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Fall 2021 Faculty Retreat Follow-up Readings

Thank you for attending the Inaugural Faculty Retreat

Hosted virtually on August 17, 2021, this event brought together UHD's faculty to discuss and evaluate their research and teaching goals as they relate to the university and to collectively plan for the upcoming academic year. The 2021 Fall Retreat focused on addressing themes of diversity, equity, inclusion, and justice. To encourage continued discussion and consideration around the day's themes the W.I. Dykes Library has compiled the following list of books related to DEI, all of which are available to the UHD community electronically. To access the electronic version of each book, please click the book's title.

Men We Reaped book cover 
Men We Reaped: A Memoir

By, Jesmyn Ward

In five years, Jesmyn Ward lost five men in her life, to drugs, accidents, suicide, and the bad luck that can follow people who live in poverty, particularly black men. Dealing with these losses, one after another, made Jesmyn ask the question: why? And as she began to write about the experience of living through all the dying, she realized the truth—and it took her breath away.

Beloved book cover 
Beloved

By, Toni Morrison

Set after the American Civil War (1861-1865), the novel is inspired by the true story of an African American slave, Margaret Garner, who escaped slavery in Kentucky late January 1856 by fleeing to Ohio, a free state. In the novel, the protagonist Sethe is also a slave who escapes slavery, running to Cincinnati, Ohio. After twenty-eight days of freedom, a posse arrives to retrieve her and her children under the Fugitive Slave Act of 1850, which gave slave owners the right to pursue slaves across state borders.

Between the World and Me book cover 
Between the World and Me

By, Ta-Nehisi Coates

In a profound work that pivots from the biggest questions about American history and ideals to the most intimate concerns of a father for his son, Ta-Nehisi Coates offers a powerful new framework for understanding our nation's history and current crisis. Americans have built an empire on the idea of "race," a falsehood that damages us all but falls most heavily on the bodies of black women and men--bodies exploited through slavery and segregation, and, today, threatened, locked up, and murdered out of all proportion.

The Fire Next Time book cover 
The Fire Next Time

By, James Baldwin

At once a powerful evocation of James Baldwin's early life in Harlem and a disturbing examination of the consequences of racial injustice, the book is an intensely personal and provocative document. It consists of two "letters," written on the occasion of the centennial of the Emancipation Proclamation, that exhort Americans, both black and white, to attack the terrible legacy of racism.

The Soul of a Woman book cover 
The Soul of a Woman

By, Isabel Allende

So what feeds the soul of feminists—and all women—today? To be safe, to be valued, to live in peace, to have their own resources, to be connected, to have control over our bodies and lives, and above all, to be loved. On all these fronts, there is much work yet to be done, and this book, Allende hopes, will "light the torches of our daughters and granddaughters with mine. They will have to live for us, as we lived for our mothers, and carry on with the work still left to be finished."

Homegoing book cover 
Homegoing

By, Yaa Gyasi

Two half sisters, Effia and Esi, unknown to each other, are born into two different tribal villages in 18th century Ghana. Effia will be married off to an English colonial, and will live in comfort in the sprawling, palatial rooms of Cape Coast Castle, raising half-caste children who will be sent abroad to be educated in England before returning to the Gold Coast to serve as administrators of the Empire. Her sister, Esi, will be imprisoned beneath Effia in the Castle's women's dungeon, and then shipped off on a boat bound for America, where she will be sold into slavery.

Long Division book cover 
Long Division

By, Kiese Laymon

Written in a voice that's alternately humorous, lacerating, and wise, Long Division features two interwoven stories. In the first, it's 2013: after an on-stage meltdown during a nationally televised quiz contest, fourteen-year-old Citoyen "City" Coldson becomes an overnight YouTube celebrity. The next day, he's sent to stay with his grandmother in the small coastal community of Melahatchie, where a young girl named Baize Shephard has recently disappeared.

Fledgling book cover 
Fledgling

By, Octavia E. Butler

The story of an apparently young, amnesiac girl whose alarmingly inhuman needs and abilities lead her to a startling conclusion: She is in fact a genetically modified, 53-year-old vampire. Forced to discover what she can about her stolen former life, she must at the same time learn who wanted - and still wants - to destroy her and those she cares for and how she can save herself. Fledgling is a captivating novel that tests the limits of "otherness" and questions what it means to be truly human.

The Book of Night Women book cover 
The Book of Night Women

By, Marlon James

Lilith was born into slavery on a Jamaican sugar plantation at the end of the eighteenth century. Even at her birth, the slave women around her recognize a dark power that they—and she—will come to both revere and fear. The Night Women, as they call themselves, have long been plotting a slave revolt, and as Lilith comes of age and reveals the extent of her power, they see her as the key to their plans. But when she begins to understand her own feelings and desires and identity, Lilith starts to push at the edges of what is imaginable for the life of a slave woman in Jamaica, and risks becoming the conspiracy's weak link.

The New Jim Crow book cover 
The New Jim Crow: Mass Incarceration in the Age of Colorblindness

By, Michelle Alexander

Seldom does a book have the impact of Michelle Alexander's The New Jim Crow. Since it was first published in 2010, it has been cited in judicial decisions and has been adopted in campus-wide and community-wide reads; it helped inspire the creation of the Marshall Project and the new $100 million Art for Justice Fund; it has been the winner of numerous prizes, including the prestigious NAACP Image Award; and it has spent nearly 250 weeks on the New York Times bestseller list.

Achieving Equity and Quality in Higher Education cover 
Achieving Equity and Quality in Higher Education Global Perspectives in an Era of Widening Participation

Edited By, Mahsood Shah and Jade McKay 

Across the world, higher education is witnessing exponential growth in both student participation and types of educational providers. One key phenomenon of this growth is an increase in student diversity: governments are widening access to higher education for students from traditionally underrepresented groups. However, this raises questions about whether this rapid growth may in face compromise academic quality.

Contexts 
Contexts for diversity and gender identities in higher education : international perspectives on equity and inclusion

Edited By, Jaimie Hoffman, Patrick Blessinger, and 
Mandla Makhanya

This volume provides educators with an understanding of challenges associated with equity and inclusion at higher education institutions globally and with evidence-based strategies for addressing the challenges associated with implementing equity and inclusion.

Dismantling Race in Higher Education Racism, Whiteness and Decolonising the Academy 
Dismantling Race in Higher Education Racism, Whiteness and Decolonising the Academy

Edited By, Jason Arday and Heidi Safia Mirza

This book reveals the roots of structural racism that limit social mobility and equality within Britain for Black and ethnicised students and academics in its inherently white Higher Education institutions. It brings together both established and emerging scholars in the fields of Race and Education to explore what institutional racism in British Higher Education looks like in colour-blind 'post-race' times, when racism is deemed to be ‘off the political agenda’.

​Diversity and Inclusion in Higher Education and Societal Contexts International and Interdisciplinary Approaches 
Diversity and Inclusion in Higher Education and Societal Contexts International and Interdisciplinary Approaches

Edited By, SunHee Kim Gertz, Betsy Huang, and Lauren Cyr

Groundbreaking in its international, interdisciplinary, and multi-professional approach to diversity and inclusion in higher education, this volume puts theory in conversation with practice, articulates problems, and suggests deep-structured strategies from multiple perspectives including performed art, education, dis/ability studies, institutional as well as government policy, health humanities, history, jurisprudence, psychology, race and ethnicity studies, and semiotic theory.

Contexts 
Equity in science : representation, culture, and the dynamics of change in graduate education

By, Julie R. Posselt

STEM disciplines are believed to be founded on the idea of meritocracy; recognition earned by the value of the data, which is objective. Such disciplinary cultures resist concerns about implicit or structural biases, and yet, year after year, scientists observe persistent gender and racial inequalities in their labs, departments, and programs. In Equity in Science, Julie Posselt makes the case that understanding how field-specific cultures develop is a crucial step for bringing about real change.

Contexts 
Evaluating Campus Climate at US Research Universities Opportunities for Diversity and Inclusion

Edited By, Krista M Soria

This book examines campus climate data collected from undergraduates at several large, public research universities across the nation to enhance understanding of the long-term impact of campus climate on student success. Many universities have refocused their attention and energy on campus climate, defined in this volume as students’ perceptions of how welcoming and respectful their campus environments are for students from different social identities.

Contexts 
Handbook of research on race, gender, and the fight for equality

By, Julie Prescott

Title Page; Copyright Page; Book Series; List of Contributors; Table of Contents; Detailed Table of Contents; Preface; Acknowledgment; Section 1: Technology and Education; Chapter 1: Policies and Strategies for Digital Inclusion; Chapter 2: Digital Equity and Policy; Chapter 3: Technodiversity; Chapter 4: Higher Education and Current E-Learning Potential in the MENA Region; Chapter 5: Investigating the Moderating Roles of Age and Ethnicity in Mobile Commerce Acceptance;

Contexts 
Inclusion, Disability and Culture An Ethnographic Perspective Traversing Abilities and Challenges

Edited By, Santoshi Halder and Lori Czop Assaf

This book provides a global and social examination of how disabilities are played out and experienced around the world. It presents auto-ethnographic perspectives on disability across cultures, societies, and countries by documenting individuals’ personal narratives, thought processes and reflections. Chapter authors share cross-cultural perspectives within and across various countries, such as India, Australia, United States, Sri Lanka, United Kingdom, Croatia, Brazil, South Africa, and Qatar.

Contexts 
Inclusive Conversations

By, Mary-Frances Winters

"What is impressive is not only how Winters builds a case for the urgency and need for bold, inclusive conversations but that she also gives specific strategies and competencies to turn her theory into practice.” —Dr. Sheila Robinson, publisher and CEO, Diversity Woman Media Effective dialogue across different dimensions of diversity, such as race, gender, age, religion, or sexual orientation, fosters a sense of belonging and inclusion, which in turn leads to greater productivity, performance, and innovation.

Contexts 
Inclusive education : making sense of everyday practice

Edited By, Vicky Plowa and Ben Whitburn

"Inclusive education has emerged internationally over the past thirty years as a way of developing democratic citizenship. Core to inclusive principles are that improved equity in education can only be achieved by eliminating the economic, cultural and physical barriers that currently impede learning for particular students.

Handbook of research on race, gender, and the fight for equality​ 
Occupying the academy just how important is diversity work in higher education?

By ChristineClark, Kenneth J. Fasching-Varner, and Mark Brimhall-Vargas

This volume uses a critical theory framework to document, as institutional case studies, the experiences of equity/diversity scholar-practitioners in higher education across the United States in their efforts to negotiate, survive, and thrive in their roles and related work.

Inclusion, Disability and Culture An Ethnographic Perspective Traversing Abilities and Challenges​ 
Rethinking diversity frameworks in higher education

By, Edna B. Chun and Joe R. Feagin

"The book offers concrete approaches, concepts, and tools that will enable higher education leaders to identify, address, and counteract persistent structural and behavioral barriers to inclusion. As such, it shares a series of practical recommendations that will assist presidents, provosts, executive officers, boards of trustees, faculty, administrators, diversity officers, human resource leaders, diversity taskforces, and researchers as they seek to implement comprehensive strategies that result in sustained diversity change" -- Provided by publisher.

Special educational needs and inclusive practices : an international perspective 
Special educational needs and inclusive practices : an international perspective

Edited By, Fabio Dovigo

"The book offers concrete approaches, concepts, and tools that will enable higher education leaders to identify, address, and counteract persistent structural and behavioral barriers to inclusion. As such, it shares a series of practical recommendations that will assist presidents, provosts, executive officers, boards of trustees, faculty, administrators, diversity officers, human resource leaders, diversity taskforces, and researchers as they seek to implement comprehensive strategies that result in sustained diversity change" -- Provided by publisher.

Contexts 
Transforming higher education through universal design for learning : an international perspective

Edited By, Sean Bracken and Katie Novak 

Providing insight into the background, theory and practical applications of Universal Design for Learning (UDL), Transforming Higher Education through Universal Design for Learning: An International Perspective examines and shares best practice in UDL implementation worldwide to provide strategies for strengthening student accessibility, engagement and learning outcomes through the development of flexible learning environments.

Contexts 
Two Cheers for Higher Education : Why American Universities Are Stronger Than Ever-and How to Meet the Challenges They Face

By, Steven Brint

A leading expert challenges the prevailing gloomy outlook on higher education with solid evidence of its successesCrushing student debt, rapidly eroding state funding, faculty embroiled in speech controversies, a higher-education market disrupted by online competition-today's headlines suggest that universities' power to advance knowledge and shape American society is rapidly declining. But Steven Brint, a renowned analyst of academic institutions, has tracked numerous trends demonstrating their vitality.

University and College Women's and Gender Equity Centers The Changing Landscape. 
University and College Women's and Gender Equity Centers The Changing Landscape.

Edited By, Brenda Bethman, Anitra Cottledge, and Donna M. Bickford

University and College Women's and Gender Equity Centers examines the new institutional contexts surrounding women's centers. It looks at the possibilities for, as well as the challenges to, advocating for gender equity in higher education, and the ways in which women's and gender equity centers contribute to and lead that work.The book first describes the landscape of women's centers in higher education and explores the structures within which the centers are situated.

If you are interested in reading other works related to diversity, inclusion, justice, and equity please contact the W.I. Dykes Library.