Masking inequality with good intentions: Systemic bias, counterspaces, and discourse acquisition in STEM education
Published: 2023
Publication Name: Masking inequality with good intentions: Systemic bias, counterspaces, and discourse acquisition in STEM education
Publication URL: https://wac.colostate.edu/books/practice/masking/
Abstract:
This book won the award for best monograph on writing across the curriculum at the Sixteenth International Writing Across the Curriculum Conference.
In Masking Inequality with Good Intentions, Heather M. Falconer examines the impact of systemic bias on disciplinary discourse acquisition and identity development by asking “How do the norms and expectations of higher education and STEM, specifically, impact the development of scientific identity and discursive skill?” and “What role do societal markers like race and gender play in the negotiation of identity in STEM learning environments?”
Drawing on the experiences and writings of six students from historically underrepresented backgrounds in STEM, each participating in an undergraduate research program, Falconer discusses how programmatic and pedagogical choices can work to either further marginalize students and disrupt their writing and identity development as scientists or create counterspaces—spaces where students can thrive and push back against dominant, oppressive forces. Practical applications for pedagogy, curriculum, and program design are included.
Falconer, H. (2023). Masking inequality with good intentions: Systemic bias, counterspaces, and discourse acquisition in STEM education. University Press of Colorado/Practices and Possibilities, Fort Collins, CO.