Foregrounding Diverse Perspectives
In this course, we’re going to push to open ourselves up to new ways of seeing the world and its people. Each unit will be begin with an outside reading that will help us center the current unit’s conversation from a perspective that you might not otherwise encounter in a standard textbook. Our goal in doing this is to encourage you to think outside of your normal approach to problems, issues, and culture, and to help us all understand the value that diversity and diverse perspectives bring to our work and lives.
Below you'll find some readings that have been taught by faculty and staff in the past or suggested. This is not a mandated reading list, but is provided to give you somewhere to start in your reading selection. These are readings that have been suggested by faculty and staff of the department, as well as by teaching assistants. These readings are in no way endorsed by us, but are instead offered as helpful suggestions from members of our department.
When writing and readings content from cultures outside of your own, you need to take care to treat content fairly and within the proper context. Some of the texts below have special contextualization notes that have been provided by faculty, staff, or others to help teachers and readers understand the larger context that these texts take place within.
Racism in America: A Reader, from Harvard University Press (free download)
https://www.brandeis.edu/investigate/race-justice/busing-desegregation.html
//Africa and the Global South Readings// compiled by Jean Hugues Bita'a
Between the World and Me by Ta-Nehsi Coates
Educated by Tara Westover (click for contextual note)
The Management of Grief by Bharati Mukherjee
Rules of the Game by Amy Tan
Welcome to Your Authentic Indian Experience by Rebecca Roanhorse
General Discussions and Culture
The Black Experience in Graphic Design
Instructions
The Negro Traveler's Green Book
Caring for Your Biracial or Black Child's Hair
Archival Materials
If requested, we can share PDFs from Dr. Don Unger of the University of Mississippi that document community work by Black farmers in that state.