This month's issue of About Campus explores a number of issues related to students' racial, social class, and cultural diversity.
It closes with an article by Craig Bennett of the University of Cincinnati. He teaches a course called "Strength Through Cultural Diversity," in which he gives students the assignment to "actively participate in a cultural event in which they can experience minority status." While the assignment requires involvement in just a single event, Bennett recounts the anxiety, panic, and resistance of his students. They are mostly white, and have grown up in white neighborhoods and schools.
They are often creative about finding new experiences: attending a gay nightclub, using a wheelchair at a shopping mall, or attending unfamiliar religious rituals. "However," says Bennett, "the experience that typically generates the most awareness and challenge is white students attending an African American church."
Besides resulting in good discussion and new awareness, the experiences end up with students reporting new more welcoming behavior, improved understandings--and giving highly positive end-of-course evaluations.
So now the question is: in what courses and disciplines--beyond the "diversity course" might this be a useful assignment? And, like Bennett, I'll ask you the starter question: "Who can share an experience in which you were the only person representing your race in a room?"
Your second question is an easy one. Most of the time, I am the only woman of color or person of color in many situations. It, for me, has become a normal expectation. But also a normal expectation is that I will not be welcomed, at first.I by the way, also feel the "otherness" when I realize that I am the only non-Minnesotan in a situation as well. This goes to communication patterns, body language translation,etc.
ReplyDeleteIt would be interesting to see what would happen if students or the faculty member for that matter, understood that there are many experiences of "otherness" that go beyond sexual preference, race, "ableness" or religion. These are the easy ways to look at the issue of diversity. Economic, educational, rural-urban, size, political affiliation; "tats" or "non-tats"; vegetarian-vegan-meet eater; single-attached; with children-without children; age.... the list goes on; offer experiences that might hit a little "closer to home" as these represent just a few of the many diversities everyone faces almost everyday and can relate to on a more visceral level. I am a proponent of the notion that a true embracing of diversity as normal positive and attractive will lead us further toward being able to move past mere tolerance of differences to understanding and welcoming differences. Diversity by nature's standards, is the norm!