This book is a practical guide for educators seeking to facilitate diversity, equity, and inclusion (DEI) conversations in higher education. More than ever, students expect their learning to address the pressing challenges in our world today. Against the backdrop of growing social justice movements, cancel culture, and deepening polarization, faculty and administrators require effective skills to navigate the strong opinions and emotions that arise when addressing social issues in the classroom and on campus. Authors in this timely volume unpack why DEI conversations are difficult, highlight common missteps when facilitating such conversations, and offer readers practical skills that support robust, inclusive, and meaningful discussions. Featuring real-world examples from educators on the front lines, this book provides actionable tools and practices to cultivate learning environments that foster student engagement, deep learning, inclusion, and a sense of belonging.

Table of Contents

1. Introduction: An Invitation for Engagement
Anatasia S. Kim, Miguel E. Gallardo, and Sherri Taylor

2. Building a Learning Community for Organizational Change
Douglas M. Haynes and Marguerite Bonous-Hammarth

3. Vulnerability as a Catalyst to Growth Mindset: Building Inclusive Learning Environments
Matthew L. Cole and Jacqueline M. Stavros

4. Addressing and Acknowledging Power and Privilege
Sheila Thomas and Felisa Nobles

5. The Importance of Intersectionality: Cultivating Diversity, Equity, Inclusion, Belonging, and Justice in Psychology
Erlanger A. Turner, Raquel Martin, Dominique A. Malebranche, Maryam Jernigan-Noesi, Jasmine D. Newsome, James J. García, and Brian Griffith

6. Developing Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion Syllabi and Curricula: An Example in Academic Medicine
Jocelyn I. Meza, Dominique Taylor, Tashalee Brown, and Eraka Bath

7. Preparing, Creating the Space, and Initiating DEI Conversations
Yvette Gullatt and Lalitha Sankarannn

8. Navigating and Managing Strong Emotions and Divergent Views
Jude Bergkamp, Melissa Kennedy, and Natalie Kiran Sridhar

9. Navigating Tensions and Confrontations: Opportunities for Social Justice Dialogues in the Classroom
Milton A. Fuentes and Laura Quiros

10. Moving Through the Messiness of DEI Conversations (Where the Real Work Takes Place)
Alette Coble-Temple, Elizabeth Scriven, and Julia Durski (Contributors: Alexandra M. Johnson and Alisha Hodges)

11. Transformative Practice for DEIBJA in Virtual Learning Settings
Loren Intolubbe-Chmil, Kalpana Gupta, Karen Crouch, and Jennifer Bacon

12. Closing: Moving Forward Together
Anatasia S. Kim, Miguel E. Gallardo, and Sherri Taylor

Editor(s)

Anatasia S. Kim is Professor of Clinical Psychology at The Wright Institute, USA.

Miguel E. Gallardo is Professor of Psychology and Program Director of Aliento, The Center for Latinx Communities at Pepperdine University, USA.

Sherri Taylor is independent consultant and trainer, as well as Trauma Specialist at The Workplace Wellness Project, USA.