2021 Outstanding Academic Titles: Diversity, Equity, Inclusion and Accessibility titles

Five selections from the Choice Reviews 2021 Outstanding Academic Titles list. This week we share diversity, equity, inclusion and accessibility titles.

Posted on March 17, 2022 in Outstanding Academic Titles

Five selections from the Choice Reviews 2021 Outstanding Academic Titles list. This week we share diversity, equity, inclusion and accessibility titles.

1. The Legacy of racism for children: psychology, law, and public policy
ed. by Margaret C. Stevenson, Bette L. Bottoms, and Kelly C. Burke Oxford, 2020

Racism is a scourge in American culture, as most readers will likely agree. It can play an especially harmful role when children are affected by negative impacts of the legal system. Given the fact of racism, this book can be an essential resource for understanding its causes and consequences, as well as the unequal treatment of children under the existing legal and criminal justice system. Editors Stevenson (Univ. of Evansville) and Bottoms and Burke (both, Univ. of Illinois, Chicago) have assembled substantive contributions from an array of scholars who bring clarity to issues such as human trafficking, sexual abuse, corporal punishment, and juvenile justice. The Legacy of Racism for Children offers a much-needed resource for policy analysts and practitioners in law and clinical psychology, as well as for students preparing for careers in related fields. View on Amazon

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2. Disability rights and religious liberty in education: the story behind Zobrest v. Catalina Foothills School District
Dierenfield, Bruce J. by Bruce J. Dierenfield and David A. Gerber Illinois, 2020

This book is the definitive history of the landmark US Supreme Court case Zobrest v. Catalina Foothills School District (1993), which has at its core questions regarding the rights of individuals with disabilities and the age-old issue of separation of church and state. Through interviews and official legal documents, the book describes the tenacity and determination of a devoutly religious family in Tuscon, Arizona who sought a high-quality education for their profoundly deaf son Jim Zobrest. Although Jim was entitled to a Free Appropriate Public Education under several federal laws, the location of that education was limited to public schools, which did not meet the moral and spiritual requirements that the Roman Catholic Zobrests expected of Jim’s schooling. The story of the Zobrests, who ultimately prevailed in the US Supreme Court after numerous appeals, provides deep insight into what happens when a family is caught up in “the system,” which can be a nightmarish ordeal. Well-intentioned educational administrators and teachers can transform from allies of deeply stressed families into by-the-book, uncaring adversaries. View on Amazon

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3.Extra bold: a feminist, inclusive, anti-racist, nonbinary field guide for graphic designers
by Ellen Lupton et al Princeton Architectural, 2020

Anyone who has watched Mad Men is aware of the masculine bias that prevailed in the Golden Age of advertising. All of visual communication within business tended to be a men’s club, with a few exceptions in the area of fashion publishing houses. Now, most of the students in design schools and colleges are women, and the number of minority and LBGTQ young designers is also significant. In this book, Lupton (Maryland Institute of College of Art) et al. help balance what design history has weighted toward the white male end the spectrum. The book is light, breezy, and an easy read with ample illustrations, but the reader should not be fooled into thinking that the book is lightweight. Social equity is an important subject, and Extra Bold gets into many of the critical details. View on Amazon

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4. Queer freedom: Black sovereignty
Lara, Ana-Mauríne. SUNY Press, 2020

This creative study seeks to decolonize the body. Drawing on ethnographic fieldwork from the Dominican Republic, it confronts racial constructs and the constraints of sexual expression in the Caribbean. Lara (Univ. of Oregon) structures the text as an Afro-Caribbean spiritual celebration of self-emancipation that engages with anthropological literature and personal experiences. The book is itself a sacred offering to the ancestral, spiritual, and physical beings that have contested the oppressive legacies of colonialism, racism, and homophobia. The author advocates for systemic change that will end the anguish of centuries of colonial and imperial doctrine that have imprisoned the imaginations and desires of Caribbean peoples. It is a phenomenological study written in poetic, provocative, powerful prose. The author critiques Christianity and capitalism to challenge the colonial construct of the state. The hierarchical structures created by the state generate social inequities and mental confines that prohibit the true expression of queer freedom and Black sovereignty. Afro-Caribbean spirituality offers a roadmap to liberation. View on Amazon.

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5. The thoughtful teacher: making connections with a diverse student population
Kirylo, James D. Rowman & Littlefield, 2021

In his latest book, Kirylo (Univ. of South Carolina) does an excellent job of inviting current and future educators to think critically about how they form both their philosophy and their practice of teaching into a thoughtful and dynamic pedagogy to holistically support diverse student populations. He identifies strong relationships and communication as the key foundational elements for creating dynamic schools and communities. Kirylo further indicates that in order to establish strong relationships all educators must work closely with students, parents/caregivers, and the community to develop the bonds necessary to further the mission of their respective institutions. Strong schools and communities cannot be developed without transformative educators, who should work to establish such strong relationships with community members using the six dispositions of significance: love, faith, hope, humility, compassion, and persistence. Using notable historical examples coupled with numerous suggestions for thoughtful practice, this book is bound to encourage robust discussion and prompt future research among educators who wish to cultivate mindful practices that support diverse learners. View on Amazon.

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