Preconference

“This is not our heritage.” Diversity, Classroom Engagement, Success, and the Fate of ‘Somebody Else’s Babies’

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Abstract

U.S. Diversity requirement courses are often among those classes where students do not want to engage. Recently, a class was asked why we should—or should not—care about Native history. The class agreed with the opinion that “this is not our heritage.” This presentation will try to disentangle that statement, look at some markers for potential professional success after graduation, and draw some conclusions about how diversity courses should be taught (and attended). This is only possible in a broader context. An Iowa politician recently made a similar statement as the students when he said that our civilization cannot be continued by “somebody else’s children.” In this context, we have to get our students to think about responsibility, values, connections, culture, ethnicity, and “race,” and who “we” and “somebody else” are, and if anything connects us. We also need to think about how we can teach about diversity issues without simply engaging in an (often expected) political correctness-discourse.