) One-pager
Your “one-pager” assignment for this week will be to write and submit a 500-word
passage describing your understanding of intersectionality in your profession. In this
assignment, you will draw on a set of readings listed on the syllabus and the literature
discussed in these lecture notes. Do not quote from the sources – there is no room for
that – but use your own words to describe your understanding of the concept based on
the sources. Your one-pager should include in-text citations (e.g. “Cazden, 2012) but no
reference list, unless you are referring to sources from outside of the course. If you are
citing lecture notes, you can use “Lecture notes, week X” as the in-text citation.
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In this task and throughout the course, we would like you to make this and other
concepts meaningful to you, no matter what your role or workplace context. Therefore,
we invite you to make sense of intersectionality for you and the students you work with.
For example, you are welcome to describe intersectionality through two or more
identities most apparent in your context – whether that be Hispanic students with
disabilities, Asian American English Learners living in poverty, or transgender homeless
females, to give some examples.
The readings for this week are assigned by educational context – read at least
one of them. Then, integrate what you learn from the articles with what you learned from
the lecture notes, and compose your essay on intersectionality in your field.
A look ahead: Next week’s assignment
As we said, next week we will use intersectionality as a lens to look at interpersonal
issues. In order to do that, we are asking you to critically look at your own intersecting
identities in an autobiography assignment. Although this is not due until Sunday of
Week 5, we’d like you to start preparing for the assignment now. We’re sure you already
haven, as you’ve reflected on your own background in relation to the readings this
week. In this 1000-word autobiography, you will examine at least 3 intersecting identity
markers, reflecting on how they have influenced your educational, professional, and life
trajectory. Your reflection should be rooted in literature on intersectionality and you must
include in-text citations and references.
Your essay should include the following:
● A clear descriiption of at least three identity markers
● A reflection on how one (or all) of your identity markers have worked for or
against you either personally and/or professionally
● A reflection on how you have (or can) leverage(d) your experience based on
identity markers to support those who share any of your identities and/or those
who do not (think of positive use of privilege).
Lastly, here are some tools to help you write the autobiography:
– Identity wheel
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– “Thought experiments” from Any Taranath:
a. Think about your personal history and the life experiences that have
influenced the development of your identities over time. How do you
identify yourself in relation to race, class, gender, and so forth? Have
some of these identities been more important at one stage of your life or
another? Why?
b. In which groups do you consider yourself a member? Is this how others
view you, and if not, what do you make of the discrepancy between selfimage and how others see you? Do most of the people you choose to
spend time with share certain identities with you? For example, if you are
white or an athlete, are you in the company of whites or athletes most
often? As college is often regarded as a time to experience new ideas and
encounters, how can your college years serve as an avenue to make
connections with people who are different than you?
c. As you begin to become aware of the range of identities belonging to each
of us, are there identities that are privileged over others? For example,
think of the societal supports available for men and how these might be
different for women. How are particular group identities strengthened and
maintained by society, and how are other identities constructed as
improper? For instance, heterosexuality is considered the “norm” in most
societies, whereas LGBT identities are often charged as “unnatural or
deviant.” What happens to these distinctions when we begin to consider
the intersection of identities, that is, when a person simultaneously
inhabits both identities that are privileged and disadvantaged? For
example, an upper-middle class white woman occupies both advantaged
(class) and disadvantaged identities (gender).
