About This Class

This class is grounded in pursuing alternate perspectives on many different topics, including stereotypes, prejudice, and discrimination and the systemic ways in which racism, classism, sexism, heterosexism, ageism, and ableism influence our lives.

What we do in my class I like to describe as “thinking about old things in new ways.”  In order to accomplish this I will be asking you to share your experiences with others, but most importantly to listen to the experiences of your classmates – together we can develop a better understanding of our own experiences as well as the experiences of others on our journey together.

You should be aware that the content of this course can be sensitive, provocative, and controversial.  You will be asked to reflect on your personal attitudes, beliefs, and behaviors, and acquire a foundation for understanding your impact on the world around you.  It is likely that over the semester you might experience a variety of emotions including ambivalence, discomfort, frustration, and possibly anger, but by the end of the semester I am optimistic that you will have gained a deeper understanding of the issues that affect diverse populations and have developed strategies to become an effective ally.  

I hope that you decide to enroll in this class to challenge your current understanding about these topics as well as issues of equity and diversity that you may be hearing about across the country. Are you ready?

Student Learning Outcomes and Objectives

1. identify and examine specific values, beliefs, and practices of diverse populations by race, ethnicity, gender, sexual orientation, ability/disability, age, and class 

2. evaluate the impact of bias, stereotyped thinking, prejudice, and discrimination in working with diverse populations 

3. analyze the issues of racism, sexism, heterosexism, ableism, ageism, and classism as they relate to working with diverse populations 

4. develop culturally responsive prevention, intervention and/or resolution to identified issues and problems affecting diverse populations 

5. assess one's personal attitudes regarding diverse populations