In the belly of paradox: Teaching equity in an [in]equitable space as a graduate Teaching Assistant (TA)

Year 2008, Volume: 4 Issue: 1, 24 - 48, 01.04.2008

Riyad Ahmed Shahjahan

Abstract

While much has been written on teaching equity and social justice issues in the higher education classroom from a faculty perspective, there exists scant literature on these issues from the perspective of graduate Teaching Assistants (TAs). In this paper, a TA of a research intensive university, using a variety of sources of evidence, analyzes his experiences teaching equity studies in the university context. Using an anti-colonial discursive framework he offers answers to the following questions: What are the paradoxes, contradictions and challenges of teaching equity and social justice issues as a TA in the university context? Some of the issues he raises are the inequitable curricula, engaging with student difference in an inclusive manner, privileging certain bodies in assignments and classroom discussions, and dealing with student diversity without marginalizing equity studies itself. He concludes with a discussion on the implications of the challenges in teaching equity studies in the higher education context

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