivalry is a great topic because it is a tricky one. It makes people think. All of the student results will be based on their definitions — there is no right or wrong answer,” Volk said.

With southern hospitality comes natural chivalry, explained North Carolina native and student of Psychology, Kailey Scott. The virtue of door holding and book carrying is formed through decades of habitual courtesy.

“Today when we study chivalry the first hurdle our students have to overcome is this mindset of knightly chivalry and male domination,” Volk said.

Chivalry during the medieval ages was composed of rules of demeanor rather than rules of lawful duties, notes Gautier. This is similar to the chivalry observed today according to Sites.

“Chivalry is putting someone else’s needs above your own,” Scott said.

According to Volk, the studies are designed to push the new psychology students to the edge. Within the first three weeks of class they are given the undefined topic and asked to present results from studies they devise and conduct.

“It is a different way of teaching,” said Friberg, who is beginning her second semester of teaching the course. “I would usually prefer to give my students some tools (of survival) before I throw them into the lake — I never was a huge fan of the ‘sink or swim’ philosophy.”

The results found by the students cover a vast range of conclusions, said Brown. This is because the whole study is based on the way the students chose to define chivalry.

Chivalry is historically a male dominated virtue. However, Sites said this is not at all true of the type of chivalry being studied today.

The more intertwined feminism and chivalry become the more blurred the lines become as well, explained Liberty student Bethany Smith.

“Many of my students have found that girls are more chivalrous than guys are on campus,” Friberg said.

Many women today take offence at chivalrous acts, notes Smith. Some women feel belittled and dependent when they are on the receiving end of a chivalrous act. The feminist ideology that society has embedded in all young girls tells them to be independent.

“Manliness and feminism should meet at chivalry. This should be their common ground, the place where these two ideas, these two identities, find their most profound expression,” columnist of Princeton University’s The Daily Princetonian Brandon Mcginley, said in his article entitled “Manliness and Feminism.”

Chivalry is not about the male being stronger than the female, explained Liberty student Rachael Bradley. Chivalry is about offering the genuine respect that women deserve, and women in turn offer that respect back to their male counterparts.

“I think that it’s important for women to show kindness to men, the same that men show to them, though. I don’t think that women are as obligated as men. We should all hold the same obligation to maintain the decency of life in that we offer respect to those around us,” Smith said.

However, men see this differently according to Liberty student and on-campus prayer leader Kevin McAlpin.

“Men are supposed to love their wives as Christ loved the church and treat all women with that type of respect,” McAlpin said.

Chivalry is more or less about the internal than the external, explained Sites. There could be a chivalrous man who never opens the door for women, and it would not affect his level of chivalry.

“ My definition of chivalry as holding the door open is completely cultural. It doesn’t affect the way of their heart, or their motivation. For all I know the person holding the door could be completely selfish in their reasoning — that’s not chivalry,” Sites said.

Chivalry is an interesting topic because of all the cultural barriers we hit in our society, said Volk.

Each person brings with them their own upbringing and their own reasoning behind their actions. The students face many obstacles during the first project — the hardest of which is how to see past their original cultural boundaries to define the topic.

“No one is perfect,” Smith said. “Just because some men on campus are rude and don’t think twice about running through a closing door as a woman stands, arms full, juggling to open the door and pass through without losing her bearing doesn’t mean that all chivalry is dead.”

As the studies on campus are being completed and students are being questioned the idea of chivalry is strategically kept on the edge of many minds, according to Scott. In a sense it is a way of reminding the young men on this campus that showing the love of Christ is still done by honoring women around them.

“It is important to be chivalrous because all people are created equal and as such deserve to be treated with dignity and respect,” McAlpin said.

Chivalry is a part of virtue ethics — practiced qualities that are, through repetition, formed into habitual, even second nature, tendencies.

“I think that a lot of guys do it because they feel obligated and because they feel its expected of them — rather than thinking about what they are doing and actually meaning it,” Scott said.

Especially on a college campus chivalry may be seen as a mandated expectation, rather than a voluntary decision, said Bradley. The focus on Christian ethics and morals has something to do with the chivalry seen on campus as well. Men who wish to be seen as better Christians feel the urge to act more chivalrous.

“I think that as Christians we have an obligation to follow Christ in being servants of all. That is Chivalry isn’t it? In its rawest form that’s chivalry,” Scott said.

As the psychology professors embark on their journey once again — with new students — they are excited and anticipate the growth their students will have during the first weeks according to Brown.

“Our main goal as professors is to inspire people to be more Christ-like. As students study these topics and these actions our hope is that they get a further understanding of the heartbeat behind chivalry and become that to the world,” Sites said.