Diversity Intensives
Because of the novelty of such courses, the Diversity-Intensive Subcommittee
has prepared a detailed set of items that applicants should think about
for their vision statement and syllabus. The vision statement portion of
the application to teach a D-I course provides an opportunity for applicants
to explain their expectations and their preparation for the course. As such,
it needs to include concrete information as to how the course will be taught,
and a broad articulation of the applicant’s understanding of the purposes
of the D-I course and how these purposes can be brought to fruition.
Applicants are strongly encouraged to participate in Diversity-Intensive
workshops that will cover topics such as: creating D-I course syllabi; assignment
and class project ideas for D-I courses; pedagogical considerations in D-I
classes; handling difficult situations in the classroom, etc.
Applicants are encouraged to work in collaborative efforts in order to provide
the best possible experience for both faculty and students; team teaching
and/or peer partnership are especially appropriate for the development of
D-I courses. A discussion of pedagogy, broadly understood to include all
aspects of the course and methods of instruction, is particularly important
for these courses, in which participation of all students is crucial.
Applicants should include some discussion of the following in the vision
statement:
Explains how the subject matter and overall course content are appropriate
for a D-I course.
Articulates how the goals of the course reflect the goals of a D-I course,
including a specific discussion of the power dynamics that the course will
investigate.
Indicates what part of the actual course materials are drawn directly from
the experience of marginalized individuals and groups or from those groups
whose construction of identities are examined in the course. Does the course
make human agency a focal point? Does it emphasize the voices of lived experience
or delve into questions of representation?
Explains how the course will address and/or reflect important intersectionalities.
(multiple layers of identities and the interrelationship between or among
these identities, ie., black women’s experiences as blacks, as women,
and as black women.)
PEDAGOGY
Articulates the applicant’s pedagogical approach for the course.
How specific assignments and course activities achieve the goals of the
course and create the opportunity for students and faculty to examine their
own experiences and values, thus laying the groundwork for transformative
experience.
How the course will help students develop an understanding of power imbalances
and the myriad ways in which humans and cultures construct and respond to
diversity and difference.
How the course will foster skills desirable in responsible citizens.
LEARNING ENVIRONMENT OF THE COURSE
Learning environment provides an atmosphere of respectful and open-minded
exchange for all participants. The classroom is experienced as a “safe
space.”
Vision demonstrates sensitivity to the nature of the course materials and
the issues they expound, and to their impact on students.
Vision statement articulates an understanding of the range of intellectual
and emotional responses that students may encounter both in and out of the
classroom. Is the applicant prepared to deal with classes in which tension
might be generated among students due to their differences in experience,
belief, identity, or politics?
Vision statement addresses how a learning environment which supports the
possibility of transformative experiences will be created.