EPOL 517

Credit: 4 hours.

Examines contemporary theories of race, gender, class, and sexuality, as well as analyzing how their dynamics play out in U.S. public schooling and history. In an attempt to discuss a range of disciplinary and theoretical approaches to diversity, we will shift among historical, sociological, political, theoretical and pedagogical issues. Traces the place of diversity in forming notions of citizenship, community, identity, and political affiliation/alliance. While two extended examples will focus on the interplay of race, class, and gender in the school-based issues of drop out rates and gendered interactions in the classroom and playground, we will also consider contemporary theories of diversity in local and global contexts.