Welcome to this course which has been developed with Abby L. Ferber, Professor of Sociology, and Women’s and Ethnic Studies from the University of Colorado, Colorado Springs, USA.
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Hi, my name is Abby Ferber and I’m a Professor of Sociology and Women’s and Ethnic Studies at the University of Colorado, Colorado Springs, in the United States. I’m also the director of the Matrix Center for the Advancement of Social Equity and Inclusion, and our signature program, now celebrating our 20th anniversary, is the Knapsack Institute Transforming Teaching and Learning. And my scholarship on teaching has come out of that Knapsack Institute where we focus on issues of oppression and privilege, racism, heterosexism, sexism, et cetera, and the way they shape our lives.
This course examines how privilege and oppression intersect to impact educational experiences and the value of interrogating privilege to build a more inclusive classroom. Questioning in this way can provide a foundation for increased understanding and empathy, as educators and learners work together to build a better understanding of the ways in which society is shaped by relations of power. This awareness can help us to create more inclusive educational experiences. It is designed for all educators in all subjects and levels of their career.
Click here to view the video transcript
This course is designed for faculty members and all educators, no matter what you teach, in order to help foster and build a more inclusive classroom environment to benefit all of our students. Additionally, the material in this course is designed for use in the classroom, especially for faculty that teach about subject matters of race, gender, disability, ethnicity, et cetera. The purpose of this course is to begin to be cognisant of the reality of privilege and how privilege shapes all of our lives, from the smallest details to the largest issues of who lives, who dies, the quality of our life, and our own wellbeing.
In addition, the purpose of this course is to begin to recognise our own privileges and how it shapes our lives on a daily basis. And then my goal is that you’ll be interested in continuing this journey. It’s a lifelong journey. I’m still learning about the privileges that shape my life every day. And so I hope you’ll join me on this continued process of learning to see our privileges.
“Privilege shapes all of our lives, from the smallest details, to the largest issues of who lives, who dies, the quality of our life, and our own wellbeing”
Get Involved And Share Your Learning
- Share your perspective. Throughout this course, you will see discussion prompts at the end of each lesson inviting you to share your thoughts and experience. We encourage you to respond to these discussion questions and read those of other educators to benefit from theirs. When you see a comment you agree with or find helpful, hit the ‘Like’ button to help other educators find it. You can also reply to any comments from other members that you find interesting.
- Ask a question. You can ask questions of experts and other educators in the discussion threads in courses. If your question is more general, use Ask, Answer and Share in the community to reach more people.
- Pick up your course badges. To earn your Course Completion Badges make sure you mark all lessons as ‘Mark Complete’ once you have completed a lesson. At the end of the course, click ‘Mark Complete’ and you will be asked a few multiple-choice questions to earn a Course Completion badge. Once you’ve had a chance to apply your learning, come back to complete an Impact Badges by applying what you have learned in the courses and answering a short survey.
If you have any questions or issues, please email us [email protected].