Deconstructing Privilege: Teaching and Learning as Allies in the Classroom Edited by Kim A. Case.

Abstract

Deconstructing Privilege: Teaching and Learning as Allies in the Classroom, an edited book by Kim A. Case, is written with postsecondary educators in mind—particularly professors in psychology and related therapeutic fields, the academic disciplines from which many of the chapters’ authors originate. Deconstructing Privilege recognizes a need to acknowledge the privilege that remains largely invisible in most college classrooms. Each author provides compelling examples for how conversations and assignments can disrupt hegemony in simple yet meaningful ways. Some professors intentionally infuse critical pedagogy within their classrooms, while others overlook the fundamental ways in which privilege and oppression affect students’ lives. Reasons like this precisely identify why books like Deconstructing Privilege are needed. Although the fields of student affairs or gender studies were not intended as audiences for this book, relevant pieces and exercises within the work can be adapted to contribute to educators’ daily practices, introduced into courses and trainings that educators in these fields lead, and impart them with a desire to be better allies to their colleagues and students. Deconstructing Privilege is comprised of a host of brief pedagogical interventions for helping educators infuse privilege studies within the classroom. The book is broken into three sections: