Teaching Controversial Subjects in the Age of Trigger Warnings, Microaggression and Tweeting in the Classroom
- Michael Bugeja (Iowa State University)
Abstract
My article, “The Fuss,” published Oct. 25, 2016, in Inside Higher Ed, had more than 150 shares on social media in as much as it challenged the conventional wisdom that academic freedom is at stake when professors discuss diversity and other potentially sensitive topics in the classroom. The article made the case that media have sensationalized a few high-profile cases, such as happened in 2015 at the universities of Missouri and Kansas, in advancing the mistaken notion that students are too emotionally unprepared to discuss controversial content, including such topics as media coverage of racism, sexual assault and religious extremism. The piece emphasized the importance of mindfulness concerning microaggressions and/or graphic or controversial material during lecture and introduced such strategies as giving warnings and following up with fact, audio visuals and context. This presentation, based on “The Fuss,” will be replete with classroom strategies so that professors and students are prepared to discuss any topic in an enlightened, inclusive manner.