Balancing the Curriculum for Race, Ethnicity, Gender, and Class

Seminar Series 2003 - 2004:

>> The Fall semester 2003 started with a discussion of a session entitled Mapping the Classroom. We included poems from an African Cuban writer as well as different maps of the colonization of the Americas and Africa in the 17th and 18th century. The purpose of this discussion was to set in historical perspective the understanding of space and Diaspora.

>> A second session was entitled “Dangerous Language.” This session included along with a couple of readings on race and language, the showing of an episode of a TV series entitled “Boston Public.” The video and readings funneled a lively discussion on how some words are extremely racist and yet they change meanings depending of its users and context.

>> The third topic of the Fall session focused on “The Power of Scientific Knowledge.” The readings centered on the production of science and how its authority has escalated to prevail among other forms of knowledge. The intersection of science with gender, race, ethnicity and class was at the center of the readings included in this seminar.

>> One of the best attended and informative sessions during the Spring semester was the session entitled Visual Images: How to Use Media in the Classroom to address issues of race, religion and ethnicity. This session was also in celebration of African History Month. We only distributed a short article on how to incorporate visual media to discuss these issues. Faculty was invited to bring clips and/or share the resources that work best for them. One of the most thought-provoking visual displays was a clip from the PBS production “Race, the Power of an Illusion” which has been purchased by our school library.

>>The second topic of the Spring Semester was entitled Queering the Classroom and it dealt with understandings of sex, gender, and sexuality . The readings addressed different issues related to this topic, from homosexuality to transgender identities, homophobia and sexism. This was another intense and exciting session in which various faculty members shared personal examples on the table and received feedback from other attendants.

>> The last session of the Spring Semester centered on “Environmentalism in the Urban Classroom.” Our three readings focused on the mapping of New York City to identify the areas that were more vulnerable to pollution, lead poisoning, and other environmental hazards. This session was also not only well attended, but it raised important issues that should be of much concern as teachers in the city. We proposed the planning of Earth Day in combination with the student government association next year as a way of raising awareness of the need to protect the environment.