Statement of Diversity

Diversity and Non-Discrimination Clause
We probably come from different cultural, social and political backgrounds. I have rarely met people with a background very similar to my own (outside of my own family). I will try to be as respectful as I can be of your culture, social-being and political understandings. These are very important things to me, and things that I like to explore within the classroom. I am a student of intercultural communication. I am also a feminist and critical scholar. I will work very hard to NOT provide easy answers, but to raise many, many questions. I hope you can find some patience with this process, and help me to look for questions rather than just put up roadblocks and endings. What this means, in effect, though, is we need to find new methods of communication within the classroom. I value discussion, but also strive to provide a safe environment, where many people of diverse backgrounds can share with some degree of security.

I do not favor power-driven debate, contentious conflict, and other communicative methods of trying to establish truth through power. I do realize that as your instructor, I certainly have the power of being an authority figure, especially within the classroom. I will use many forms of communication: lecture, discussion, small group, WebCT postings, but I am always open to suggestions. I also try to maintain a high-level of accessibility. If you have problems with any of my chosen forms of communication, please bring it to my attention. I do want to interact with you, especially around problems you might have with me or my style of teaching. I would love to hear from you before you carry it to others. If you find this difficult, please feel free to talk to someone within the department of Communication Studies.