3.4 Framework for Understanding Privilege and Identity
Read the following article: New Forms of Transformative Education: Pedagogy for the Privileged
Links to an external site., by Dr. Ann Curry-Stevens. It contains a sample framework to understand and create greater awareness about one's own identity and positionality to take action.
Using that framework, the article identifies actionable steps to build a transformative tool kit. This toolkit intentionally seeks to engage privileged learners in workshops and classrooms and assist in their transformation as allies in the struggle for social justice.
The framework is structured into 10 steps that involve both confidence-shaking and confidence-building.
| Stage of Learning |
What it is |
|---|---|
| Awareness of oppression | "I understand how inequality exists and I can name it oppression." |
| Oppression as structural and thus enduring and pervasive | "I understand how power is at work to create this oppression. |
| Locating oneself as oppressed | "I have been a victim of discrimination and I have felt heard and support in my pain about this." |
| Locating oneself as privileged | "I also have privileged identities. I have been on the beneficiary end of power inequities." |
| Understanding the benefits that flow from privilege | "My privileged identities has allowed me to benefit from these unjust structures and to succeed in my life in the following ways… This means I might not have been as responsible for my achievements as I have understood in the past." |
| Understanding oneself as implicated in the oppression of others and understanding oneself as an oppressor | "I am responsible for the continued oppression of others either through what I do or what I fail to do." |
| Building confidence to take action—knowing how to intervene | "I can step forward with ideas about what to do to create change." |
| Planning actions for departure | "I will do this when I leave." |
| Finding supportive connections to sustain commitments | "I have some connections to others who will support me in this work. I know where to go to connect to others who are working on this topic." |
| Declaring intentions for future action | "I announce to others what I plan to do when I leave. Making this commitment to others raises expectations that I will do it." |
Consider the 10 stages identified in the article and reflect:
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What stage are you at in this confidence shaking-building framework? Why do you think you’re at that stage? Where would you like to be and how would like to get there? |
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