This book examines the undergraduate teaching experiences and collegial relationships of university faculty who hold appointments in social science, humanities, or natural science and engineering, and who have received undergraduate teaching or service-to-diversity nominations and awards. Documenting and interpreting faculty members' social identities and pedagogical practices, Faculty Identities and the Challenge of Diversity explores how professors address the diverse racial, ethnic, gender, and sexual identities of their students. By carefully considering how this unique group of faculty makes sense of their instruction and classrooms, this book provides practical advice that will prove beneficial to both experienced and new teachers looking to improve their practice in a changing educational landscape.
Mark Chesler is Emeritus Professor of Sociology at the University of Michigan. He is the author most recently of Challenging Racism in the University (with Amanda Lewis and James Crowfoot). Alford A. Young Jr. is Professor of Sociology and Afroamerican and African Studies at the University of Michigan. His most recent book is The Minds of Marginalized Black Men: Making Sense of Mobility, Opportunity, and Future Life Chances.
Part I: Background and Contexts 1. The State of Research with Faculty Identities in Higher Educational Classrooms and Institutional Contexts 2. Issues of Research Design and Reflexivity 3. A Schematic for Analyzing Conflict in the University Classroom Part II: Difference and Diversity in Classroom Interactions 4. How Race and Gender Shape Perceived Challenges to Classroom Authority and Expertise 5. Identity, Power, and Conflict: Pedagogical Strategies for Successful Classroom Peer Dynamics 6. Responding to “Hot Button Issues”: Pedagogical Approaches to Racial Conflict in the Classroom Part III: Examinations of the Role of Identity 7. Racial Practices in the Classroom: White Faculty’s Pedagogical Enactments That Reproduce and/or Transform White Dominance 8. Race, Gender, and Bodily (Mis)Recognitions: Women of Color Faculty Experiences with White Students 9. Putting Their Bodies Off the Line: The Response of Men Faculty of Color to Classroom-Based Conflict Part IV: Larger Contexts . . . and Change 10. “Why Don’t You Get Somebody New to Do It?”: Race, Gender, and Identity Taxation in the Academy 11. Advocates for Diversity . . . Or Not: Faculty Members as Change-Agents? 12. Challenge, Advocacy, and Change
“[This book] will benefit faculty and administrators seeking to better understand, promote, and implements solutions regarding various diversities in university contexts.” —Reflective Teaching