Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion (DEI) Resources

This page offers an overview of the different formats and sources of DEI resources and where or how to find them. We list the sources in no particular order. While we do list some specific examples in alphabetical order for each kind of course or type of resource, we are not intending to share a comprehensive or “best-of” list; they really are just samples.

This guide assumes that you are likely working within higher education contexts and look for DEI resources that inform and/or can be used in college teaching and learning, and/or that you are interested in conducting education research with a focus on DEI.

Our hope is to expand your horizon on what’s out there and where you might find helpful DEI resources.

That said, we rely on YOU to help us refine this guide to finding DEI resources. We are aware that it probably still needs quite a bit of work and development. Please let us know what we are missing, what we could explain better, or what further suggestions you have for this page. Please contact us at [email protected].

Guides by Universities and Teaching Centers

Resources addressing DEI come in many forms. We particularly encourage looking for online resources generated by higher education institutions, often their teaching centers, with the expectations to find well-vetted resources with direct application to teaching and learning in higher education. These resources range from single or several connected websites to comprehensive guides with thematic modules. At times, they include glossaries of DEI terminology that may provide you with effective keywords to find and filter additional resources. Limit your search to education websites to optimize access to reliable resources from institutions and their teaching centers by adding “site:.edu” (with the quotation marks) to your search terms.

Examples for some of the more comprehensive guides:

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MOOCs

Several higher education institutions have created Massive Open Online Courses MOOCs that are available via Coursera or edX, for instance. While obtaining a certificate will cost money, just participating in the MOOCs is free. Often, these MOOCs run for several weeks at a time and require some commitment to complete; sometimes they are facilitated and/or cohort-based. At times they are unfacilitated, self-paced tutorials.

Examples:

  • Inclusive Teaching: Supporting All Students in the College Classroom, Columbia University. This self-guided course brings the participants to reflect on how to integrate the lessons into their work.
  • Teaching & Learning in the Diverse Classroom, Cornell University. Cornell encourages local facilitators so that a group of participants may engage locally. Facilitators receive a facilitation guide and can participate in occasional meetings with the creators of the MOOC. The MOOC can now be accessed and completed at any time to support local scheduling needs.

Library Guides & Open Access Resources

Many higher education libraries have created helpful guides, often called subject guides, to DEI resources. These are particularly helpful because most include guidance and suggestions for search strategies and extensive keyword or subject heading suggestions, which is helpful for finding DEI resources in any context. Some library guides include definitions or short glossaries. Many show lists of relevant and recent publications; some have lists with reading suggestions of recent articles.

These library guides can even be helpful if you may not have full access to the respective institution’s library resources. They can show you what’s out there and you can work with your local libraries to obtain the materials. In particular, these library guides may provide you with valuable insights into journals and books that feature DEI-related topics.

Examples:

Open Access (OA) and Open Educational Resources (OER) are a growing sector with amazing resources. OA means that the materials are available to all. OER means that anyone also has the permission to use and customize the materials. Many institutional libraries will let you apply a filter for OA to search for DEI materials. In particular, you might look for OER-type Pressbooks that focus on DEI.

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Associations and Organizations

Many academic associations in higher education have curated their own sets of resources and actively promote DEI resources of all kinds. Further, there are many non-academic organizations with great resources for teaching social justice.

Examples for academic associations:

Other examples:

Google Scholar

  • Google Scholar leads to peer-reviewed papers, theses, books, pre-prints, abstracts, and technical reports. 
    • Refine the settings to prioritize resources from your own institution because you are likely to have full access to them. You should get to the settings when clicking on the “hamburger” (three horizontal lines) on the lop left side. 
    • When using the Google Scholar search function, use quotation marks for different terms to refine the search results, e.g., type >> testimonio and writing and curriculum << into the search field. 

    If you have adjusted the settings to feature your own institution’s resources, the search results will include a link at the right side of the search results with a direct link to the full text available through your institution. If a resource is not readily available through your own institution, you are likely able to request it via an interlibrary loan through your institution’s libraries.

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News, Blogs, and Podcasts

Higher education news and forums offer articles with lots of citations leading to additional online resources and published scholarship. Very often, the higher ed news lead you to relevant podcasts and blogs. These resources are helpful in staying abreast of the DEI discourse in higher education and frequently offer short, practice-oriented articles on inclusive teaching practices.

Examples for news:

DEI Initiative Updates

Progress on Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion Initiatives

In February of this year, the POD Network’s Executive and Core Committees acknowledged the structural, systemic, and interpersonal racism that persists within the POD Network. At that time we knew necessary changes would not happen overnight, nor without errors and missteps along the way. But we believe that we can create an organization in which our espoused ideals—particularly our organizational commitment to equity—more closely match the lived reality of all our members. Since February, the POD Network has undertaken the following actions to support diversity, equity, and inclusion (DEI).

Read more

Articles & Publications

Please send resource suggestions directly to the Diversity Committee at [email protected].

The Other Pandemic: Anti-Asian Sentiment

John Hansen
When news reports surfaced in January of 2020 that China was where COVID-19 may have originated, I let out a deep sigh to myself and looked away from the television. As an Asian American, I felt a sense of dread. My son noticed and asked me, “What’s wrong, daddy?” “Oh, nothing, don’t worry about it, buddy,” I said smiling in his direction.

Transforming the Classroom at Traditionally White Institutions to Make Black Lives Matter

Frank Tuitt, Chayla Haynes, Saran Stewart
In this essay, we examine seven principles of critical and inclusive pedagogies that have the potential to make Black Lives Matter in TWI classrooms and identify several implications they have for creating racially inclusive, affirming, and equitable learning environments for all students. We do this in order to share our collective understanding of the “one thing” that drives our work, which is our continued pursuit to realize education as the practice of freedom.

POD Diversity Committee White Paper: Responding to Microaggressions with Microresistance

Cynthia Ganote, Floyd Cheung, Tasha Souza
Microaggressions are “brief and commonplace daily verbal, behavioral, or environmental indignities, whether intentional or unintentional, that communicate hostile, derogatory, or negative…slights and insults” (Sue et al., 2007, p. 273). Microresistance provides us with positive steps we can use to defend ourselves and/or take a stand in solidarity with our colleagues who are facing microaggressions. In this way, we can take positive action to do or say something when we or our colleagues face the effects of systemic oppression such as racism, sexism, heterosexism, and/or class inequalities.