Description:

Difficult Images: Teaching Sensitive Topics to a Diverse Student Population

How do we, as teaching assistants and instructors, meaningfully engage our students in discussions of difficult (controversial or emotionally charged) images in the college classroom? Although much scholarly work addresses the site of visual representation as a point of departure for engaging the construction of race, gender, religion, and politics, graduate students are not often provided with instruction on, or time for, navigating delicate or emotionally charged dialogues that arise in the classroom as a result of teaching with and through controversial images (despite their consistent inclusion in curriculum). This workshop will confront the specific challenges of teaching difficult images (versus texts) in order to better prepare graduate students for these teaching scenarios. Participants will identify the components of a difficult image, and build a teaching tool box, which will help them better understand their own emotional intelligence in relation to images. Participants will also have the opportunity to begin designing assignments and exercises that will help guide them and their undergraduates through these kinds of scenarios in the classroom. The workshop will conclude with a roundtable, involving professors in divergent fields who think critically about the importance and sensitivity of images. Together we will assess a range of strategies for responsibly and respectfully presenting charged visual materials to undergrads.

**Registration required - Please register to reserve your spot.