The American Dream, Colorblind Ideology, and Nationalism: Teaching Diversity Courses as a Woman Faculty of Color

Abstract

Employing critical race theory, transnational feminisms, and autoethnography, this article illustrates the ways I perceive many students in my classrooms discount systemic discrimination based on gender, race, and globalization. By analyzing student-generated data and my own experiences, I uncover many students’ conceptions of social issues are deeply informed and shaped by the dominant ideas such as the notion of the American Dream and colorblind ideology. They construct the global South in contrast to the assumed superior national identity of the United States, and particularly consider women to be submissive victims of their patriarchal cultures. I argue that if one of the key purposes of higher education is to help students develop critical thinking, those at predominantly White institutions need to devise a more robust diversity curriculum across disciplines. This approach will also assist in curtailing challenges many women Faculty of Color face because students will be expected to learn about local and global inequalities in a sustained way.