Navigating Difficult Moments in Teaching Diversity and Social Justice

Mary E. Kite, PhD, received her BA, MS, and PhD from Purdue University and is now Professor of Social Psychology at Ball State University. Strongly committed to psychology education at all levels, she has held a number of leadership roles for the Teaching of Psychology (STP, APA Division 2), including past president. Her leadership in the Midwestern Psychological Association also includes serving as past president. She holds Fellow status in APA Divisions 2, 8, 9, 35, & 44, the Association for Psychological Science, and the Midwestern Psychological Association. She maintains an active research program in the area of stereotyping and prejudice, including co‑authoring The Psychology of Prejudice and Discrimination (3e) with Bernard Whitley, Jr. Whitley and Kite also co‑authored Principles of Research in Behavioral Science (4e). Recognitions include the Charles L. Brewer Award for Distinguished Teaching in Psychology from the American Psychological Foundation (2014) and a Presidential Citation from the Society for the Teaching of Psychology (2011).   Kim A. Case, PhD, is the Director of Faculty Success at Virginia Commonwealth University. As Director, she develops and implements faculty mentoring programs, supports faculty career development and scholarship productivity, and oversees the Center for Teaching and Learning Excellence. Her mixed‑methods research examines ally behavior, interventions to increase understanding of intersectionality and privilege, prejudice reduction, and creation of inclusive workplace and education settings. She is author of Deconstructing Privilege: Allies in the Classroom (2013) and Intersectional Pedagogy: Complicating Identity and Social Justice (2017), both published by Routledge. Her scholarship, blog, and teaching resources are available at www.drkimcase.com. The Society for the Psychological Study of Social Issues previously honored Dr. Case with the Outstanding Teaching and Mentoring Award and the Innovative Teaching Award. The Society for the Teaching of Psychology named her as the 2018 Robert S. Daniel Excellence in Teaching Awardee for her nationally recognized pedagogical advancements.   Wendy R. Williams, PhD, is a Professor of Psychology and Women’s Studies at Berea College. She received her PhD in Social Psychology from the University of California, Santa Cruz in 2005. She was previously an Associate Professor and Director of Women’s Studies at Marshall University. Her teaching and research interests focus on stigma and prejudice, specifically around issues of social class, including documenting the lived experiences of low‑income and working‑class Americans, as well as examining the personal and political consequences of how low‑income people are perceived. She regularly teaches courses both in the core of the psychology major (e.g., Introduction to Psychology, Statistics, Research Methods, Social Psychology) and in her areas of research interest (e.g., psychology of women & gender, psychology of poverty & social class), and she incorporates service‑learning and other experiential learning pedagogies into her teaching. She has published fourteen papers, including a book chapter on how experiential learning can raise awareness of social class privilege. In addition, she has won awards for her research, teaching, service, mentoring, and leadership.,  

Preface
Faye Crosby

1: Pedagogical Humility and Peer Mentoring for Social Justice Education
Kim A. Case, Mary E. Kite, and Wendy R. Williams

2: Ground Rules for Discussing Diversity: Complex Considerations
Susan B. Goldstein

3: Social Justice Burnout: Engaging in Self-Care While Doing Diversity Work
Asia Eaton and Leah R. Warner

4: Mistakes Were Made by Me: Recovering When an Instructor’s Error Affects Classroom Dynamics
Mary E. Kite, Samuel M. Colbert, and Scott M. Barrera
 
5: When the Professor Experiences Stereotype Threat in the Classroom
Desdamona Rios, Kim A. Case, Salena M. Brody and David P. Rivera

6: Becoming a Target: Anonymous Threats While Teaching Diversity Courses or Working on Social Justice Issues
Lisa S. Wagner and J. J. Garrett-Walker

7: Inclusion–Exclusion: Balancing Viewpoint Diversity and Harmful Speech in the Multicultural Classroom
Salena M. Brody and Darren R. Bernal

8: The Efficacy Paradox: Teaching About Structural Inequality While Keeping Students’ Hope Alive
Lisa M. Brown

9: Emotionally Charged News in the Classroom
Ryan M. Pickering  

10: Raising the Consciousness of Students Holding Ingroup Stereotypes
Lisa M. Brown and Wendy R. Williams

11: White Privilege in the Classroom
Leah R. Warner, Lisa S. Wagner, and Patrick R. Grzanka

12: Navigating Difficult Moments Outside the Classroom
Wendy R. Williams and F. Tyler Sergent

13: Contemporary Issues in Terminology: Using Gender-Inclusive Language to Create Affirming Spaces
Amanda J. Wyrick

14: Aging as an Element of Diversity: Best Practices for Challenging Classroom Conversations and Avoiding Ageism
Lisa S. Wagner, Tana M. Luger and Matthew Calamia

15: Outsiders Teaching Insiders: How Instructors From Privileged Groups Can Effectively Teach About Diversity
Susan B. Goldstein
 
16: When Students Frame Prejudicial Speech as “Freedom of Speech”: Classroom and Institutional Implications
Leah R. Warner

17: Student Evaluations of Teaching: Can Teaching Social Justice Negatively Affect One’s Career?
Guy A. Boysen

18: Flotsam and Jetsam: Staying the Course While Navigating Difficult Moments in Teaching Diversity and Social Justice
Wendy R. Williams, Mary E. Kite, and Kim A. Case