Intersectionality and Positionality: Reflecting on Teacher and Student Identities

Part One: Preparing for the Multimedia Presentations

1. Review Crenshaw, K (2016). The Urgency of Intersectionality. TEDWomen. Available: https://www.ted.com/talks/kimberle_crenshaw_the_urgency_of_intersectionality?utm_campaign=tedspread&utm_medium=referral&utm_source=tedcomshareLinks to an external site. 
2. Everyone read:
1. Subini Ancy Annamma & Maisha Winn (2019): Transforming Our Mission: Animating Teacher Education through Intersectional Justice, Theory Into Practice, DOI: 10.1080/00405841.2019.1626618. https://doi.org/10.1080/00405841.2019.1626618 Links to an external site.. Here’s the PDF: Annamma and Winn, 2019.pdf
1. This reading is challenging because it asks us to consider some uncomfortable ideas about US society and culture. But it also provides the opportunity to expand our notions of who is absent from wider conversations. 
2. Read Christensen (2020) Chapter One, from Burant, T., Christensen, L., Walters, S., & Salas, K. D. (Eds.). (2020). The new teacher book: Finding Purpose, Balance, and Hope during your first years in the classroom. Rethinking Schools. You can find it here: https://tinyurl.com/4rc6suh3Links to an external site.. NOTE: This is a link to Amazon. Read the sample text as it’s most of the chapter.   
3. Select one of the below to read or view:
1. Chapter 2, Tatum, B. D. (2017). Why are all the Black kids sitting together in the cafeteria?: And other conversations about race. Hachette UK. Available: https://montclair.instructure.com/courses/171151/files?preview=14826593 OR
2. Tatum, B. (n.d). Why are all the Black Kids Sitting Together in the Cafeteria? Chicago Humanities Festival. Available: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PGZniOuoREULinks to an external site.
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4. Seek out one peer-reviewed article in your content area( which is art education) that discusses and employs intersectionality as its theoretical/pedagogical lens. 
1. I did some checking to confirm there’s research for all content areas and I have a new list for summer reading. 
2. You can use any of the databases available at SpragueLinks to an external site., or start your search at Google ScholarLinks to an external site.. Note: Google Scholar does not report out all resources available, and you will need to narrow your timeframe andrefine your searches to get to a “reasonable” list. For that reason you might want to search using ProQuest or Ebsco. 
5. Take close notes about what you read and/or view. Be prepared to use these and other course resources to complete this project. 

Part Two: Guidelines for Reflection, Note-taking, and Completing the Essay

Reflect on the different spaces–family (by relation and/or “found”), school, community, faith organization, etc., the people, and the major influences in your life that have shaped how you view yourself and others. Part of this reflection should include whether how you view yourself (your identity) is similar to or different from how others and society views you (as an individual and as a member of different groups). It is important to spend time dwelling on societal views of race, ethnicity, gender, sexuality, socioeconomic status, (dis)ability, religion/ethics diversity, and difference, and how those definitions might create inequitable experiences. 

The notes and examples you identify in your reflection as outlined above become the data for the rest of this assignment. Employing intersectionality, consider advantages and inequities you and others experience as a function of “not being able to see or name” (e.g., Crenshaw, The Urgency of Intersectionality). You MAY use examples from your field experience, where appropriate. 

Then, consider the major influences and experiences that might shape your future students’ learning experiences and how they come to see themselves, and what role your content area and its curriculum plays in affirming students’ identities and achieving more equitable learning opportunities. 

The Essay

1. Introduce the essay: In your own words, define intersectionality and support your definition by explicitly connecting back to course resources. Be sure to be mindful of plagiarizing by using citations and quotations appropriately (in APA7 format). Then, provide a highlight of what you will discuss based upon the priming questions/thoughts below.
2. Defining Intersectionality: What is your intersectional identity? Be specific in your language use. If you don’t know how to word it, do what you can and use the comment function to point out your trouble spot). What was the first time you recall realizing that the world was not just like the one in which you were growing up? When was the first time you remember being conscious of people, families, and communities being different from you and yours?
1. What role did your family, p12 educational experience, community, etc., play in the development of your intersectional identity? Provide explicit examples. Some sub questions to help:
2. What is the racial, ethnic, religious, and socioeconomic composition of your P12 schools, neighborhoods, and family? 
3. What values were conveyed by family attitudes about your race/ethnicity and the race/ ethnicity of others? Gender, sexuality, socioeconomics, (dis)ability, etc.?
4. How did family, friends, movies, books, social media, etc., influence how you “see/saw” the world? What messages did you? To what extent do you believe you’ve internalized them?
5. What happened to you personally, and what are the historic events (for instance, covid, Charlottesville, January 6, etc.) or experiences that made you aware of your own views about the people and communities who make up US society (think systemic racism, sexism, homophobia, transphobia, religious intolerance, immigrant status, etc)? 
3. Discuss how you will use your developing understanding of intersectionality to provide equitable learning experiences that honor and nurture students’ intersectional identities, set them up for success, and ensure belonging in the classroom and the wider community. Refer to the resources, and where applicable refer back to your experiences and 50-hour observations to provide connections and context. 
4. Conclude the essay. Provide examples of your next steps in terms of exploring intersectional and equity-based teaching practices. While you may provide some general ideas, your primary goal here is to extend your new learning to teaching in your content area. 

Important Reminders

1. The essay should be no more than 2500-well chosen words, using professional writing conventions expected for graduate-level work.
2. Consider using Spelling and Grammar Check in Docs or Grammarly to tighten up your writing and identify spelling errors and grammatical issues (we will talk about why in class). If you use Grammarly, use it to also identify areas in your writing that you need to develop. You may also ask a colleague to review your essay before you submit it.
3. DO NOT use AI to write the essay. It’s not that hard to figure out and the apps often provide incorrect and biased information. 
4. Refer back to the resources, using appropriate citation techniques. I recommend you use the Sell-checker in Turnitin to ensure your essay is free of plagiarizing.
5. Use APA7 citation methods.