Epistemic Exclusion Toolbox Workshop Report [Technical report]

Workshop Summary:The Toolbox Dialogue Initiative conducted two workshops with Michigan State University faculty on May 4, 2017 and one with administrators on May 24, 2017. The first faculty workshop –“Group 1” in what follows – comprised white faculty, while the second, “Group 2”, comprised faculty of color. The administrator workshop, “Group 3”, comprised a mixed-race group of administrators. These 3-hour workshops included dialogue structured by prompt-based instruments customized specifically to emphasize epistemic exclusion. The instruments were designed by Michael O’Rourke and Stephanie E. Vasko, with significant input from Nicole Buchanan, Kristie Dotson, and Isis Settles. (See Appendix 1 for the Toolbox instruments and prompts used in each workshop.) The workshops were facilitated by Michael O’Rourke and Stephanie E. Vasko and began with a presentation briefly covering the Faculty Inclusion and Excellence Study, epistemic exclusion, the Toolbox approach, instrument design, and details about the workshop. The dialogue sessions lasted between 50 and 70 minutes and were followed by a co-creation activity. The cocreation activity during the faculty workshops was designed to inform the administration workshop, and the co-creation activity during the administration workshop was intended to inform MSU policy concerning valuing and evaluating scholarship at MSU. The workshops concluded with a debrief discussion and reflection on the process.