An expert on extremism, far-right movements, and youth radicalization, Cynthia Miller-Idriss is the director of research at American University's Center for University Excellence, where she runs the Polarization and Extremism Research and Innovation Lab (PERIL). PERIL addresses issues of youth polarization and extremist radicalization through…

In 2009, the University of Wisconsin-Eau Claire's (UWEC) women's studies program offered its first iteration of the faculty-led international immersion course Women's Lives and Experiences in Nicaragua. This program was created and initially led by Dr. Rose-Marie Avin, a faculty member in the economics department and an affiliate member of both…

The issue of whether to "come out" in class has a poignant history in the literature by gay, lesbian and bisexual educators on this topic. By comparison few heterosexuals have publicly written about whether they explicitly reveal their heterosexuality to students. This paper contributes to the enduring debate about whether to "come out" in class…

This article has its origins in the Macpherson report's contention that public organisations in British society are characterised by institutional racism. Drawing upon the Parekh report's identification of ten components of institutional racism, the article examines which, if any, of these components are manifest in a university in Central England…

Americans are obsessed with heroes, and they seemingly create them from anyone and everyone, anywhere and everywhere. This predilection is also clear in American histories. Their belief in heroes shows their connection to their society and culture, their willingness to follow someone in their social settings, and their belief that good people who…

In this article, the author describes her friend Lynn, a girlie-girl of the highest order. Lynn wears shiny, pointy shoes, never has a hair out of place, and can appear glamorous in jeans and a T-shirt. She puts a zillion products on her face, but never looks like one of those women who use too much makeup. Her clothes are hip and trendy, and…

People who follow trends in higher education are aware of a renewed emphasis on religious plurality and spirituality on college campuses. But all the articles, conferences, and campus activities surrounding religion and spirituality rarely, if at all, acknowledge one group: students who are atheists. If colleges are to be truly inclusive, they…

Does it matter who teaches disability studies, whether that teacher has a disability or not? Maybe this might strike the reader as a peculiar question--to focus on the teacher's body or knowledge standpoint. There are certain theoretical and ontological implications in asking such questions. This article is an attempt to theorise about the way the…

In this essay, the author draws on her experience as a minority teacher conducting a course called "Neighborhood, Community, and Identity" to outline some important lessons for minority teachers attempting to teach diversity: (1) When teaching dissident material, it is especially important to create a classroom climate that encourages all students…

A faculty member at Amherst discusses the challenges that have shaken his "self-edifice." He says there was strain "in the scrambling, adjusting, re-doing, remodeling of the mind, and in the constant collisions with past fatuity and obliviousness." Mina Shaughnessy's "Errors and Expectations" is recommended. (MLW)

Argues that maintaining a distinction between public and private spheres of behavior can obscure the inequities experienced by lesbian and gay persons in the public sphere of academia. How distorted logic supports the public/private dichotomy is demonstrated through interviews of a lesbian faculty member. (SLD)

The author is a full-blood Saginaw Chippewa Indian tribal member who is trying to enter the world of academia late in life. He relates he has never been subjected to unfair treatment or criticism from others because of the color of his skin. He has taught part-time at the University of Texas College of Communications and last year at South Dakota…

Examines and compares the new black conservative thinkers who are leading the opposition to affirmative action and other government interventions designed to advance the educational position of blacks. The author reviews such major figures as Shelby Steele, Glenn C. Loury, Walter E. Williams, William Julius Wilson, and Thomas Sowell. (GR)

The current faculty role is seen as influenced by two philosophical themes in higher education--pragmatism and idealism. The idealist school has the broad objective of character formation, while the pragmatist school favors teaching the acquisition of useful skills to attain success in life. (Author/MLW)

A theory is presented describing the structure of the conceptual patterns and demonstrating how sexism or racism (red-neck or symbolic) is developed and institutionalized in the interview process. After a review of recent research on the subject, the author explores the structural relationship of the American belief system, tracing its roots from…