Faculty Interest Groups

FIG Title: Embracing LGBTQIA+ Identities and Studies in the Classroom

Facilitator: Amy Karp

In this faculty interest group we will focus on discussing different strategies for dismantling heteronormativity and gender normativity in our classrooms and the college at large and ways in which this dismantling could contribute to an even more welcoming environment for LGBTQIA+ students as well as faculty and staff. We will look at the ways in which this incorporation--through materials and examples given during lessons, for example--includes examining and understanding the intersectional and simultaneous identities inhabited by LGBTQIA+ students. We will also think about how this decentering of heteronormativity and gender normativity can contribute to an even healthier, more open, and inclusive environment for everyone. Our conversations will be anchored  by the readings "Heterosexism, Depression, and Campus Engagement Among LGBTQ College Students: Intersectional Differences and Opportunities for Healing," "Visualizing Queer Spaces: LGBTQ students and the traditionally heterogendered institution," and "Tracing LGBTQ Community College Students' Experiences," and will also focus on our own classroom experiences and identity experiences at the college.