Religious Studies Department associate professor Alison Downie published "Who Speaks When?" in the Wabash Center Journal of Teaching.
Downie's article was one of three selected from the journal's call for papers onCritical Incidents in Teaching. According to the journal's editor: "A critical incident' is a memorable, significant, or unexpected moment experienced in the classroom. Subjecting such moments to careful critical analysis can reveal important facets of the purposes and practices of teaching."
This peer-reviewed journal has recently migrated to an open access online platform, where Downie's article"Who Speaks When?" is available.
Abstract
When one angry student refused to follow my discussion structure in a class on diverse Christian views of gender and sexuality, I was unable to keep other students in the room safe from his harmful tirade. After this student refused to apologize in aggressively disrespectful language to me in a private meeting, I petitioned for university sanction. The student responded to my request for a disciplinary hearing by launching a social media campaign to discredit me and my reasons for requesting this hearing. This awful class and the subsequent related events, including administrative response to the social media outrage, have led me to a deeper understanding of what it means to embrace responsibility while at the same time recognizing and accepting that I am not in control. This is one of three essays published together in a special topic section of this journal on critical incidents in the classroom.
Thank you, Professor Downie, for your valuable insight and contribution to the Religious Studies Department!