Engaging Antiracism Through Interdisciplinary Teaching

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ABSTRACT

This article examines the role of interdisciplinarity in strengthening social work’s commitments to antiracism at the macro level. We describe our experiences of designing and implementing an interdisciplinary workshop for undergraduate students focused on the use of public policy to aid in the dismantling of white supremacy. Engaging sociological theories of race and racism supported student learning about the systemic nature of racial inequality and the need to accompany individual-level interventions with structural change. The dialogic benefits of interdisciplinarity are discussed in terms of strengthening macro social work education and forwarding a robust and clearly defined antiracist social work epistemology and praxis.  Implications for social work education and practice are discussed. 

Disclosure statement

No potential conflict of interest was reported by the authors.

Correction Statement

This article has been republished with minor changes. These changes do not impact the academic content of the article.

Notes

¹ Other components of the year-long project not reflected in this article include an independent study with two student researchers, reflective discussions between the authors about curriculum, and collaboration with other fellows in the applied ethics program.

² Although the interdisciplinary nature of our collaboration is focused on sociology and social work, our materials drew on knowledge from several disciplines, including economics, history, social and political philosophy, and sociolegal studies.

Additional information

Funding

This project was supported in part by the Dundon-Berchtold Institute for Applied Ethics at the University of Portland [Curriculum Fellowship].

Notes on contributors

Alice B. Gates

Alice B. Gates is an Associate Professor of Social Work at the University of Portland.

Lauren M. Alfrey

Lauren M. Alfrey is an Associate Professor of Sociology at the University of Portland.