ITD Workshops
Diversifying Your Syllabus for Inclusive Instruction
Spring 2021
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Course syllabi are important codifying documents when it comes to issues of diversity, equity, and inclusion. Presented as the initial contract between professors and students, and frequently the only public record of course content, syllabi identify official curriculum in the form of learning objectives and course requirements. At the same time, syllabi also contain “hidden curriculum,” communicating information about the values held by instructors, our disciplines, and our universities. In the humanities, Edward Said, for example, has described how knowledge practices create imaginary geographies, by presenting the identities and cultures of non-white and non-“western” individuals as Others. Even in STEM disciplines that do not seem to directly engage issues of culture, the policies, language, and course content contained in the syllabus can set the tone for more or less inclusive classrooms. In this hands-on workshop, we will offer practical ways for faculty to interrogate thei