In Professor of Education Alison Cook-Sather, Crystal Des-Ogugua ’17, and Melanie Bahti ’16 describe efforts to foster inclusion among students in the course "Advocating Diversity in Higher Education."
Source: TEACHING IN HIGHER EDUCATION, 23 (3):374-389; 10.1080/13562517.2017.1391201 2018
Abstract: This article describes a multistep intervention developed for an undergraduate course called "Advocating Diversity in Higher Education." The goal of the intervention was to affirm diversity and foster a sense of inclusion among students within and beyond the course. We contextualize the intervention in student protests during 2015 and 2016 regarding racial and other forms of discrimination on college and university campuses in the United States, and we describe how it is informed by several theoretical frames and associated practices: intersectionality, belonging, and radical pedagogical partnership. Co-authored by the faculty member who co-designed and co-taught the course, an undergraduate student who co-designed the course, and a recent graduate who co-created the course when she took it, the article embodies the inclusion and radical partnership it analyzes. It is intended to offer individuals working in higher education an intervention that can be adapted across contexts.