Navigating Resistance to Antiracist and Anti-Oppressive Curriculum: A Case Study of a Diverse Public University in the Southwest

• In Event: Roundtable Session 23
  In Roundtable Session: Intersections of Culture and Curriculum With Teachers, Students, and Education

Abstract

The Provost’s Diversity Council in a large public university in the Southwest institutes a 3-credit diversity and inclusion course for students as a graduation requirement. The five co-authors of this paper, all women of color, were there at every stage of the process from 2010 to 2014, realizing the ways in which the words of Audre Lorde ring true when we witnessed the challenges of “utilizing the master’s tools to dismantle the master’s house.” We saw how the institution morphs to maintain the status quo.
The purpose of this paper is to examine how scholars activists interested in advancing social justice curriculum, can navigate resistance to institutional change.

Authors

• Norma A Valenzuela, Kansas State University

• Nancy Lopez, University of New Mexico

• Glenabah M. Martinez, University of New Mexico

• Josephine De Leon

• Kiran Katira, University of New Mexico