Intersectionality is a beautiful word, one that expresses volumes. While the word is often used in terms of sexuality and culture, it applies to all of life and leaning.
Music does not exist without mathematics.
The study of history is a list of dates and events without sociology, psychology, economics, and anthropology.
Preparing students to practice medicine is a study of science in the context of humanity and nature. No subject or profession lives in a silo.
Addressing intersectionality can be daunting for an educator who has a packed curriculum and limited time for delivery. Intersectionality requires a deliberate approach.
FIVE TIPS FOR TEACHING INTERSECTIONALITY
Take small steps. Identify the connection (maybe 1-3) Too much, too soon can be overwhelming and confusing. Make sure that every connection makes sense in terms of your primary topic.
Make it relatable Use examples or explanations that seem real in terms of student life experiences. If they can relate from personal or second hand experience, they will see the connections clearly.
Draw a picture A story or a case study makes a lasting impression that students can relate to on a personal level (tip #2)
Connect the dots How does one thing lead to another?
Build on it later You can introduce the connections now and come back to them when you are covering a different topic that has some of the same connections.
EXAMPLE
Our primary topic is diarrhea in children. The connections we want to make are:
Poverty (economic)
Sanitation (environmental)
Immunology (physical)
To make it relatable, we will use the example of a recent outbreak of eColi in the local community. The picture we paint is of a little boy who recently died (it was in the local news). Our story will connect the dots between the three topics we want to explore. Poverty and overcrowded conditions cause poor sanitation and poor nutrition. Poor sanitation enables disease transmission. Poor nutrition lowers the immune system and makes the child more susceptible to disease and more likely to die. The case in the newspaper illustrates our points well.
Our main topic was childhood diarrhea, so we will only introduce the connections in this class session, but can come back to them when we teach students about other disease processes and/or when we are introducing the inter-professional needs of addressing problems in global health. The possibilities are endless.
Intersectionality is all about seeing the connections in everything we do, everything we learn. It makes learning meaningful and usable.
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