Daryl, an Associate Professor in Public Health, is teaching a newly designed course on LGBTQ health and wellness. Just before midterms, Meleani, the undergraduate teaching assistant, approaches Daryl to summarize several of their students’ concerns. She shares that the students are regarding the course readings, lecture and subsequent class discussion as having an exclusive emphasis on the health and wellness of white LGBTQ people, with no exploration and discussion of the unique needs of LGBTQ people of color.
Daryl invites the concerned students to meet the following week before class. He and Meleani listen to and explore their concerns further. Daryl recognizes and agrees to shift the gaps in the curriculum and commits to engaging in further research to better understand intersectional issues in LGBTQ health and wellness. Daryl swaps out or supplements readings for the remainder of the term and makes more formal changes to his curriculum for subsequent terms.
- The Issue: Daryl’s attempt to expand the public health curriculum to focus on LGBTQ issues is absent of any analysis of intersecting issues of race and class. As a result, Daryl’s curriculum fails to introduce students to the diversity of public health needs in the larger LGBTQ community.
- The Deliberation: Daryl’s relationship with Meleani serves as a conduit for critical and valuable feedback from his students. This input serves as a first step toward more dialogue and further research on Daryl’s behalf.
- The Growth: Daryl sees the value in viewing his curriculum from the perspective of multiple social groups. Further, his openness to student feedback results in short- and long-term solutions for his curriculum.