MECP 600: Foundations of Multicultural Education

This library guide will provide an introduction to library resources and research approaches for foundational multicultural education. "Foundations of Multicultural Education is the first course in the Multicultural Education Certificate program (MECP)

What is intersectionality?

Over the past several decades scholars and activists have developed intersectional frameworks, and intersectional research can be applied across disciplines. There is much to be said about the history of intersectionality. For a brief summary of this history, take a look at this entry in the guide Core Concepts in Sociology.

As your professor notes, one definition of intersectionality can be: 

The way in which social, economic, and political systems of oppression and privilege connect and influence each other, resulting in the compounding of prejudicial treatment of individuals having multiple, historically marginalized identities as well as creating new forms of discrimination that they experience (Jackson, Coomer, Sanborn, Dagli, Martinez Hoy, Skelton, & Thorius, 2018; Crenshaw, 1989).


Crenshaw, K. (1989). Demarginalizing the intersection of race and sex: A Black feminist critique of antidiscrimination doctrine, feminist theory and antiracist politics. University of Chicago Legal Forum, 140: 139-167.

Jackson, R.G. and Coomer, MN. and Sanborn, E., and Dagli, C. and Martinez Hoy, Z.R. and Skleton, S.M. and Thorius, K.K. (2018). Teaching towards understandings of intersectionality. Great Lakes Equity Center, 3(1). https://greatlakesequity.org/resource/teaching-towards-understandings-intersectionality.

 

A colorful wheel that shows how different identities and orientations overlap, and which orientations are typically marginalized.


Bauer, G. (2021). "Examples of identity and social position variables and dimensions" [infographic] in Meet the Methods series: Quantitative intersectional study design and primary data collection. Canadian Institutes of Health Research, 3(1). 

 

Intersectionality: Videos & Journals

Beyond Youtube, you can search for videos through these sources below: 

Tips: Searching on Youtube

You may be familiar with finding videos on Youtube, but did you know that there are some ways to limit and expand your searches? 

As you saw on the Search Strategies page, many databases allow you to use Boolean Operators to customize searches. Youtube allows operators that are a little different. 

  • Instead of using the word "AND," try using a "+" sign 

For example -- "multicultural education" + critical

  • Instead of using the word "NOT," try using a "-" sign

For example -- "multicultural education" - "cultural competence"

  • As you can see in the examples above, as usual, you can limit your search terms by including them in quotation marks (""). If you want that word to be in the title of the video specifically, start with "intitle:"

For example -- intitle:"multicultural education"

Intersectionality: Video Examples