Abstract
This article promotes closer rhetorical analysis of the current trend in higher education to institutionalize equity, inclusion, diversity, and access (EIDA) work without routinely interrogating the orienting terms used in such efforts. It may be easy to mistake the intentions of EIDA work as determining its value, thus discouraging a critical examination of the rhetorical outcomes it produces and the rhetorical effects it invites. We suggest that one insight such analysis could offer is a better account of the rhetorical constraints of the term “diversity.” In this article, we review a range of compelling critiques that have been offered of the limitations of “diversity” as it appears in higher education discourse. We suggest “dignity” as a promising alternative to “diversity” as an alternate orienting term for EIDA work in higher education.
Highlights
Institutions and InclusionsPolarization has become the anticipated state of affairs on college campuses and in the broader public culture in recent years
Given the compelling critiques that have been offered of the limitations of “diversity” as it appears in higher education discourse, we suggest it is time to explore alternate orienting terms as we continue to enhance and refine our approach to EIDA
If we are concerned not with performing diversity but instead with equipping students to create rhetorical cultures governed by dignity and mutual respect, our pedagogical strategies must be designed to promote civic engagement and leadership in service of equity, inclusion, and access
Summary
Polarization has become the anticipated state of affairs on college campuses and in the broader public culture in recent years. Recent controversies—for example, the Trump administration’s restrictive bans on immigration, the ongoing violence of White Americans and police against racial minorities, the attempt to overthrow the certification of the 2020 presidential election and the January 6, 2021 attack on the United States Capitol, and the COVID-19 pandemic—have solidified the role that institutions of higher education play in staging the conflicts of broader political polarization. These controversies have made even more visible the ways in which organizations that uphold the ideology of White supremacy and rely on numerous types of misinformation have been constitutive of an even larger rift between political parties (making bipartisan politics almost impossible) in the United States.
Sign-in/Register to view highlights & summary Talk to us
Join us for a 30 min session where you can share your feedback and ask us any queries you have
Schedule a callMore From: Journal of the Scholarship of Teaching and Learning
Disclaimer: All third-party content on this website/platform is and will remain the property of their respective owners and is provided on "as is" basis without any warranties, express or implied. Use of third-party content does not indicate any affiliation, sponsorship with or endorsement by them. Any references to third-party content is to identify the corresponding services and shall be considered fair use under The CopyrightLaw.
