Lecturing Diversity – Lessons from the Classroom.

In the context of increasing social polarisation with resurgent nationalisms, social psychologists face the challenge of how to foster inclusiveness and tolerance for diversity in the classroom and beyond. Sensitively raising consciousness on structural power relations within society remains a challenge. As social scientists face an increasing diverse cohort of students, questions on how to engage with structural inequalities within society as well as how to create safe spaces within the classroom to deal with sensitive issues around power, inclusion and exclusion, emerge. This session invites participants to share lessons learned from their pedagogical practice on how to engage with difficult questions in lectures, and to reflect on broader processes related to power, inequality and social justice within society.