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How To Teach Systemic Privilege and Oppression
Module 3: Ways to Teach Systemic Oppression and Privilege*
From Ways to Incorporate DEI into Your Courses By David Luke, Chief Diversity Officer, University of Michigan, Flint
How To Teach Systemic Privilege and Oppression
There are numerous books that one can use to begin teaching about systemic privilege and oppression. One classic text is Allan Johnson’s Privilege, Power, and Difference, which is a relatively short, concise, and accessible overview. Alternatively, it would be helpful for faculty to consult a book like Diane J. Goodman’s Promoting Diversity and Social Justice: Educating People from Privileged Groups, which has pointers on how to manage classroom discussions on systemic oppression and privilege.
The above overview that I provided is merely a primer, but to lead a class through learning about systemic oppression requires a deeper knowledge, as well as preparation for the resistance one is destined to encounter
Exercise for the Classroom
One potential exercise for teaching about privilege and oppression is called “Forced Choices.” An instructor hangs up “identity sheets” around the room, spaced out, with different aspects of one’s identity listed on each sheet (e.g., race, class, gender, sexual orientation, immigration status, education, age, religion, etc.). Students are then asked to respond to a series of questions by walking to the sheet that represents the identity that best answers the question. Questions (outlined in more detail on page 39 of the linked document) include:
- This is the identity I think about most often.
- When I think of my friend/peer group, this is the identity that we have most in common.
- This is the identity that brings me the most struggle, pain, challenge, or concern.
Instructors can use their judgment to generate other questions to help students think about the ways their identities impact their lived experiences within systems that privilege or marginalize them by virtue of these multiple, intersecting identities.
*Published 07/22. © 2022 Sage Publishing. All rights reserved. All other brand and product names are the property of their respective owners.