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Diversity and privilege: An exercise to raise awareness, cooperate, and serve

KEYWORDS: privilege, inclusiveness, diversity, experiential classroom activity

Individuals who are privileged are unaware of unearned advantages that they have. Because of this lack of awareness, individuals with privilege may attribute poor performance of a non-privileged individual to that individual’s lack of effort or ability, rather than recognizing that the non-privileged person may not have had sufficient opportunities or resources. Without fully being aware of such privilege, it can be difficult for students to appreciate the diversity surrounding them, both in the classroom and in the workplace. This session demonstrates a classroom activity and debrief strategies to illustrate the concept and consequences of privilege.

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