In this article from Religious Studies News’ Spotlight on Teaching, Shenandoah University faculty member Kevin Minister writes about the changes that took place in his classroom as a result of deploying Reflective Structured Dialogue.
“Most students who identify as white tended to shrink in their chairs and avoid eye contact
whenever my classes discussed race,” he writes, “Naming this dynamic and the privilege associated with being able to evade speaking about race changed little. Discomfort still dripped from their downturned eyes and shoulders. I could see how this shifted responsibility for the discussion disproportionately onto students of color and caused many students to disengage.
“Things finally changed when I began teaching through dialogue, normalizing the expectation that everyone in the class would speak to the course content in light of their experiences. Engaging the work of racial and religious equity through dialogue requires all students to reflect on how these issues connect to their lives, to name their own commitments to pursuing equity, and to become more comfortable in discussing issues of equity.”
Click on the link below to access a printable PDF of the article, as well as the complete issue of Religious Studies News.
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