Teaching Controversial Topics

This Teaching + Learning workshop will be lead by Carole Ann Berenson (Taylor Institute), Valerie Pruegger (Office of Diversity, Equity, and Protected Disclosure) and Florentine Strzelczyk (Vice Dean - Faculty of Arts).

Programs in the Faculty of Arts often deal with subjects that can prove to be controversial such as race/ethnicity, gender/sex/sexuality, faith/religion/fundamentalism, and geo-politics (including war, genocide, invasion, and the Holocaust). The teaching of controversial topics presents an opportunity to expose students to a variety of perspectives, and to provide them with tools to analyze issues and communicate across differences.

However, as diversity in our classrooms increases, instructors may be confronted more than ever before with challenging situations that have the potential to divide students. Reactions can range from perceived harmless jokes in a class discussion, to a sincere argument over distinct beliefs, to more hateful incidents outside the classroom such as hate speech and/or violence directed at a specific group. In this interactive session we will address ways to prepare for and lead discussions about controversial issues by creating and maintaining respectful and inclusive classroom environments in which students can learn from each other's perspectives.

By the end of this workshop, participants will be able to implement strategies to design and lead productive class discussions in order to maximize student learning and engagement on controversial subjects.

Please refer to the advance reading here by Nicole Fournier-Sylvester on Daring to Debate: Strategies for teaching controversial issues in the classroom.