Suggestions for Reading, Watching, and Discussion

Race and Ethnicity      Disabilities     LGBT      Gender    Veterans     Social Class      International      Teacher Education

Equity Issues in Higher Education    Diversity-related Critiques of Fields and Disciplines     Murphy Makes It Easy (Find Your Own!)

See also materials for CBA, Psychology, and CLS (same as the links on the green bar to the left)

Disabilities

  • Higher Ed:  Shaun R. Harper and Stephen John Quaye, eds., Student Engagement in Higher Education:  Theoretical Perspectives and Practical Approaches for Diverse Populations (NY:  Routledge, 2009).  This book examines best practices for the first range of historically underserved populations, and focuses on both the academic and non-academic issues.  Especially good for Student Affairs folk.  Chapter 3 is on students with disabilities.  Several copies of this book are floating around campus.  Contact Deb if you'd like her to find one for you.
  • To learn more about the struggle of people with disabilities to move themselves from being viewed as objects of hate, fear, or pity to valued and equal members of society, check out this website:  Beyond Affliction:  The Disability History Project.  It includes excerpts from the original radio programs funded by the Corporation for Public Broadcasting -- they are quite good.  The Disability History Museum's website is still under development, but the library section of the site includes many full-text sources.  The Disability Rights Movement:  From Charity to Confrontation by Doris Zames Fleischer and Frieda Zames (Philadelphia:  Temple University Press, 2001) offers a good summary overview of the movement and some current issues.
  • Disability Resource Services has a collection of books that they lend out.  The most recent (Fall 2009) list is here.  A good online source for voices of contemporary disability rights activists is at Ragged Edge Online  It includes articles on a wide range of subjects, and offers insights that may surprise and challenge.  The CripLit Disability Bibliography at the Association on Higher Education and Disability (AHEAD) includes a list of "a highly selective, brief listing of a few videos having a stronger emphasis on disability history and culture than most "disability awareness" videos."  From that list, try Breathing Lessons (1996) or Positive Images: Portraits of Women with Disabilities (1989)
  • A good online source for voices of contemporary disability rights activists is at Ragged Edge Online  It includes articles on a wide range of subjects, and offers insights that may surprise and challenge. 
  • The CripLit Disability Bibliography at the Association on Higher Education and Disability (AHEAD) includes a list of "a highly selective, brief listing of a few videos having a stronger emphasis on disability history and culture than most "disability awareness" videos."  From that list, try Breathing Lessons (1996) or Positive Images: Portraits of Women with Disabilities (1989).

Gender

Murphy Library has lots more!  skip to Find Your Own

International

  • Higher Ed:  "Teaching ESL Students in Content Classrooms:  Strategies for Success," Columbia University.
  • An excellent film on international issues includes Hotel Rwanda, "based on the true story of Paul Rusesabagina, a five-star-hotel manager who uses his wits and persuasion in striving to save more than 1,200 Tutsis and Hutus from being massacred by the Interahamwe militia during the 1994 Rwandan conflict."

Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, and Transgender

  • Film has been an excellent way to get students talking about what it's like to be LGB or T in the US, or to understand the LGBT movement both nationally and internationally, so here are a couple of possibilities faculty and staff might also find useful:  Out of the Past (1998) provides a good overview of the presences of LGB people in American history, intertwined around a story of the movement.  After Stonewall (1999), narrated by Melissa Etheridge, goes into greater depth on the history of the movement and is available from the Department of Women's, Gender, and Sexuality Studies.  Milk (2009) is the Hollywood production starring Sean Penn as Harvey Milk;  the documentary The Times of Harvey Milk (1984) is available online.
  • Many of our LGBT students (and their straight friends) struggle with the conflict between their religious upbringing and their sexuality.  The film For the Bible Tells Me So examines the issues.  "Through the experiences of five very normal, very Christian, very American families -- including those of former House Majority Leader Richard Gephardt and Episcopal Bishop Gene Robinson -- we discover how insightful people of faith handle the realization of having a gay child."  The film is available from the Pride Center.  Go here for discussion guides.
  • Challenging Homophobia and Heterosexism:  Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, Transgender and Queer Issues in Organizational Settings (San Francisco, CA: Jossey-Bass, 2006),  ed. by Robert J. Hill provides a good starting point for evaluating departmental and other units as both a work setting and a work setting characterized by serving a diverse population of students. 
  • Do you have a student wanting to do research on sexuality or sexual orientation?  Here's a good starting point for understanding the issues:  Research Methods with Gay, Lesbian, Bisexual, and Transgender Populations (New York: Harrington Park Press/Haworth Social Work Practice Press, 2003), ed. by William Meezan and James I. Martin.
  • Higher Ed:  Shaun R. Harper and Stephen John Quaye, eds., Student Engagement in Higher Education:  Theoretical Perspectives and Practical Approaches for Diverse Populations (NY:  Routledge, 2009).  This book examines best practices for the first range of historically underserved populations, and focuses on both the academic and non-academic issues.  Especially good for Student Affairs folk.  Chapter  4 is on LGBTQ (Q = questioning here) students.  Several copies of this book are floating around campus.  Contact Deb if you'd like her to find one for you.

Non-Traditional Aged Students

Race and Ethnicity

What's the difference between "race" and "ethnicity"?  While race has no biological meaning (i.e., we are all members of the same species), it is the product of very real systems of oppression and privileging based loosely -- very loosely -- on skin color.  Thus, race may also have meaning for many Americans as part of a group history of survival and triumph over oppression.  Racial formation -- the means by which racial hierarchies are created and recreated -- continually reinvents the ideologies and practices that keep structural, systematic inequalities in place.  Racial formation processes have and still do differ for different racial groups.  Asian Americans, for example, are less likely to claim the racial identity of "Asian American" than African Americans are, because these two groups have been racialized in such very different ways.  Whites are less likely even to view themselves as a racial group than other Americans are, because whites as a group have benefited from racial formation, even though not all whites have benefited from the processes of social class stratification.  Ethnicity refers to cultural heritage.  For many Westerners, ethnicity means nationality, but the idea of "nation" is a very Western concept that doesn't work for many populations both in the U.S. and around the world.  For American Indians, for example, ethnicity is the tribe's or language group's culture.  Part of the process of racial formation has historically included the erasure of ethnic heritage.  The two ideas, then, are linked, but clearly not the same. 

Racial Formation

Michael Omi and Howard Winant's Racial Formation in the United States from the 1960s to the 1980s explains the idea of "racial formation."  The process, of course, started well before the 1960s and did not end in the 1980s, nor is it confined to the United States, but this is a good, readable introduction for understanding the process.

How Race is Lived in America:  Pulling Together, Pulling Apart, by Correspondents of the New York Times (NY:  Times Books, 2002) has generated some great discussion at UW-L.  "Originally published as a series in The New York Times, the 15 stories are the outcome of a yearlong examination by a team of reporters who managed to overcome the taboo of discussing private attitudes toward race and uncover the daily experience of race relations in schools, friendships, sports, popular culture, worship, and the workplace. The result is a wide range of intimate portraits, from bringing up slavery in the Old South, to drug cops reacting silently to the Amadou Diallo verdict, to the making of the HBO special The Corner: A Year in the Life of an Inner-City Neighborhood."

Malcolm Gladwell's Blink:  The Power of Thinking Without Thinking (NY:  Little, Brown, 2005) explores why implicit bias matters.   The tests are here:  https://implicit.harvard.edu/implicit/demo/  These tests measure not how racist (or sexist, homophobic, etc.) you are, but rather the extent to which the messages of our culture reside in your sub-conscious.

How about a video?  Tim Wise on White Privilege:  Racism, White Denial & the Costs of Inequality (2008) is excellent. 

Asian American
Hmong:  Many instructors had not heard of the Hmong before coming to UW-L, but we are fortunate to have both students and employees here who are Hmong, as well as a substantial Hmong community in La Crosse.  Here are a couple of books and a video that can give you an introduction to the Hmong culture and traditions.
  • General:  The Latehomecomer:  A Hmong Family Memoir, by Kao Kalia Yang (Minneapolis:  Coffee House Press, 2008) explains the harrowing journey of one Hmong family from Laos to Thailand to the United States.    The Hmong, ed. by Kaarin Alisa (Detroit: Greenhaven Press/Thomson Gale, 2007), is part of the "Coming To America" series by Greenhaven Press. 
  • General:  A People's History of the Hmong, by Paul Hillmer (Minneapolis:  Minnesota Historical Society Press, 2009), released at the end of 2009, focuses especially on the lives of the Hmong peoples prior to coming to the United States. 
  • Higher Ed:  Shaun R. Harper and Stephen John Quaye, eds., Student Engagement in Higher Education:  Theoretical Perspectives and Practical Approaches for Diverse Populations (NY:  Routledge, 2009).  This book examines best practices for the first range of historically underserved populations, and focuses on both the academic and non-academic issues.  Especially good for Student Affairs folk.  Chapters 9 and 10 are on engaging students of color on predominately-white campuses and into out-of-class activities on predominately-white campuses.  Several copies of this book are floating around campus.  Contact Deb if you'd like her to find one for you. The Hmong & General Vang Pao: the secret war in Laos, 1960-1975 (1997) is 2-tape video (VHS) from Hmong ABC Publications.  It explains how and why the Hmong people are in the U.S. today. 
  •  The Latehomecomer:  A Hmong Family Memoir, by Kao Kalia Yang (Minneapolis:  Coffee House Press, 2008) explains the harrowing journey of one Hmong family from Laos to Thailand to the United States. 
  • Information from the Hmong Research Team (UW-Madison) will be available soon;  it includes references to several articles on the experiences of Hmong students in higher education as well as resources for instructors who work with Teacher Education students.
  • Exploring a cuisine can provide some insights into a culture.  A brand-new cookbook has just come out from the University of Minnesota Press (2009), Cooking from the Heart:  The Hmong Kitchen in America by Sami Scripter and Sheng Yang.  It provides a good introduction to traditional Hmong cooking and explores its adaptations in the United States.  The book is available locally.  A copy will appear in the employee lounge in Wimberly Hall soon, so watch for a potluck there this fall. Other buildings are on their own!
  • General:  Driven Out:  The Forgotten War Against Chinese Americans, by Jean Pfaelzer (NY:  Random House, 2007) provides important, and little known, context for examining contemporary life.
  • Yellow:  Race in America Beyond Black and White, by Frank H. Wu (NY:  Basic Books, 2002) is a classic text on race relations in the United States that includes an important analysis of the "Model Minority" stereotype.  One of the Open Door workshops refers to this text.  Available in Murphy Library.

    • African Americans

    • Higher Ed:  Shaun R. Harper and Stephen John Quaye, eds., Student Engagement in Higher Education:  Theoretical Perspectives and Practical Approaches for Diverse Populations (NY:  Routledge, 2009).  This book examines best practices for the first range of historically underserved populations, and focuses on both the academic and non-academic issues.  Especially good for Student Affairs folk.  Chapter 8 is on black men specifically (Harper's particular passion);  Chapters 9 and 10 are on engaging students of color on predominately-white campuses and into out-of-class activities on predominately-white campuses.  Several copies of this book are floating around campus.  Contact Deb if you'd like her to find one for you.
    • General:  Post Traumatic Slave Syndrome:  America's Legacy of Enduring Injury and Healing, by Joy DeGruy Leary.  Milwaukee, OR:  Uptone Press, 2005).  DeGruy Leary was a speaker at the White Privilege Conference when it met right here in La Crosse.  She impressed! 
    • The Immortal Life of Henrietta Lacks, by Rebecca Skloot (NY:  Crown Publishers) examines the life of the woman whose cancer cells have become "one of the most important tools in medicine."  Yet her descendants, living in poverty and without health insurance themselves, knew nothing about their mother's vital role in stopping polio, treating cancer, infertility, and genetics research.   Has been a widely-discussed book in 2010.  You might find this article by a feminist scientist interesting as well:  Lisa Weasel, "Feminist Intersections in Science: Race, Gender and Sexuality Through the Microscope," Hypatia 19:  1 (Winter, 2004):  183-193, https://libweb.uwlax.edu/login?url=http://search.ebscohost.com/login.aspx?direct=true&db=vth&AN=12506564&loginpage=login.asp&site=ehost-live
    • A Hope in the Unseen:  An American Odyssey from the Inner City to the Ivy League, by Ron Suskind (New York:  Broadway Books, 1998).  "The inspiring true story of a ferociously determined young man who, armed only with his intellect and his willpower, fights his way out of despair."  Stunning. 
    • The four videos in the series Slavery and the Making of America are outstanding.  See the series website for much more.
    • There's so much to explore in this field!  Murphy Library would love to have you explore:  skip to Find Your Own

    Latinos/as

    American Indians

    Religion

    Social Class

    • Higher Ed:   Shaun R. Harper and Stephen John Quaye, eds., Student Engagement in Higher Education:  Theoretical Perspectives and Practical Approaches for Diverse Populations (NY:  Routledge, 2009).  This book examines best practices for the first range of historically underserved populations, and focuses on both the academic and non-academic issues.  Especially good for Student Affairs folk.  Chapter 13 is on low-income and first generation college students.  Several copies of this book are floating around campus.  Contact Deb if you'd like her to find one for you.
    • New York Times, Class Matters (NY:  Times Books, 2005).  "The acclaimed New York Times series on social class in America—and its implications for the way we live our lives.  In Class Matters, a team of New York Times reporters explores the ways in which class—defined as a combination of income, education, wealth, and occupation—influences destiny in a society that likes to think of itself as a land of opportunity. We meet individuals in Kentucky and Chicago who have used education to lift themselves out of poverty and others in Virginia and Washington whose lack of education holds them back. We meet an upper-middle-class family in Georgia who moves to a different town every few years, and the newly rich in Nantucket whose mega-mansions have driven out the longstanding residents. And we see how class disparities manifest themselves at the doctor’s office and at the marriage altar."  Deb Hoskins has this, happy to lend it to you.  The website that goes with this book is excellent too:  http://www.nytimes.com/pages/national/class/
    • William Deresiewicz, "The Disadvantages of an Elite Education," The American Scholar.org, Summer 2008.  http://www.theamericanscholar.org/the-disadvantages-of-an-elite-education/

    Veterans

    • As the number of veterans grows and they become eligible for the G.I. Bill, we will be able to welcome more vets to campus.  While not all vets will have experienced combat, many will.  Most will be a little older than our predominantly traditional-aged students so start college right after high school.  Many will have families and many may also need to make a living to support them.  People of color are overrepresented among military veterans, and some are women. 
    • Band of Sisters:  American Women at War in Iraq, by Kirsten Holmstedt (Mechanicsburg, PA:  Stackpole Books, 2007) offers a rare glimpse into the role of women in the military in a conflict with no "front line."
    • Long Hard Road:  NCO Experiences in Afghanistan and Iraq, by the US Sergeants Major Academy (Fort Bliss, Texas : US Army Sergeants Major Academy, 2007) is a collection of papers written by Academy students who had already deployed to Afghanistan or Iraq.  "A wide range of topics have been chosen to allow the reader to understand the preparations, training, and actions needed for NCOs to accomplish their missions." 

    Murphy Library also has some major books on recent war experiences written by journalists. 

    Diversity-related Critiques of Fields and Disciplines

    Equity Issues in Higher Education

    Teacher Education

    • The School of Education provides some diversity resources for Teacher Educators.  The Wisconsin History Collaborative website provides a lot of resources for particular populations in particular time periods, both U.S. and around the world. 
    • The Wisconsin Department of Public Instruction also provides "resource guides to help classroom teachers better understand the students and families they serve." You can find those at the Create Wisconsin:  Teach All, Reach All website.

    How to Find Your Own Stuff!

    Try the Diversity Resources pages at Murphy Library: http://www.uwlax.edu/murphylibrary/diversity/index.html 

    An especially useful feature for people trying to identify books and media on diversity topics in the Library is the search feature on this page:  http://www.uwlax.edu/murphylibrary/diversity/search.html  People can search by keyword (and limit by diversity category if they choose) to pull up a quick bibliography.

    Murphy Diversity page

    The web page also quickly directs people to relevant (department) subject guides.  Another fine service from our utterly awesome professional library staff!