Voicing Diverse Teaching Experiences, Approaches, and Perspectives in Higher Education

The U.S. higher education system is changing demographically. With these complex changes also comes a greater diversity of people entering spaces that they could not previously access. This new dynamic is exciting; however, it also comes with challenges. New approaches must be developed to facilitate the acceptance of this greater diversity. Voicing Diverse Teaching Experiences, Approaches, and Perspectives in Higher Education extends the conversation on how to engage diverse and complex social identity groups in a system historically designed to be exclusive of their lived experiences. This book elevates the voices of people who have been absent in the academy and considers these experiences across various types of institutions, academic disciplines, and ranks. Covering topics such as critical race theory, diverse gender identities, and interpersonal needs, this book is an essential resource for higher education administrators, faculty and students of higher education, organizational leaders, academicians, pre-service teachers, and researchers.

About the Author :
Wilfredo Alvarez’s (he/him/his) teaching and research focus on communication issues related to social identity (i.e., race, ethnicity, social class, immigration, gender, sexual orientation, and ability status). Specifically, he is interested in how micro (personal relationships), meso (groups and organizations) and macro-level (popular culture) communication practices (e.g., pervasive discourses of race and gender) are deployed institutionally to create, maintain, and resist systems of oppression, discrimination and social inequality in U.S. society. He primarily teaches courses in intercultural communication, interpersonal communication, organizational communication, communication, difference, and social justice, conflict communication, leadership communication, and communication theory. Dr. Alvarez earned a B.S. in communication and information technology from the Rochester Institute of Technology, an M.S. in interpersonal communication from Florida State University, and a Ph.D. in intercultural communication from the University of Colorado. Dr. Alvarez’s research has appeared in Management Communication Quarterly, the Journal of Student Affairs Research and Practice, Liminalities: A Journal of Performance Studies, and Inter/Cultural Communication: Representation and Construction of Culture in Everyday Interaction. In his leisure time, Dr. Alvarez enjoys traveling, fitness activities, watching classical Hollywood cinema, and stimulating conversations with colleagues, friends, family, and strangers. Patrick S. De Walt is an Assistant Professor in the Department of Liberal Studies at California State University, Fresno. He has experience teaching at the elementary level: first and third grades. His research interests include: Africana Identity, Racial Identity, Theory, Curriculum Development, Teacher Education and applications of technology in education. He is an editorial board member of the Journal of Multicultural Affairs. He also serves on the Advisory Board of CalStateTEACH.