“How you see things depends on where you stand.”  --Sherry’s mother

Your response to a text might be affected by many things, but here are a few that matter most in the context of this course.

Identity
Race
Gender
Ethnicity
Religion
Sexuality
Age
Religion
Region
Other cultural categories that affect your sense of self and how you fit into the world


Experience
Your personal history
Significant experiences in your life
How much you’ve traveled
Your relationships with others
How your life experience and culture are similar to or different from what the book presents


Beliefs
What attitudes to you have about diversity, in general, and about the diversity issues raised in this book?
Where do you fit on the political spectrum?
Do you lean toward the difference model or the conflict model?
What are your own prejudices and assumptions?  (note that it’s a kind of prejudice to judge other people on the basis of their prejudices – you may have a prejudice against sexist people, for example)
What values or ideas are important to you?
What do you hope to find, learn, experience when you read a book?


Knowledge
What do you know or not know about the time, place, or group of people that this book addresses?
What have you learned about diversity, in this course or others?  What analytical models might shape how you read this book?
What other books have you read that address similar issues?
Linkon