Getting Culture: Incorporating Diversity Across the Curriculum

How do we educate our students about cultural diversity and cultural differences, and eliminate cultural ignorance, stereotyping, and prejudice? What are the conceptual issues involved in reaching this goal? How can we integrate these perspectives in disciplinary and diversity courses, and the curriculum?This book is a resource for answering these questions. Within the framework of current scholarship and discussion of essential concepts, it offers practical techniques, and empirically proven “best practices” for teaching about diversity. The book opens with a conceptual framework, covering such issues as distinguishing teaching to a diverse audience from teaching about diversity and contrasting the incorporation of culture across the curriculum with tokenistic approaches. Subsequent chapters identify classroom practices that can optimize students’ learning, especially those from culturally diverse backgrounds; describe feminist principles of education that that promote learning for all students; and address principles of effective on-line instruction for diverse populations.The book is intended for faculty integrating diversity into existing courses, and for anyone creating courses on diversity. The ideas and suggestions in the text can be incorporated into any class that includes a discussion of diversity issues or has a diverse student enrollment. The contributors offer pragmatic and tested ways of overcoming student misconceptions and resistance, and for managing emotional responses that can be aroused by the discussion of diversity. The editors aim to stimulate readers’ thinking and inspire fresh ideas. The book further provides teachers of diversity with a range of effective exercises, and attends to such issues as teacher stress and burnout.This book can also serve to inform and guide department chairs and other administrators in the design and implementation of diversity initiatives.

Table of Contents:
Acknowledgments; Preface; SECTION ONE—GENERAL ISSUES IN TEACHING ABOUT DIVERSITY 1. Teaching About Culture—David Matsumoto; 2. Got Culture? Incorporating Culture Into the Curriculum—Regan A. R. Gurung; 3. Teaching About Diversity. Reflections And Future Directions—Loreto R. Prieto; 4. A Metapedagogical Approach To Culture In The Classroom—Thomas N. Robinson III; 5. Learning Styles As Self-Fulfilling Prophecies—Kris Vasquez; 6. The “Why’s” And “How’s” Of Being A Social Justice Ally—Sandra L. Neumann; 7. The Diversity Monologues. Increasing Understanding And Empathy, Decreasing Stereotypes And Prejudice—Amy Hackney-Hansen; 8. Infusing Cross-Cultural Experiences Into The Classroom—Craig Abrahamson; 9. Teaching About The Social Psychology Of Disability. Issues Of Being, Not Becoming—Dana S. Dunn; 10. Foreign Language Learning. A Different Form Of Diversity—Paul C. Smith; SECTION TWO—FEMINISM AND DIVERSITY EDUCATION 11. Teaching Gender Diversity—Through Diverse Lenses—Janet E. Kuebli, Accalia R. Kusto, and Karen Wilson; 12. Pedagogical Intersections of Gender, Race, and Identity. Signs of a Feminist Teacher—Karlyn Crowley; SECTION THREE—THE INCLUSIVE CLASSROOM 13. Developing Democracy. Encouraging Multiple Viewpoints and Community in Classrooms—Kathie E. Shiba; 14. Creating Inclusive Science, Technology, Engineering, and Mathematics (Stem. Courses—Nilhan Gunasekera and Katherine Friedrich; 15. Teaching Diversity Through Literature. Urging Voyages Toward Deeper Understanding—Nancy L. Chick; 16. Internationalizing the Psychology Curriculum. Examples of Course Transformation—Leeann Bartolini, Afshin Gharib, and William Phillips; 17. Experiential Activities for Teaching About Diversity—Carlos M. Diaz-Lazaro, Sandra Cordova, and Rosslyn Franklyn; 18. Enlisting the Participation of Students. In Diversifying the Curriculum—Susan B. Goldstein; 19. A Seat at The Table for Everyone. Exercises in Valuing Diversity—Christy Price, Lynn Boettler, and Larua Davis; SECTION FOUR—DIVERSITY AND ONLINE ENVIRONMENTS 20. Diversity and Distance Education. Cultural Competence for Online Instructors—Savitri V. Dixon-Saxon; 21. Using Educational Technology To Teach Diversity Content—Mary Jo Blazek and Magdalena Linhardt; 22. Developing Global Connections. Connecting Students in Cross-Cultural Online Teaching Activities—Cindy J. Lahar; SECTION FIVE—METHODS AND TECHNIQUES FOR FACULTY AND DIVERSITY TRAINERS 23. Pleased to Meet You. Introducing Multicultural Competence and Diversity Awareness to Your Students—Karen Cone-Uemura; 24. Intercultural Simulations and Games. Having Fun While Discussing Serious Matters—Ly U. Phan; 25. The Use of Action Learning Techniques in a Race Relations Course—Peter L. Kranz, Sylvia Z. Ramirez, And Nick L. Lund; 26. Keeping It Real. Authenticity in The Diversity Learning Environment—Kelley D. Haynes; 27. Coping Strategies for Diversity Scholars—Kelley D. Haynes; SECTION SIX—DIVERSITY ACROSS EDUCATIONAL SETTINGS 28. Teaching Diversity in The High School Classroom—Amy C. Fineburg; 29. Diversity Issues in Community Colleges—Robin Hailstorks; 30. Assignments and Course Content in Teaching Diversity—Champika K. Soysa, Lori J. Dawson, Bonnie G. Kanner, Marc J. Wagoner, and Emily G. Soltano; 31. Beyond the Classroom. An Experiential Model for Developing Multicultural Competence—Angélica M. Díaz-Martínez and Letizia A. Duncan; About the Authors; Index.

About the Author :
Regan A. R. Gurung is Chair of the Human Development Department and Professor of Human Development and Psychology at the University of Wisconsin, Green Bay. He is the author of numerous scholarly articles and presentations, of a health psychology textbook (Wadsworth, 2006) that was the first book to use a completely cultural approach, a co-author on a book on pedagogical research, and co-editor of two other books, one on sociocultural issues in mental health (Blackwell-Wiley, 2009). He is a member of the Society for the Teaching of Psychology Diversity Task Force, and is on the University of Wisconsin System Institute of Race and Ethnicity Advisory Committee. Loreto R. Prieto is a Professor of Psychology and Director of U.S. Latino/a Studies program at Iowa State University. He has authored over 100 publications and presentations, mostly on diversity issues. He co-edited The Teaching Assistant Training Handbook and is a Past-Chair of the Diversity Task Force for the Society for the Teaching of Psychology and former Chair of the Diversity Working Group for the APA’s Psychology Partnership Project. He frequently serves as a consultant and speaker to academic departments and programs.

Review :
"All of the individual essays in this volume are quite useful and as a collection the volume is essential for faculty and administrators seeking to integrate diversity issues across the curriculum." Jonathan David Lawrence, Canisius College Teaching Theology and Religion "Getting Culture, an edited volume with 31 short, easy-to-read chapters, frames itself as providing „best practices? in teaching about culture and infusing diversity into the higher education curriculum... this book can offer a wide variety of activity and assignment ideas in different contexts." Educational Developers Caucus Resource Review "The book is intended for faculty integrating diversity into existing courses and for anyone creating courses on diversity. The ideas and suggestions in the text can be incorporated into any class that includes a discussion of diversity issues or has a diverse student enrollment. The contributors offer pragmatic and tested ways of overcoming student misconceptions and resistance and for managing emotional responses that can be aroused by the discussion of diversity." Rice Lake Chronotype "provides a set of "best practices" for approaching the pedagogical challenges of teaching diversity... Recommended." Choice "This book offers practical advice and empirically proven best practices for teaching high school and college students about diversity. It outlines ways to overcome student misconceptions and resistance, and methods for managing emotional responses that can be aroused in discussions of diversity. The book opens with a conceptual framework, contrasting the integration of culture across the curriculum with tokenistic approaches. Subsequent chapters identify classroom practices. These chapters describe feminist principles of education that promote learning for all students, and address principles of effective on-line instruction for diverse populations. The book is intended for faculty and administrators in the design and implementation of diversity courses and initiatives." Book News Inc. "This volume's editors have compiled a set of wide-ranging tools for teaching about diversity among diverse student populations. Articles cover an array of topics, including general approaches to diversity education, specific exercises within and across disciplines, and strategies for coping with the stresses of teaching controversial topics. The collection offers guidance that is particularly valuable for those just beginning to incorporate diversity in the classroom and is pertinent to veteran teachers as well." Diversity & Democracy (AAC&U)