Transforming the Academy: Faculty Perspectives on Diversity and Pedagogy

241 Pages·2016·2.85 MB·English

by  Sarah Willie-LeBreton (ed.)

TRANSFORMING THE ACADEMY

TRANSFORMING
THE A CADEMY
Faculty Perspectives on
Diversity and Pedagogy
EDITED BY SARAH WILLIE- LEBRETON

RUTGERS UNIVERSIT Y PRESS
New Brunswick, New Jersey, and London
This publication was supported in part by
the Eleanor J. and Jason F. Dreibelbis Fund.
Library of Congress Cataloging-i n- Publication Data
Names: Willie- LeBreton, Sarah, 1963- editor.
Title: Transforming the academy : faculty perspectives on diversity and pedagogy /
edited by Sarah Willie- LeBreton.
Description: New Brunswick, New Jersey : Rutgers University Press, 2016. | Includes
bibliographical references and index.
Identifiers: LCCN 2015028623| ISBN 9780813565088 (hardcover : alk. paper) |
ISBN 9780813565071 (pbk. : alk. paper) | ISBN 9780813565095 (e- book (web
pdf)) | ISBN 9780813572956 (e- book (epub))
Subjects: LCSH: College teaching— Social aspects— United States. | Education,
Higher— Social aspects— United States. | Education, Higher— Curricula— United
States. | Education, Higher— Aims and objectives— United States. | Minorities—
Education (Higher)— United States. | Educational equalization— United States.
Classification: LCC LB2331 .T727 2016 | DDC 378.1/25— dc23
LC record available at http://lccn.loc.gov/2015028623
A British Cataloging- in- Publication record for this book is available from the British
Library.
This collection copyright © 2016 by Rutgers, The State University
Individual chapters copyright © 2016 in the names of their authors
All rights reserved
No part of this book may be reproduced or utilized in any form or by any means,
electronic or mechanical, or by any information storage and retrieval system, without
written permission from the publisher. Please contact Rutgers University Press, 106
Somerset Street, New Brunswick, NJ 08901. The only exception to this prohibition is
“fair use” as defined by U.S. copyright law.

Visit our website: http://rutgerspress.rutgers.edu
Manufactured in the United States of America
For Jonathan and Jeremy,
and those who continue to teach me

CONTENTS
Acknowledgments ix
Introduction: The Challenges of Diversity
and Pedagogy 1
Sarah Willie- LeBreton
part i: challenging classrooms
1 Decentering Whiteness: Teaching Antiracism
on a Predominantly White Campus 13
Michael D. Smith a nd Eve Tuck
2 Is There a Silver Lining? The Experiences of a
Black Female Teaching Assistant 37
Dela Kusi- Appouh
3 Radical Leftist or Objective Practitioner?
Perceptions of a Black Male Professor 46
H. Mark Ellis
4 Teaching Difference in Multiple Ways:
Through Content and Presence 59
Cheryl Jones- Walker
5 What You May Not See:
The Oscillating Critique 71
Pato Hebert
6 The Professor, Her Colleague, and
Her Student: Two Race- Related Stories 84
Sarah Willie- LeBreton
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viii Contents
7 Challenging Oppression in Moderation?
Student Feedback in Diversity Courses 97
Anita Chikkatur
part ii: witnessing protest
8 The (S)Paces of Academic Work:
Disability, Access, and Higher Education 113
Kristin Lindgren
9 Queer Affects/Queer Access 125
Anna Ward
10 Geographies of Difference:
From Unity to Solidarity 136
Betty G. Sasaki
11 La Promesa: Working with Latina and Latino
Students in an Elite Liberal Arts College 153
Aurora Camacho de Schmidt
12 Passing Strange: Embodying and
Negotiating Difference in Academia 171
Daphne Lamothe
13 A Dean’s Week: “Trapdoors and
Glass Ceilings” 184
Theresa Tensuan
Conclusion: Theorizing the Transformation
of the Twenty- First- Century Campus 196
Sarah Willie- LeBreton
References 209
Contributors 219
Index 225
ACKNOWLEDGMENTS
This collection has never been mine. It is ours. Our hope is that
it serves as a springboard for conversations among colleagues and friends,
students and administrators, legislators, board members, parents and co-
workers— all those who care deeply about education, and higher education,
in the United States. Nonetheless, getting an edited volume from ideation
to publication depends on particular individuals. I am indebted to the three
people who asked me to serve as discussant for their presentations at the
American Anthropology Association— Cheryl Jones- Walker, Anita Chik-
katur, and Dela Kusi- Appouh. After them, I am indebted to the authors who
made themselves vulnerable by their willingness to contribute essays to this
volume. The candid conversations that we have had with colleagues on our
various campuses have helped us to be continually engaged in the creation
and re- creation of institutions that are intellectually exciting, invigorating,
and more just and inclusive.
The Michener Funds at Swarthmore College allowed me a full- year sab-
batical, but it is the community of colleagues, co- workers, and students that
have made coming to work, more often than not, an experience I cherish.
My alma mater offered me the chance for a friendship with Joan Cotellessa,
the editor with whom I worked privately, and I am grateful for her gener-
osity, speed, care, and good humor; she became a true partner in a matter
of days and stuck with me. The thoughtful comments and encouragement
from reviewers of an earlier draft of the volume were crucial, as were the
insights and suggestions of an excellent team at Rutgers University Press,
including Peter Mickulas, Katie Keeran (no longer at RUP), Marlie Was-
serman, Carrie Hudak, Kimberly Guinta, Romaine Perin, and Kristen
Bonanno. I am fortunate to have had the support of friends, family, and col-
leagues, the deepest support having come from my spouse, Jonathan.

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