Identity, Power and Difference

Instructors: Dr. Andriette Jordan-Fields ajordanfields@iliff.edu

Rev. Meghan Johnston Aelabouni mjohnstonaelabouni@iliff.edu

Welcome to the course Identity, Power and Difference!!! We are truly excited to be on this creative and empowering journey with you. This class provides rich opportunities to engage challenging topics with regards to identity, power and differences in our lives, our towns and cities, our faith communities, our country and our world. IPD demands not only academic work but emotional and spiritual work as well. We will walk together as a community as we have conversations about identity, power, and difference, and how that interacts with religion, spirituality and your personal vocation.

We will explore the socially constructed nature of identity, power, and difference. We will examine our own individual identities and social locations critically. We hope to move from an individualistic worldview to an ideal of a structure/system that we participate in /benefit from/are disadvantaged by. This work is foundational to being in a school of theology. All theology is socially contingent and our respective social location shapes how we do theology. Being an effective minister, religious leader, and social justice agent requires an examination of our power and privilege and their effects on those around us in our communities and society. The critical consciousness of our place in the world and how we benefit from the oppression of others is integral in engaging in theology which stands for justice, equity, and equality.

Why does Iliff require IPD of all of our professional degree students?

• The course expresses Iliff’s core justice commitments by introducing students to anti-oppression work as a central element of any kind of ministry or religious leadership work.
• Iliff is committed to educating persons who have some initial competence in working in multicultural environments and who understand their need to nurture this competency through a lifelong practice of ongoing education and development.
• We hope to help students continue to develop their understanding of the way their complex, embodied social identity has been shaped and what it communicates about them and how it influences their perspectives in the US context of structural inequality, and to begin to attend to the potential impact that this social identity could have on their work in the world.
• We are introducing some basic conceptual and interpersonal tools to navigate constructively within interlocking systems of advantage and oppression.
• We understand this work as part of students’ vocational and spiritual formation as well as preparation to fully engage other courses in the curriculum that work on issues of colonialism, oppression, and privilege in historical and contemporary contexts.

All reading materials are provided on Canvas!!!

Course Synopsis

Identity, Power, and Difference cultivates students’ ability to engage in social and theological analysis, particularly about social structures, ideologies, and embodied practices that lead to domination or oppression. It helps students think critically about their own social locations; their power and privilege, and what effect these have on their professional and vocational contexts (as pastors, ministers, educators, and religious and non-profit community leaders). The course takes the perspective that this sort of analysis is crucial to serving effectively in today’s complex social environment. It encourages students to deepen their commitment to dismantling privilege and oppression at individual, institutional, and societal levels. It also seeks to help students move within their varied levels of awareness about matters of power and difference to action. This course embodies Iliff’s core commitments to respect difference and foster just relationships both in this context and beyond the school.

No books need to be purchased for this course.

Course Overview:

Identity, Power and Difference (IPD) is founded on the idea that the social and theological analyses required of religious (and other) leaders is most effectively done when one is aware of one’s own social location and identity within the matrices of difference and power within their culture and religious contexts. It helps students to develop and/or enhance professional skills for working sensitively and openly across difference and becoming social justice allies. Skills include: analyzing systemic oppression, understanding one’s social location in light of that analysis, becoming aware of one’s own assumptions and patterns of response, becoming willing to work in the midst of uncertainty, becoming prepared to take risks and fail and still take the risk again, developing constructive practices of alliance, resistance, and resilience.

IPD is a course without easy answers that requires honest, paradoxical, and critical thinking. As we move into this work together, we find the words of Kathleen Talvacchia author of Critical Minds and Discerning Hearts: A Spirituality of Multicultural Teaching particularly helpful: “I often remind myself (and others at the seminary) of an important reality: It is not that there is a solution already in existence that will assist us in negotiating the necessary conflicts that social structural difference and diversity impose, one that we are refusing to implement. Rather, we are creating in our struggles a blueprint that we can bring to our work in the world. It is the profound work of co-creation with God and prophetic reimagining forming new modes of community in a pluralistic world. We are discovering ways to live in diversity that respect difference and foster just relationships.”(3)

Accordingly, the course is organized around five themes. These themes will serve as a framework with which to organize our learning and discussions around the concepts of Identity, Power and Difference.

 Course Themes

Theme One: The Social Construction of Difference: The Contingent Nature of Identity, Theology; Moving from Individuals to Systems

The first theme of the course is about exploring the socially constructed nature of identity, power, and difference. This involves each of us examining our own individual identities and social locations critically. We hope to move from an individualistic worldview to an idea of a structure/system that we participate in/benefit from/are disadvantaged by. This work is foundational to being in a school of theology. All theology is socially contingent and our respective social location shapes how we do theology. Being an effective minister or religious leader requires an examination of our power and privilege and its effect on those around us in our communities and society. The critical consciousness of our place in the world and how we benefit from the oppression of others is part-and-parcel of engaging in theology which stands for justice, equity, and equality.

Theme Two : The Relationship between Privilege and Oppression: The Race-Class Nexus and Other Forms of Intersectionality

The focus here is on how oppression and privilege are linked. Privilege/s depend upon oppression/the oppressed to exist. We will explore how categories of identity are interrelated, and how we are connected to others historically and communally.

Theme Three : How oppression/ privileged works intersectionally in everyday experiences through structures, institutions, and systems

 Just because differences may be socially constructed and culturally mediated does not mean they don’t have significant material and psychological consequences. Oppression and privilege are not just concepts. They are real and have real effects on human bodies. Here we explore the ways in which oppression and privilege play themselves out daily through personal and institutional practices. On personal, congregational, community, national, and global levels, oppression and privilege get played out differently and often in unconscious and obscured ways. Individuals can benefit from or be hurt by unjust structures without being at fault, but that doesn't get us off the hook for trying to make things better.

Theme Four : Modes of Resistance

It's not easy to face our own intersecting identities, and doing the hard work of self-examination of privileged and marginalized identities is demanding. At times, each of us may feel boxed-in into one's identity and find that pressure difficult to negotiate. As challenging as it may be, the best practice at these times is to explore this experience openly with a community of accountability. This isn't one-time kind of work; our efforts must be persistent and proactive.

Theme Five : Active Solidarity

One of the overall objectives of this course is to move from awareness to action and deepen our commitments to dismantling privilege and injustice at all levels. Here we will explore what anti-oppression social transformation looks like. We need to be able to think and analyze situations in context, understanding dynamics of difference and power, so that we can more effectively participate in creating and implementing just communities, both religious and otherwise.

Course Objectives:

By the end of the course, the student will be able to:

1. Identify their social location critically and its shifting, contingent nature; move from individualistic to structural conceptualizations of the nature of identity, power and difference.
2. Consider the ways in which social structures, systems, and institutions (impersonal forces) are real and have real effects on human bodies; interrogate how we exercise power through our entanglements in a web of oppression and privilege.
3. Implement theological, personal, and social tools to recognize and respond to the dynamics of privilege, oppression, and power playing out intrapersonally, interpersonally, in ministry/work contexts, and in the larger world.
4. Grapple with what it means to engage in this analysis and action as a life-long commitment to effectively and intentionally implement the work of justice and peace.
5. Struggle with the demands of being in solidarity/allyship across multiple axes of difference in various contexts of power and privilege in which we are connected historically and communally.

Expectations and Evaluation

Students are expected to prepare for each class discussion with the materials listed for that class so that they can participate fully in our dialogues and activities. Preparation in many cases will require more than a once-through reading. It will require re-reading, mulling, our of class discussion, note taking, etc.

Students are expected to participate fully in class discussions. Classes like this live or die by the quality of the conversations. You have a moral obligation to the education of your colleagues to come prepared, and to participate fully. Some of the readings are hard, because they are sophisticated analyses, and/or because they touch on issues of central importance to our identities. There may be times when each of us gets angry or defensive. Students are expected to interact with each other with civility and respect (please note that respect does not mean pretending to agree with each other when we do not—in fact we will need each other’s help to push each other to engage the materials as deeply as possible).

Students will complete 2 written assignments:  the Social Construction of Difference Chart and the Critical Family Genealogy.

The Social Construction of Difference Chart is due on the second week of class. Please make sure you have access to your chart during class, and prepare for a discussion with the guiding questions at the bottom of the chart.

The Critical Family Genealogy due date __________

Discussions are designed to encourage a habit of open, respectful, and rigorous conversations. As in any good conversation, it is important first to try to see where the writer is coming from, rather than to be dismissive of his or her ideas. Only when that is accomplished are you in a position to decide what is useful to you and what is not. We must begin with an accurate understanding of what is actually going on in the material.

Participation Evaluation - 30%

Each of the following four categories will be judged on:

• Collaborative and appropriate presence in both the physical classroom and online discussion forum
• Written materials (both online postings and other written requirements) turned in in a timely fashion
• Evidence that reading was regularly completed through participation in classroom and online discussions
• Attendance & participation was regular and timely

Grading

Class participation/response to readings: 30 %

Social Construction of Difference Chart: 15 %

Critical Family Genealogy: 15 %

Final Paper/Project: 40 %

Assignments and Readings

Each week we will post a discussion based on the readings, class dicussion. Each student will answer the discussion prompt by reflecting on the readings and reference connections with apporprate citations. 

Weekly posting assignments  

Each week students will write a one to two paragraph post in response to that week's questions which will be posted in the "Discussions" section of the course site. These questions and prompts will relate directly to the readings and will ask students to think critically and deeply about the questions and issues raised by the author(s), as well as the way in which the readings relates to inform, or impacts the issue postively or negatively and explore the ways in which that weeks readings provides potential answers to their selected issue for critical reflections.  

Criteria / Points for Grading Postings and Final Paper

Every posting will be graded in relation to four overall criteria: Thesis, Textual Evidence, Writing, and Reflection.

Thesis (Make a claim that answers the question)

5 points - Thesis is evident, is clearly and concisely stated, and meaningful. (When provided, guiding question is answered)

3 points – Attempt at formulating thesis is evident, lacks clarity / only partially answers guiding question

2 point – No thesis / failed to respond to guiding question.

Textual Evidence (Integration of material)

5 points - Variety of course materials are used and appropriately cited. Evidence that material was understood and applied appropriately. Connections between different materials are made, using texts in conversation with each other and in relation to the thesis.

3 points – Some course materials are used. Some course materials are misunderstood. At times, material is incompletely cited or inappropriately used (original material does not support thesis or claim made).

2 point – No or little material used or no appropriate citation. Material misunderstood.

Writing (Organization and Clarity)

5 points – Well organized, coherent and structured. Writing strategy to develop arguments evident (chronological, spatial, or comparison / contrast). Organization supports overall goal for the paper. Writing remains focused on central point, appropriate transitions assist reading, conclusion serves thesis and goal for the paper. Writing style is appropriate to intended purpose, shows variety of sentence patterns and rhetorical effectiveness, avoiding jargon and discriminating language.

3 points – Organized and structured, appropriate style and word choices. At times lacks cohesion or relevancy to main goal of paper unclear.

2 point – Lacks structure and organization. Uses inappropriate language. Lacks focus.

Reflection (Depth and Quality)

5 points – Thesis is developed throughout the paper with well-chosen, appropriate argumentation. Arguments are used to show rather than tell, assertions are well defended and logical. Personal reflection shows understanding of complexity and context of issue discussed as it relates to embodied context of student.

3 points – Most arguments support thesis, at times claims miss supportive evidence or lack clarity. Reflection at times appears to miss contextual connections or complexity of issue, remains abstract.

2 point – Arguments do not support thesis or lack evidentiary nature. Issue is discussed without attention to complexity and context or personal context of student.

Writing Rubric:

Every posting and the final paper will be graded in relation to four overall criteria: Thesis, Textual Evidence, Writing, and Reflection.

Thesis (Make a claim that answers the question)

5 points - Thesis is evident, is clearly and concisely stated, and meaningful. (When provided, guiding question is answered)

3 points - Attempt at formulating thesis is evident, lacks clarity / only partially answers guiding question

2 points - No thesis / failed to respond to guiding question

Textual Evidence (Integration of material)

5 point - Variety of course materials are used and appropriately cited. Evidence that material was understood and applied appropriately. Connections between different materials are made, using texts in conversation with each other and in relation to the thesis.

3 points - Some course materials are used. Some course materials are misunderstood. At times, material is incompletely cited or inappropriately used (original material does not support thesis or claim made).

2 points - No or little material used or no appropriate citation. Material misunderstood.

Writing (Organization and Clarity)

5 points - Well organized, coherent and structured. Writing strategy to develop arguments evident (chronological, spatial, or comparison / contrast). Organization supports overall goal for the paper. Writing remains focused on central point, appropriate transitions assist reading, conclusion serves thesis and goal for the paper. Writing style is appropriate to intended purpose, shows variety of sentence patterns and rhetorical effectiveness, avoiding jargon and discriminating language.

3 points - Organized and structured, appropriate style and word choices. At times lacks cohesion or relevancy to main goal of paper unclear.

2 points - Lacks structure and organization. Uses inappropriate language. Lacks focus.

Reflection (Depth and Quality)

5 points – Thesis is developed throughout the paper with well-chosen, appropriate argumentation. Arguments are used to show rather than tell, assertions are well defended and logical. Personal reflection shows understanding of complexity and context of issue discussed as it relates to embodied context of student.

3 points – Most arguments support thesis, at times claims miss supportive evidence or lack clarity. Reflection at times appears to miss contextual connections or complexity of issue, remains abstract.

2 point – Arguments do not support thesis or lack evidentiary nature. Issue is discussed without attention to complexity and context or personal context of student.

Degree Learning Goals: Please take some time to look over the Professional Degree Learning Goals (MDiv, MASC, MAPSC) and the Academic Degree Learning Goals (MTS).

Incompletes:  If incompletes are allowed in this course, see the Master's Student Handbook for Policies and Procedures.

Pass/Fail:  Masters students wishing to take the class pass/fail should discuss this with the instructor by the second class session.

Academic Integrity and Community Covenant:  All students are expected to abide by Iliff’s statement on Academic Integrity, as published in the Masters Student Handbook, or the Joint PhD Statement on Academic Honesty, as published in the Joint PhD Student Handbook, as appropriate.  All participants in this class are expected to be familiar with Iliff’s Community Covenant.

Core Values: As a community, Iliff strives to live by this set of Core Values.

Accommodations:  Iliff engages in a collaborative effort with students with disabilities to reasonably accommodate student needs.   Students are encouraged to contact their assigned advisor to initiate the process of requesting accommodations.  The advising center can be contacted at advising@iliff.edu or by phone at 303-765-1146. 

Writing Lab:  Grammar and organization are important for all written assignments.  Additional help is available from the Iliff Writing Lab, which is available for students of any level who need help beginning an assignment, organizing thoughts, or reviewing a final draft. 

Inclusive Language:  It is expected that all course participants will use inclusive language in speaking and writing, and will use terms that do not create barriers to classroom community. 

Degree Learning Goals

M.Div. Degree Learning Goals supported by this class:

Demonstrate personal and professional self-awareness and emerging competency in characteristic practices of religious leadership

4.1 Articulate a vision for increased social justice in relationships, communities, institutions, and systems and structures of power

4.3 Demonstrate an awareness of the importance of social location (race, class, gender, age, sexual orientation, gender identity, ability/disability, etc.) for self-understanding and professional practice

4.4 Complete a power analysis of systems and relationships and make strategic decisions for how one intervenes as a religious leader