How great and diverse did the students find their way into the topic? I am still amazed...

Decade of Fire - A Critical Examination of the Perception of the Ghetto

Gendered Spaces of the Hood

Spatial injustice in the making of residential exclusion of Roma populations in the Czech Republic

A “Right to the City” Practice: Seeking Spatial Justice in Taksim Gezi Park

Off the market - Puerto Rican community gardens in the Lower East Side, New York

Mandatory Inclusionary Housing Condition in New York City

Community planning within the Gowanus rezoning project

NEW YORK’S ULURP PROCESS: THE EXTENT OF PUBLICITY INVOLVEMENT AND GENERAL DISADVANTAGES

Why is teaching diverse ability representation in literature important?

·      Children with developmental disabilities are more likely to be teased, rejected or neglected, to have fewer friends, and to be perceived negatively by others when compared to children without disabilities.

·      The purpose of inclusive education is to provide opportunities for children with disabilities to interact with students who are developing typically, all the while creating an understanding and accepting environment.

·       Books have the potential to challenge some of the more negative images and prejudices that children inevitably encounter, ultimately leading them to be more aware, understanding, and accepting of difference, diversity and disability as a way of helping them learn about themselves, others and their surroundings.

·      Teaching stories with relevant messages for children’s attitudes toward disability has the potential to increase awareness, knowledge, understanding, acceptance, and inclusivity in schools and communities of those who are different. These messages can include:

o   everyone is unique o   we are all similar to others in some ways and different from others in some ways o   each person has his or her own strengths and weaknesses o   just being yourself and proud of who you are is the most important thing of all o   children with the same diagnosed disability can be very different from one another o   all children have innate value and worth, with or without a disability

#education, I want to tell you what happened to me today to get it off my chest.

I am a Chinese-born English Literature teacher in the rural South, a school with a high Latin American population.

I make a vocabulary Power Point every week to introduce a new set of words. I include a picture, word roots, and make sure that they know what the word looks like in other parts of speech (because they get that confused a lot...since their grammar is not so strong either). 

I spend a LOT of time on the Power Points, because I find that they help me a lot when I introduce the words and that they help the kids a lot to figure out how to use the words. I used to give them a list without introducing the words. That never helped them remember the words beyond the quizzes.

The tricky part is the picture. I have a lot of fun with it, especially with words like "lewd" or "saucy." Mainly, I end up using a lot of cat pics because there's an abundance of them on the Internet. However, when I do use people stock photos, I spend WAY too much time making sure that I represent people of color. Being a woman of color, I CARE A LOT about representation, especially for words with positive connotation. For the word "wit," I had a picture of Childish Gambino. For the word "competent," I used a picture of a construction workers who looked Latin American. For the word "tedious," I spent almost 10 minutes just trying to find mannish-looking hands using a vacuum instead of a woman.

Last night, I tried not to spend too much time on the Power Points. I just went with some of the first pictures I saw. I guess I was a little lazy, just choosing whatever stock photo. For the word "haggard," I used a picture of a white mother holding a baby, obviously tired from sleepless nights.

The first thing a black and female student said when I turned to that slide was "Why do you always only have white people for these words?"

I was so tired and outraged that I couldn't think of anything to say but "You know that's not true. I have dark people on my slides." I felt like I should have definitely been more PC and use the word "people of color," but I was very, very tired, and sort of angry that I was being so misunderstood. 

Here's the thing. I'm Asian. A lot of other minorities almost dismiss Asians as minorities, at least as oppressed minorities. I can't stop thinking about this because HOW DARE she insinuate that I am championing white people over people of color--that I side with the majority? Especially over something that I have spent so much time avoiding? 

Tomorrow, I think I may pull her aside and say to her, "Hey, what you said yesterday made me think. I want you to understand that I am a woman of color too, and I care a lot about representation. I make sure and have proof that when I use people in these images that they are people of color. I can remind you if you like. But I also want you to know that I hear you. If you don't think I'm doing enough to respect diversity, then I will try even harder to do so. But I also want you to know that what you said hurt me as well, because you don't think I champion for you. And I do my best to."

The final lap of the discussion was centered around issues of diversity and inclusion in the writing classroom and the challenges that Teaching Associates face in this regard. While issues of diversity present themselves in various guises, fellows were specifically interested in the problems that arise while teaching politically charged texts. It is especially difficult to teach texts in which the teacher finds herself politically and emotionally invested; the challenge is to confront potentially offensive statements that students might (unintentionally) make without shutting them down. Another goal is to not impose one’s own politics on students while also encouraging them to think in ways that they are not used to. There was also a debate among fellows on the extent to which teaching issues of diversity should be a responsibility for teachers of writing. While writing is of course a political and social act (which we emphasize when we ask students to think of context and audience when they write), it can sometimes be tricky to maintain the balance between teaching critical thinking and the ‘mechanics’ of writing.

This syllabus is intended to introduce students to a philosophical discussion on diversity in institutions. One of the strengths of Ahmed's text is that it discusses what "diversity," as a concept, does and how it is implemented, as opposed to merely focusing on the concept. It further addresses the ways in which "diversity" can be co-opted by the structures that it seeks to combat.

For pedagogical purposes, is is important to note that inclusivity can stand in for diversity as it is deployed within institutions. Solidarity and intersectionality also function within the same contexts, though they will need more "flexing," as the language of intersectionality and solidarity are not generally adopted by institutions. It is for this reason that I have included "University Mission Statements" as part of the readings, as it grounds the course in the things that affect the students themselves.

Revisions to this syllabus might include using Frances Kendall's entire "white privilege" text in conjunction with the Ahmed text, though this would require removing some of the secondary readings. One of the readings that I would recommend not removing is Perea's "Black/White Binary Paradigm of Race," because too often "diversity" is taken to be a black/white issue which erases the experiences of others.

I am also open to suggestions and revisions as I have found that syllabi are always works in progress.

Texts On Being Included: Racism and Diversity in Institutional Life, Sara Ahmed

Week 1 (Jan 21, 23) Course Introduction, Diversity in Institutions

Week 2 (Jan 26 – 30) Ahmed – Phenomenology of Whiteness (provided) Ahmed – Introduction “On Arrival”

Week 3 (Feb 2 – 6) Perea – “The Black/White Binary Paradigm of Race.” (provided) Ahmed – Ch 1. Institutional Life

Week 4 (Feb 9 – 13) Ahmed – Ch 2. The Language of Diversity

Week 5 (Feb 16 -20) Audre Lorde – “The Master’s Tools will not Dismantle the Master’s House.” (provided) University Mission Statement (provided)

Week 6 (Feb 23 – 27) Ahmed – Ch 3. Equality and Performance culture

Week 7 (Mar 2- 6) Margaret Walker Alexander “Black Women in Academia.” (provided) Sally Haslanger “Changing the Ideology and culture In Philosophy.” (provided) Stout, Dasgupta, Hunsinger, McManus “STEMing the Tide.” (provided)

(Spring Break)

Week 8 (Mar 16 – 20) Ahmed – Commitment as a Non-Performative

Week 9 (Mar 23 – 27) Ahmed – “Feminist Killjoys” (provided) Ahmed – “A Killjoy in Crisis” (provided)

Week 10 (Mar 30, Apr 1, 3) McIntosh – “The Invisible Knapsack” (provided) Kendall – Ch. 6 “Barriers to Clarity” (provided)

Week 11 (Apr 6 – 10) Kendall – Ch. 8 “Talking about Race” (provided) Kendall – Ch. 9 “Talking about Whiteness and Being White” (provided)

Week 12 (Apr 13 – 17) Ahmed – Ch. 5 “Speaking About Racism”

Week 13 (Apr 20 -24) Ahmed – Conclusion. “A Phenomenological Practice”

Week 14 (Apr 27, 29, May 1) University Mission Statement (provided)

Week 15 (May 4 – 8) Course wrap-up.

Finals Week