Positioning as a Point of Departure

What is Intersectionality?

Aspects of identity and lived experience are often interrelated, or "intersectional," such that individuals or groups may experience overlapping areas of discrimination or disadvantage. For example, an individual might identify as queer, as a person of colour, and as differently abled. The term was coined by UCLA and Columbia Law School Professor Kimberlé Crenshaw in her 1989 article "Demarginalizing the Intersection between Race and Sex" in the University of Chicago Legal From. Crenshaw problematized the "single-axis framework" which conceptualizes race and gender discrimination happening in "mutually exclusive categories" and negates the "multidimensionality of Black women's experiences" (p. 139).

This 'multidimensionality' was interpreted in visual form by educator and sketchnoter, Sylvia Duckworth.

Graphic and image description used with permission from Sylvia Duckworth. 

• View and participate in the Social Identity Wheel exercise used by the University of Toronto's Factor-Inwentash Faculty of Social Work.
• Review Sylvia Duckworth’s “Wheel of Power/Privilege" on how power, privilege, and social identities intersect. An accompanying image description is available. 
• Participate in the Identity Iceberg exercise (p.18), featured in Toolkit 1: Getting Started - Diversity and Identity from the Canadian Centre for Diversity and Inclusion (CCDI). 
• Review "How Do My Identities and Experiences Impact How I Teach?" from the Center for the Enhancement of Learning and Teaching at Tufts University.

Intersectionality & Positionality

The multiple identities that shape our experiences and relationships are part of our sense of positionality -- how each of us is situated in the world and how this influences perception, assumptions, and interactions -- whether the dynamics of teaching and learning or in day-to-day navigation of the varied spaces at UTSC.

Darla Benton Kearney, Teaching and Learning Consultant for UDL at Mohawk College identifies several factors shaping our understanding of positionality. They take into consideration "values, views, and location in time and space that influence how one engages with and understands the world... what knowledge you produce and value, and the biases through which everything you say, think, and do, is filtered intentionally or otherwise" (Kearney, 2022). 

• Read Positionality and Intersectionality from Universal Design for Learning (UDL) for Inclusion, Diversity, Equity, and Accessibility (IDEA) by Darla Benton Kearney (2022); 
• View "Positionality & Research: How our Identities Shape Inquiry" from the University of California Los Angeles Library on the connection between positionality and research 

Starting Points for Teaching: Critical Reflection 

The Working Circle report is grounded in a recognition that "equity-based, anti-racist, and anti-colonial work is messy, hard, and uncomfortable" (p. 5). The degree of discomfort may vary from person to person, acknowledging differences based on lived experiences and identity, familiarity, and comfort with EDI approaches related to both curriculum and pedagogy. In all cases, a level of humility is required, recognizing that the work of the curriculum review necessitates a collective commitment to learning, as well as critical reflection about the histories and knowledge hierarchies that have shared specific disciplines. Self-reflection is a form of learning where questions are posed, biases are challenged, and alternative approaches to teaching are imagined (Ash and Clayton, 2009, p.27; Baptiste-Brady, 2020, p. 186).

The materials gathered in this section and across the resource hub have been curated to help facilitate critical reflection alongside tangible tools that can help support pedagogical and curricular development and create a greater sense of belonging for our students at UTSC.

Office of Vice-Principal Academic & Dean (OVPD) Self-Reflection Tools

The EDI Learning Opportunity Reflection Tool and EDI Learning Opportunity Reflection Tracker were developed in 2023 by Shelley Eisner, Katherine Shwetz, and Andrew Situ as part of ongoing Equity, Diversity and Inclusion (EDI) work in the OVPD at UTSC.

The tools are designed to be used together and are private documents that may be downloaded to your computer. The tracker is intended to provide you with a birds-eye view of your learnings, in the hopes that this helps you reflect on the overarching trajectory and focus of your EDI journey. The reflection tool is intended to support you in processing individual learning opportunities and provide you with opportunities to reflect in nuanced and specific ways about what you learn. These documents are intended to be supportive, not burdensome; you are encouraged to make these files work for you by using, changing, or transforming the documents until they meet your priorities. Related Reading: Strategies and Tools to Cultivate a Reflective Practice Workbook, developed by the Teaching Assistants' Training Program, Centre for Teaching Support & Innovation, University of Toronto, and available through eCampusOntario.

• "Guiding Questions for Institutional Resources" was developed by the Sub-Circle on Institutional Resources and Related Supports as part of the curriculum review process. It is included in Appendix A in the Working Circle report to assist in developing or revising resources (pp.86-88). Related Reading: Teaching Sensitive Materials, developed by UTSC's Centre for Teaching and Learning (CTL) includes a set of guiding questions to support syllabus development with a focus on students' diverse knowledges and experiences.
• Kahérakwas Donna Goodleaf is the Director of Decolonizing Curriculum and Pedagogy at Concordia University in the Centre for Teaching and Learning (CTL). In a video posted on a CTL page, she explains her process of "working with faculty in deconstructing and applying principles of Indigenous Decolonization to course design, curriculum, and pedagogical practices." Donna Goodleaf discusses the importance of faculty being engaged and reflective in the choices they make in course design and how this impacts student learning. 
• "The 5 Rs of Cultural Humility: A Conceptual Model for Health Care Leaders" (2020) by Dea Robinson et al. in The American Journal of Medicine offers an important example of how leaders, regardless of institutional setting, can address and interrupt implicit bias and address organizational culture by using the "5 Rs of Cultural Humility (5 Rs: Reflection, Respect, Regard, Relevance, Resiliency)" (p.161). The authors suggest that this shift toward cultural humility happens "... when leaders cognitively couple the 5 Rs with thinking and feeling and are seen applying this coupling in action through daily interactions..." (p.161).
• "Why is Self-Reflection Core to Decolonisation and Anti-Racism in the Academy?"(2023) was created in partnership with Simon Fraser University by multiple authors in the Times Higher Education online magazine. Related Reading: "Strategies for Antiracist and Decolonized Teaching" (2021) by Anamika Twyman-Ghoshal and Daniele Carkin Lacorazza
• Guides for developing inclusive syllabi and creating welcoming and respectful classroom spaces are available in the FAQ section on the Welcome page. Related Reading: Self-directed EDI modules and models of inclusive teaching practices 
• Education Developers at UTSC's CTL offer consultations to support your understanding and implementation of the material referenced and explored within the hub.

  • Nicola Dove is the former Anti-racist Pedagogies Educational Developer in the Centre for Teaching and Learning. Nicola developed the Anti-Racist Pedagogy module which provides resources and guidance for integrating anti-racist curriculum and pedagogical approaches.   

  • Cheryl Lepard is the Universal Design for Learning Educational Developer in the Centre for Teaching and Learning. Cheryl developed the Universal Design for Learning: Accessibility by Design module looking at the pedagogical approach that supports accessible course design and creating a learning environment to reach as many learners as possible. 

• "Is Everyone Really Equal?: An Introduction to Key Concepts in Social Justice Education" (2017) by Ozlem Sensoy and Robin DiAngelo