Intersectionality in Action - Softcover

Softcover

ISBN 10: 1620363208 ISBN 13: 9781620363201

Publisher: Routledge, 2016

Synopsis

Colleges and universities silo diversity and inclusion by creating specific courses to address them, or programs to welcome and support people with a range of identities, whereas in reality students, faculty and staff do not encounter diversity in the fractured ways that match the organizational structures of our institutions. We all simultaneously embody a variety of identities with different saliency in different circumstances and times.

This book offers models for institutions to move intentionally toward intersections – of study abroad and multiculturalism, of race and gender and religion, and of other essential aspects of our educational programs and our students’ identities – to open doors to new possibilities that better prepare our students for life in a diverse world, and that allow our institutions to become more efficient and effective as we strive to not simply do things better in our own separate spheres, but to do better things by working together across difference.

Each chapter offers action-oriented analysis focusing on particular campus intersections, rather than attending to specific demographic groups. Chapter authors also build on their own local expertise of doing this work on campuses that often do not have deep pockets or rich histories of such efforts.

The book is organized into three sections:
* People focuses on diversity broadly defined, considering questions about how we recruit and engage the students, faculty, and staff in the campus community, and how we work with governing boards and others to promote inclusive excellence.
* Environment focuses on inclusion, including residence life, the local community, the working and learning environment, and external factors and events such as national and international news or town gown relationships.
* Learning focuses on perspective taking and learning about difference in the core curriculum, the disciplines, and the co-curriculum, as well as professional development for faculty and staff.

This ground reaking book helps readers, no matter what position they occupy on campus, to develop the knowledge and capacities necessary to create inclusive classrooms and is premised on the understanding that identity, oppression, power and marginalization cannot be addressed by looking solely at single identities.

About this title

About the Author:

Peter Felten is Assistant Provost for Teaching and Learning, Director of the Center for Engaged Learning, and Professor of History at Elon University. His publications include: Transforming Students: Fulfilling the Promise of Higher Education (Johns Hopkins, 2014), and Engaging Students as Partners in Learning and Teaching (Jossey-Bass, 2014).

Brooke Barnett is Associate Provost for Inclusive Community and Professor of Communications at Elon University, where she leads university efforts in diversity and global engagement and cultural and special programs. Her research focuses on mass communication law, media effects and diversity and inclusion on college campuses.

Eboo Patel is the Founder and President, Interfaith Youth Core.

Review:

"The 'next phase' of diversity in higher education pushes institutional objectives beyond mere tolerance of cultural difference. Barnett and Felten have pulled together a timely resource for campus leaders that recognizes the multidimensionality of students' identities and the imperative for institutions to pursue an intersectional approach to diversity on campus." (anthony lising antonio, Associate Professor of Education, Stanford University)

“Intersectionality in Action is a great resource for college faculty, administrators, board of trustee members and others committed to creating and sustaining inclusive campus communities and learning environments. This book is an excellent one for strategic planning committees; staff development workshops; graduate school courses; and for guiding campus conversations and responses to the ever-present question ‘how do we create a campus community where all members' individual identities are recognized and supported?’" (Lori S. White, Vice Chancellor for Student Affairs 2016-01-01)

"Far from standing as ivory towers, colleges and universities are frantically busy intersections marked with intermittent lights and poorly designed signs. This book offers directions that allow us not merely to make it through those intersections but to make the most of the possibilities they offer. It is a wise, humane, and encouraging book for all who stand at sometimes bewildering crossroads." (Edward L. Ayers, President Emeritus and Tucker-Boatwright Professor of the Humanities 2015-12-01)

“[While] our primary purpose is to fashion leaders for a diverse democracy, nurturing graduates who can engage [the] inevitable tensions in positive and proactive ways...this work―as we all know―can range from difficult and frustrating one day to inspiring and heartwarming the next. The good news is that you hold in your hands a book that raises the right questions and casts light upon possible answers for shaping campus communities that serve as both laboratories for our diverse democracy and launching pads for a new generation of leaders. May it enrich our work, our campuses, our students and our shared future.” (Eboo Patel, President and Founder)

About this edition

• Publisher: Routledge
• Publication date: 2016
• ISBN 10: 1620363208
• ISBN 13: 9781620363201
• Binding: Paperback
• Edition number: 1
• Number of pages: 176
• Editor: Felten Peter, Barnett Brooke