CLAS would like to acknowledge an error in the spring 2021 Syllabus Addendum that was distributed on 12/22/2020. In particular, Section 1 included a Diversity Statement section. In this section a “Diversity Statement Example” was provided. This syllabus example was inaccurately credited to Drs. Faye Caronan and Nelia Viveros and did not include the proper citations. This example was compiled by Dr. Sneha Thamotharan. Her entire Diversity Section is provided below and includes in-text citations to credit all involved scholars.
It is my intent that ALL students, regardless of background and perspective, are all well served by this course. I view the diversity that different students bring to the class as a resource, strength, and benefit to the ideal of a university education (L. Hernandez). Therefore, this course is a designated safe zone and inclusive to gender, sexual orientation, religion, ability/neurodevelopment, age, socio-economic status, ethnicity, culture, political views, etc. In addition, I would like to create a learning environment for my students that supports a diversity of thoughts, perspective and experiences, as well as HONORS and EMPOWERS your identities (M. Linden). If you have a name that differs from those that appear in your official UC Denver records, please let me know (M. Linden).
Moreover, in our structured and unstructured discussions and dialogues, we also will have many opportunities to explore some challenging issues and increase our understandings of different perspectives (A. Portnoy). Always we will need respect for others. It is my goal to create a learning environment where all of us can learn to communicate with each other across our differences. These conversations are not always easy; we sometimes will make mistakes in our speaking and our listening; sometimes we will need patience or courage or imagination or any number of qualities in combination to engage our texts, our classmates, and our own ideas and experiences (A. Portnoy). My goal is to create a learning environment where all of us (myself included) will embrace opportunities to learn from our mistakes (Q.R. Kukla). However, please keep in mind that intentionally using disrespectful, demeaning, and insulting language will not be tolerated in this class. Intentional use of racist, ableist, sexist, homophobic, transphobic, fatphobic, ageist, xenophobic, and other prejudiced language and views are unacceptable as parts of our shared discourse. When these terms are used unintentionally, I expect all of us to take responsibility for the negative impact this might have on members of our classroom community. If one of your classmates tells you that a term is derogatory, then take their word for it and stop using it. You are not the authority on which words hurt another person. If someone tells you that a word is hurtful, then it is your job to find a way of making your point without hurting them, NOT their job to convince you that they are in fact legitimately hurt (Q.R. Kukla).
An additional aim of our course will be for us to increase our openness and responsiveness with the sometimes-difficult conversations that arise as we deepen our understandings of multiple perspectives – whatever our backgrounds, experiences, or positions (A. Portnoy). With that said, please let me know if something said or done in the classroom, by either myself or other students, is particularly troubling or causes discomfort or offense (L. Hernandez). While our intention may not be to cause discomfort or offense, the impact of what happens throughout the course is not to be ignored and is something that I consider to be very important and deserving of attention (L. Hernandez).