Engaging Our Students from a Social Justice Perspective in the Twenty-First Century

• In Event: 3423 - Teaching and Learning Symposium Roundtable
  In Informal Discussion Roundtable: Table 11: Teaching Social Justice

Abstract

Teaching sociology from a social justice perspective—i.e., the recognition of the various forms of systemic inequalities and a commitment to dismantling these inequalities as they occur within our everyday lives—is more challenging than ever as evidenced by the changes in the social, cultural, political, and economic conditions of our society, especially during the past half-century (Feagin, 2001; Harnois, 2018). However, this past 2016 presidential election of Donald J. Trump has generated intense feelings of uncertainty and anxiety among Americans, especially among Millennials (ages 18-34), as there seems to be no meaningful solutions presented to resolve America’s big social and economic issues ranging from racial tensions, sexual assault and harassment to income and wealth inequality. And we see that due to America’s individualistic culture, Millennials, like many Americans, are more likely to attribute their failures to personal characteristics—e.g., financial insecurity, racist and sexist thinking/behavior, incompetence, and low self-esteem. Consequently, teaching sociology from a social justice perspective can be met with student resistance and ambivalence, especially from those students coming from privileged and homogeneous backgrounds (Burk and Banks, 2012). In addition, many students have felt uncomfortable discussing inequality in a traditional classroom setting because they have had few meaningful interactions with individuals from different backgrounds. Therefore, based on my successful teaching experiences in the classroom as well as my active involvement in campus diversity programs, this presentation will address the following: the challenges professors and instructors face in the classroom with respect to teaching from a social justice perspective, and the successful implementation of student-centered curricular and co-curricular pedagogies—e.g., inquiry-guided learning, intergroup dialogue, and the Socratic Method of dialogue—inside and outside the traditional classroom setting (Dessel, 2017; Manning, 2017; Nell Rusche and Jason, 2011).

Author

• Timothy D. Levonyan Radloff, East Stroudsburg University