Social Sciences & Humanities

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The development of the Social Sciences and Humanities page is ongoing. Faculty and Teaching Assistants from departments not currently listed are welcome and strongly encouraged to submit suggestions for enhancing this page and other sections of the Resource Hub.  

American Council of Learned Societies (ACLS)

The American Council of Learned Societies (ACLS) supports "the creation and circulation of knowledge that advances understanding of humanity and human endeavors" in the humanities and social sciences. Recognizing the need for change within academia, ACLS member societies have contributed to a curated list of DEI and Anti-Racism resources. The ACLS also has dedicated resource lists focused on Interrogating the Legacies of Racism in our Society and LGBTQ+ Resources.

Social Sciences

Sociology

1. Equity in the University

2. Disabilities

3. LGBTQ2S+

4. Women

5. Racial and Ethnic Diversity

Indigenous Peoples 

Political Science

1. Other Syllabi -- Major Works

2. Canadian-Indigenous Politics

3. Indigenous Politics in 'Canada'

  • "Defining Narratives of Identity in Canadian Political Science: Accounting for the Absence of Race" (2011) appears in the Canadian Journal of Political Science by Athabasca University Professor Nisha Nath who examines how identity has a "conceptual presence in mainstream Canadian political science (CPS)," yet notes that some identities within CPS seem to carry more weight than others (pp. 161, 162). "The collary suspicion," she observes, "is that the ubiquity of the absence of ‘race’ suggests that discourses of ‘identity’ in CPS sift ‘race’ out" and may limit our understanding of its influence in "critical political institutions... and what triggers political change" (pp. 162, 182).  
  • "Is Race Political?" (2008) appears in the Canadian Journal of Political Science by McGill University Professor Debra Thompson and explores how "the dearth of literature on race in English Canadian political science indicates that... [the] discipline is missing an important aspect of the real world of the political" (p.536). Thompson proposes two solutions for a discipline that she believes "is well equipped to analyze the political production of race and the racialized consequences of Canadian political life" (p.542). 
  • UDL SLAM 2016 Stories was a project Professor Dan Reeve participated in with his 1st and 2nd year Political Science students at Camosun College, BC. Reeve's course was developed using the CAST UDL framework to demonstrate the "practical applications" of UDL.

Humanities

  • The Humanities Common developed a resource page in 2020 to support those working in the Humanities with downloadable open-access scholarship and teaching materials. Some of the areas include:

1. Community Submitted Resources

2. Theory

3. Assignments & Activities

4. Anti-Racist Teaching Resources

5. Actions to Challenge White Supremacy

Philosophy

  • The Department of Philosophy at Queen's University developed a resource page with a detailed list of diversity and inclusion materials. The range of topics spans the diversification of syllabi to databases that explore inclusive teaching and learning possibilities in Philosophy.
  • The Diversity and Inclusiveness Syllabus Collection was developed by the American Philosophical Association (APA) as a resource for creating more "diverse and inclusive courses" and features an extensive list of syllabi submitted by APA members.   
  • "Because We Know: Toward a Pedagogical Insistence on Black Mattering" (2021) by Wilson K. Okello and Terah J. Stewart in the Journal of Effective Teaching in Higher Education explores the concept of mattering in the context of Anti-Blackness. For the authors, "an honest theorization on anti-Blackness must continuously wrestle with what it means to have one's very existence as Black constructed as a problem -- for White people, for the public (good), for the nation-state even as a problem to be resolved in the educational context" (para 7).
  • "Being a Black Woman Philosopher: Reflections on Founding the Collegium of Black Women Philosophers" (2011) by Kathryn T. Gines (now Kathryn Sophia Belle) in Hypatia is a reflective essay on the goals of being a founding director of the Collegium of Black Women Philosophers (CBWP). Belle reflects on the goals of the CBWP and the benefits to the discipline of philosophy "through increased diversification along the lines of race, ethnicity, nationality, gender, and sexual orientation (to name a few)" (p.432).
  • "Musing: Inhabiting Philosophical Space: Reflections from the Reasonably Suspicious" (2014) by Stephanie Rivera Berruz, Assistant Professor of Philosophy at Marquette University was published in Hypatia. Berruz observes: "The conditions of academic philosophy, at the moment, don't leave women of color many options, and it seems that if you are not forced to completely assimilate, you are forced into duplicity in order to survive" (p.185).
Related Resources

Linguistics

  • "Methods for Increasing Equity, Diversity, and Inclusion in Linguistics Pedagogy"  was written by Assistant Professor Nathan Sanders and PhD Candidates Pocholo Umbal and Lex Konnelly at the University of Toronto and presented at the 2020 Annual Conference of the Canadian Linguistic Association. In the introductory section, they describe the importance of addressing "how linguistics is taught [and the]... language­ based biases that can arise in the linguistics classroom" (p.1).

History

  • A Black People's History of Canada (BPHC)  is a three-year project under development being developed by Professor Afua Cooper in the Department of Sociology and Social Anthropology, at Dalhousie University. Cooper's research team designed the project "to help solve the generation-long problem of "why there isn’t more Black history in Canadian schools.”

Arts, Culture and Media

  • The I.D.E.A.S. initiative (Department of Arts, Culture and Media) aims "to promote diversity of all kinds, including diversities of race, gender, socio-economic status, sexual orientation or identity, age, ability or disability, religion and aesthetics or traditions of practice.”  This model may inspire other departments to explore possible options and possibilities of including a greater diversity of voices and experiences. 
  • University of the Arts London (ual) offers an "extensive range of courses in art, design, fashion, communication and performing arts." The Academic Enhancement Model (AEM) and Attainment team work with students and staff to support changes to both curriculum and teaching. The AEM Attainment Resources "include guidance on a range of practical teaching approaches, with a special focus on diversity and social justice." 

English

Recommended Resources from Erica Cardwell, Assistant Professor, Department of English, UTSC