The Program on Intergroup Relations
Ohio State University
Intergroup Dialogues
Ed P&L 270.04
Standard-Race, Gender, SES
2010Process/Content Outline
Authorship/Copyright
All materials remain property of The Program on Intergroup Relations at the
University of Michigan, 530 S. State Street, 3000 Michigan Union, Ann Arbor, MI.
48109-1308, 734-936-1875, www.igr.umich.edu. Materials may only be used with
permission and proper citation of their source.
STAGE ONE: Creating a Shared Meaning of Dialogue
Adapted From:
The Program on Intergroup Relations
University of Michigan, 2007
1
SESSION 1: Mass Meeting
GOALS:
TO HELP PARTICIPANTS:
 Understand The Program on Intergroup Relations and intergroup dialogues.
 Experience energy and enthusiasm about the dialogue process.
 Understand course requirements and expectations.
 Find out their dialogue group assignment.
RATIONALE:
During this initial session, it is important that InterGroup Dialogue Facilitators set a
positive tone for dialogue. This includes an introduction to the dialogue process and the
Program on Intergroup Relations.
MATERIALS NEEDED:
 Survey
 Nametags
 Notecards
 Copies of Syllabus
 Facilitator Binders
 Berman’s Comparison of Dialogue vs. Debate (Handout)
 Identity Wheels (Hand Out)
AGENDA:
Opening Activities
WELCOME & INTRODUCTIONS (10 minutes)
Instructors and facilitators introduce themselves. Instructors welcome students and
describe IGR and the dialogue process. Students who have not filled out the enrollment
permission form should do so.
Main Activities
COURSE LOGISTICS (10 minutes)
Instructors notify students about the process for receiving their course placement.
SURVEY (10 Minutes)
Hand out the survey and give students 10 minutes to complete.
GENERAL SYLLABUS (15 minutes)
Hand out the syllabus and discuss course expectations and assignments. Be sure to note
that course instructors are responsible for final grades and not the student facilitators.
Have time to answer questions but try to focus on clarifying questions only. See
participants with detailed questions after the session.
INTRODUCTORY ROUND OF PARTICIPANTS (5 minutes)
Adapted From:
The Program on Intergroup Relations
University of Michigan, 2007
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Ask participants to introduce themselves. Then ask them to introduce themselves again
saying, “I am one of the teachers and one of the learners in this course.”
DEBRIEFING (5-10 minutes)
Ask the group: How did it FEEL to say, “I am a teacher?” “I am a learner?” Explain
concept of “co-learning”-- that all of us, participants and facilitators, teach each other and
learn from each other (remember our co-learning piece from training).
HOPES & FEARS (30 minutes)
Give each participant an index card. Tell them not to write their name on the card. On
one side of the card write HOPES, and ask them to write 2 or 3 hopes they have for the
dialogue group and/or themselves. On the other side of the card write FEARS and ask
them to write 2 or 3 fears they have about the dialogue group and/or themselves. Collect
all the index cards and redistribute them at random. Ask each participant to read the card
she or he receives.
Debriefing Questions (Adapted from Multiversity Research Curriculum):
 How did it feel to hear others’ hopes? Others’ fears?
 Were there any common themes you noticed in our hopes? Our fears?
 What can be done to realize our hopes? Alleviate our fears?
 What connections can be made to your readings?
In wrapping up this activity, highlight some of the patterns that came up, and validate and
normalize people’s hopes and fears for dialoguing across different social identity groups.
Facilitators should also share their own hopes and fears.
DIALOGUE / DEBATE / DISCUSSION (20 minutes)
This semester will be a process of learning to dialogue. Talk about how discussion and
dialogue are related yet dialogue happens on a deeper level--more personal, less abstract:
dialogue is both process (how things are said--communication [remember interactive
communication skills], commitment to remain in the process especially when
uncomfortable or when difficult) and content (what is said--emotional responses,
contradiction, personal experiences). The purpose of this activity is to explore:
 How does dialogue differ from a debate or a discussion?
 What does an ideal dialogue look like?
Helpful Hints:
To facilitate this discussion, you might:
 Break participants into three groups and have them model (or role play) examples
of dialogue, debate, and discussion.
 In the large group, have participants brainstorm on newsprint what it means to
engage in dialogue, debate, and discussion.
 In dyads, have participants share examples from their own lives of dialogue,
debate, and discussion.
Adapted From:
The Program on Intergroup Relations
University of Michigan, 2007
3

Engage participants in a visualization exercise about dialogue and debate. For
details on the visualization exercise, see the Appendix on pages 12-14.
Debriefing: Facilitators should briefly describe the differences between dialogue, debate,
and discussion and distribute handout and have students read to themselves. Refer to the
participants’ readings from last week (Yankelovich).
Closing Activities
CLOSING ROUND (5 minutes)
In one sentence, describe how you feel about today. Facilitators should affirm students’
participation during today's session.
ASSIGNMENTS (2 minutes)
Go over assignments due at the beginning of class the following week:
Readings
See Syllabus
Journal 1
1. Fill out the Identity Wheel (Posted on Carmen) to bring to next class.
2. Write your journal assignment responding to the following: In reflecting on this
session: How do you feel about the hopes and fears discussed in class? Are there
any guidelines that would be helpful in fulfilling the hopes and addressing the
fears? How can the facilitators/group support you?
Adapted From:
The Program on Intergroup Relations
University of Michigan, 2007
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STAGE TWO: Identity, Social Relations, and Conflict
SESSION 2: Group Membership and Multiple Identities
GOALS:
TO HELP PARTICIPANTS
 Begin to understand the concept of social group identities and multiple identities.
 Discuss issues of safety and establishing group norms.
 Begin learning and practicing dialogue skills.
RATIONALE:
This session helps build the foundation for dialogue by: developing group norms; helping
participants define themselves through social group membership; and learning
communication techniques that foster dialogue.
It is important to articulate that group norms/groundrules allow for a place for the group
to start; that throughout the dialogue process the groundrules may change. Hence,
groundrules can be fluid and most likely will be revisited in later sessions.
The purpose of defining social identity groups is to allow participants to explore their
own group memberships and the various roles multiple memberships play in our lives.
The concept of group membership and multiple identities may be new to some
participants and some may resist the categories, however, the focus should be on
developing common ground on which to relate while understanding the complexities and
fluidity of social group categories.
MATERIALS NEEDED:
 Nametags
 Stickers
 Markers
 Newsprint
 Social Identity Wheels (Students will have)
 Suggestions for Groundrules (Handout)
 Facilitator Copies of Course Readings
AGENDA:
Opening Activities
WELCOME, INTRODUCTIONS, & NAMETAGS (5 minutes)
Agenda should be posted on newsprint or board. (Optional) Introduce new members, if
any. Distribute nametags to the group.
Adapted From:
The Program on Intergroup Relations
University of Michigan, 2007
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ICEBREAKER (10 minutes)
Nametag Stickers: You will have eight sets of stickers, each indicating a different
identity. Please have written on the board or on newsprint, the “meaning” of the stickers
(e.g., yellow squares indicate gender, blue circles indicate religion, etc.). Participants
select three stickers representing the identities that are most important to them at this
moment and place those stickers on their nametags (e.g., someone might choose race,
class, and sexual orientation). Then, form groups of three to discuss why persons chose
these identities--explain why the three identities are very important right now.
REVISIT SAFETY & ESTABLISH GROUNDRULES (20 minutes)
Ask participants to recall their hopes and fears from last week, the readings (e.g.,
McCormick) for this week, their journals, and their thinking about what they need to feel
safe in this group and what they need in order to push their comfort zones. Potential
questions include:
 In light of the issues we discussed last week (e.g., co-learning, hopes and fears,
dialogue v. debate) and the readings for this week, what type of environment will
allow you and others to feel respected and heard -- especially when discussing
topics that are important and challenging? What do you need from others? What
do you need to give others? What type of groundrules will encourage this honest,
respectful, responsible communication across conflict? (Adapted from
Multiversity Research Curriculum).
Helpful Hints:
Given that is it still early in the semester, you might want to break the large group into
small groups first and have participants’ brainstorm what they need to feel safe in this
dialogue. After about 10-15 minutes, then you can bring the group back together to share
the ideas/concerns raised in the small groups.
Have a group discussion, in which individuals try to be clear about their needs, and in
which individuals begin to understand the needs of others. Point out that people need
different things; point out that norms and needs are fluid; that they will change over time.
Are there any needs that the group seems to hold in common? Are there conflicting
needs which individuals are expressing? (This is okay as long as persons understand
each other’s needs).
On newsprint, collectively establish groundrules to honor while in this dialogue space.
TRANSITION (2 minutes)
To help participants understand the succession of the main activity, explain the flow
before moving into the exercise. Tell them you will talk about social identity and
multiple identities first, and then do an exercise and share some answers with a partner
using dialogue communication techniques. This will be followed by a large group
discussion.
Adapted From:
The Program on Intergroup Relations
University of Michigan, 2007
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Main Activities
SOCIAL IDENTITY PROFILE EXERCISE (10 minutes)
Have participants take out their journals for this week, including their social identity
profile. To set up the social identity wheel exercise, first introduce the concepts of: (1)
social identities and multiple identities, and (2) active listening.

Social Identities and Multiple Identities: Social groups are a group of people who
share a range of physical, cultural, or social characteristics within one of the
categories of social identity. Social identities are categorized as gender, socioeconomic class, sexual orientation, ability (physical, developmental,
psychological), race, religion, ethnicity, and age. As members of human
communities our identities are fundamentally constructed in relation to others and
to the cultures in which we are embedded. It is impossible to separate our
individual identities from the various social group memberships we hold. In
dialogue one of our fundamental goals is to begin the process of understanding
how our social identity group memberships impact our experiences and points of
view and to understand both the differences and similarities of those experiences
as they may relate to group identity. (Read Teaching for Diversity and Social
Justice p. 9 and pp. 70-71).

Active Listening: One of the fundamental skills critical to the dialogue process is
active listening. Active listening is defined as “hearing and receiving a message
with understanding.” Purposeful sending, the counterpart to active listening is
defined as “giving a message so that the listener can respond to it.” Giving
feedback is defined as “information from others that enables participants to
understand the impact of what they say or do” (Taken from Teaching for
Diversity and Social Justice p. 31).
Helpful Hints:
Facilitators, please read through the above definitions and practice putting them in your
own words.
Explain that the students are now going to practice active listening, purposeful sending,
and giving feedback by sharing their social identity profiles in dyads.
SHARE IN DYADS (20 minutes)
Sharing the information we wrote in the identity grid, ask the students to practice active
listening, purposeful sending, and giving feedback in dyads. They should respond to the
questions, “which of your social group memberships were easiest to identify and why?”
and “which of your social group memberships were most difficult to identify and why?”
One person will share with purposeful sending while the other actively listens. The
speaker should take 3-4 minutes to share with the listener his/her answers. The listener
then asks clarifying questions and paraphrases the speaker’s message for 2-3 minutes.
Adapted From:
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The Program on Intergroup Relations
University of Michigan, 2007
The speaker should then give feedback to the listener about whether the listener
accurately paraphrased the speaker’s message for 1-2 minutes. Then have the partners
switch.
LARGE GROUP DEBRIEFING (10-15 minutes)
The challenge in debriefing this exercise is attending to both the content (the social
identity grid and the active listening model) and the process (how it felt to share
information about identities and how it felt to practice active listening, paraphrasing,
asking clarifying questions, and giving feedback). Think about how you will get at both
of these in the debriefing. Some potential process and content-related questions are listed
below.
Process-Related Debriefing Questions:
 What was this activity like for people?
 How does it feel to practice active listening?
 What was it like to listen and not engage verbally with the speaker?
 Why are these skills important in dialogue?
 Was it hard to remember what the listener had said?
 What questions did you want to ask the speaker as the speaker was speaking?
 How does this communication style differ from the communication style you are
accustomed to?
Content-Related Debriefing Questions:
Beverly Tatum’s article, “The Complexity of Identity: Who Am I?” can be helpful in
illuminating the content of the Social Identity Grid. Tatum uses identity exploration to
introduce the idea of dominance and subordination, target and agent groups. Some
possible questions might be:
 What questions are raised for you in trying to identify your social group
memberships?
 How does it feel to share information with someone else about your social
identities?
 Why are inequality, subordination, and domination important to consider when
talking about multiple identities?
 What do you think about Tatum’s explanations here?
 Do you identify more with your target identities?
 Are your agent identities invisible or taken for granted?
 How does this activity and your responses to it relate to the “Nametag Stickers”
icebreaker we did at the beginning of this session?
Another important point to recognize in this exercise is that the social identity grid is a
framework that is imperfect and cannot represent the full range of perspectives or
complexity embedded in considering social group memberships. Students may resist the
categorization and be frustrated in this process. Remember to acknowledge these
feelings but to challenge them to think about social identity and multiple identities as a
way of framing our experiences and this dialogue.
Adapted From:
The Program on Intergroup Relations
University of Michigan, 2007
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Wrap up the activity by summarizing some of the points made. Mention that since some
of us are not comfortable speaking in a group, some of us might be working on speaking
in this dialogue group, while other might be working on listening or both. Emphasize the
importance of speaking and listening with the purpose of developing mutual
understanding in intergroup dialogue work.
Closing Activities
UNFINISHED BUSINESS (5 minutes)
One of the frustrations of the dialogue process is that we always carryover unfinished
business from one session to the next. Sometimes these issues can be addressed and
often they cannot. Our work this semester happens both in and outside of this room. Our
two hours together is never enough time to process everything that happens. However,
readings, journals, discussions outside class, or e-mails are ways to keep this process
going even when we are not together. Remember to honor confidentiality if you need to
process with others outside this room. But, using your support network in and outside
this class can help you as you confront new issues and are on your learning edge.
CLOSING ROUND (2 minutes)
Ask participants to use one word to describe how they feel/think about today’s session.
Affirm students’ participation.
ASSIGNMENTS (5 minutes)
Go over assignments due at the beginning of class the following week:
Readings
See Syllabus
Testimonials
Testimonials are a way of conveying our own stories, in our own words. You read a number of
testimonials in the readings for the previous session. In the next session, we all will be sharing our
own testimonials in class. We would like you to write your story in preparation for the next session.
Be sure to incorporate the readings as you address the following
questions:
1. Tell us about your understanding of yourself as a person of your racial/ethnic background.
What have you experienced regarding your racial/ethnic identity? How does this affect the
person you are today?
2. What are some feelings or emotions that come up as you think about how and what
influenced your racial/ethnic identity over time?
3. Pick one other social identity (other than your racial/ethnic identity) that is also important to
the way you think about yourself. For example, it could be your gender, class, sexual
orientation, religion and so on.
4. What is this identity and how does that affect the person you are today? What are some
feelings or emotions that come up as you think about how and what influenced
understanding this identity over time?
Adapted From:
The Program on Intergroup Relations
University of Michigan, 2007
9
Helpful Hints:
One facilitator should also briefly model this testimonial assignment with the group
during this session to help concretize the expectations. One of the most important
purposes of modeling the assignment is to demonstrate the expected intensity of the
exercise. A careful presentation will illustrate how theoretical and narrative readings can
be linked to multiple identities, intersectionality, and interconnections across social
groups. (Adapted from Multiversity Research Curriculum).
Journal
1. How is it for you to see yourself through both a personal and social identity
perspective? Were you struck or surprised by anything in your own wheels?
2. How was it for you to share your wheels and listen to others? What were some
similarities you were able to draw with others? What were some differences?
How does belonging to your social categories influence/shape your behavior
toward others – those who “share your” group memberships as well as those who
do not?
3. How do you feel about your sense of comfort and trust in the group?
Adapted From:
The Program on Intergroup Relations
University of Michigan, 2007
10
STAGE TWO: Identity, Social Relations, and Conflict
SESSION 3: Testimonials
GOALS:
TO HELP PARTICIPANTS:
 Create a safe environment in which they can talk about their own lives and
experiences.
 Make personal and concrete some of their understandings of the relationships
between personal lives and group identities.
 Listen with the goal of understanding the experiences of other members of the
group.
 Create a stronger sense of community and commitment to the co-learning process.
RATIONALE:
The previous session focused on students exploring social identity memberships. Having
read other testimonials, this session will create an opportunity for students to tell their
own stories. Finding one’s own voice and narrative can be a powerful experience in
understanding self in relationship to others who are both the same and different. One part
of dialogue is giving students the chance to bring their experiences into the classroom as
a legitimate and authentic process of learning.
By creating the space and environment in which each student can share their own story,
facilitators and other students have the opportunity to create a stronger learning
community in which risks can be taken and experiences affirmed. This process can bring
individuals in the group closer together as a group and serve as a way to commit to the
co-learning process in real ways by listening and accepting each other’s stories.
MATERIALS NEEDED:
 Nametags
 Notecards
 Facilitator testimonials
 ICP Assignment (Handout)
 Newsprint with ICP groups
 Newsprint with ICP agenda
 Facilitator Binders
AGENDA:
Opening Activities
WELCOME & INTRODUCTIONS (2 minutes)
Agenda should be posted on newsprint or board. (Optional)
ROUND (2 minutes)
Adapted From:
The Program on Intergroup Relations
University of Michigan, 2007
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In one word: How did it feel to write your own testimonial?
Main Activities
TELLING OUR STORIES (90 minutes)
Ask students to share their testimonials and tell their own stories. Make sure participants
understand that they are free to tell or not tell any parts of their stories. Creating an open
environment--in which students feel able to take risks and be supported and not judged-is critical to this process. During the process, affirm the sharing and risk-taking without
judging what is being said.
As important personal issues may surface for the first time during this session, handout
information on Counseling and Psychological Services at the University, SAPAC, and/or
other support information at the beginning of the session.
It is often helpful for one facilitator to begin with her or his testimonial to demonstrate
the depth and openness of sharing permitted and affirmed within the dialogue session.

Time Management: While you want to make sure that each participant has enough
time to share his/her story, ideally testimonials should be finished within this class
period. Because testimonials have a tendency to take a long time and it is
important for everyone to have time to share, set a time limit (such as 5 minutes
for each person). If a participant exceeds this limit by more than 2-3 minutes,
facilitators should stop the testimonial and thank the participant.
Participants will be sitting in a circle. When one begins telling his/her story, have the
person on their right hold a watch and indicate when there is one minute left and when
time is up (this way, no one feels guilty for stopping each others’ stories--it’s the watch’s
fault). Everyone else in the circle should be listening attentively to the person sharing.
Explain to participants that it may be best to begin with the most difficult or important
part of their stories so that they do not miss sharing it because of the time constraint.
SHARING IN DYADS (10 minutes)
After everyone has finished sharing with the large group, break into dyads and allow five
minutes for each participant to share their thoughts and feelings with one other person.
Once participants have paired up, explain that each person in the dyad will have five
minutes to speak and that they can decide who will go first. One of the facilitators should
time their interactions to allow five minutes for the first and five minutes for the second.
RE-GROUP (5 minutes)
After returning to the large group, affirm students’ participation in the session. Thank the
group for their stories and their willingness to share.
ASSIGNMENTS (2 minutes)
Go over assignments due at the beginning of class the following week:
Adapted From:
The Program on Intergroup Relations
University of Michigan, 2007
12
Readings
See Syllabus
Journal
(1) After sharing and hearing testimonials, what struck you the most about the
experience, what moments were most meaningful for you? Thinking back on the first
day of dialogue: What, if anything, has changed about your perceptions of the other
participants in the dialogue (feel free to include the facilitators here if you feel
comfortable)? What new information or experience caused these changes?
(2) How do you feel using terms like privilege and oppression, sexism, racism, and other
-isms? Where do these feelings come from? Relate your experience with these ideas to
Johnson’s explanation of “the trouble we’re in.” What unearned privileges do you hold
because of your social identities? Please relate your discussion to at least 2 readings for
this week.
Helpful Hints:
In session 4, you will announce ICP teams and have the first of three in-class ICP team
meetings. To prepare, please see pages 36-40 of the Appendix.
Adapted From:
The Program on Intergroup Relations
University of Michigan, 2007
13
STAGE TWO: Identity, Social Relations, and Conflict
SESSION 4: Exploring Group Privilege
GOALS:
TO HELP PARTICIPANTS:
 Explore their own privileges and those of the other members of their dialogue.
 Identify differences and sources of conflict in the group.
 Experience conflict as an integral part of the learning process.
RATIONALE:
This session continues to consider differences and similarities between group
experiences. When considering differences, the concept of group privilege can be very
useful. It helps us understand why group identification is often prevalent and very
important in target groups while agent group members often remain oblivious to the
significance of their agent social identities. Drawing parallels between multiple identities
can help participants understand privilege from both agent and target perspectives.
The main exercise for this session, Privilege Walk/Power Shuffle, helps participants see
some of their own privileges and how they compare to those of other members of the
dialogue. This is often a challenging exercise, as it brings out participants’ awareness of
differences in their experiences and privileges. At the conclusion of the privilege walk,
the process ending statement (on page 20) helps to show how unearned privilege impacts
opportunity in society. This will help begin a transition into considering issues of social
justice in Stage Three.
MATERIALS NEEDED:
 Any Necessary Materials for Icebreaker
 Cycle of Socialization (Handout)
 Newsprint
 Markers
 Sheet with statements for Power Shuffle/Privilege Walk (Appendix p15)
 Facilitator Binders
AGENDA:
Opening Activities
WELCOME & INTRODUCTIONS (5 minutes)
Agenda should be posted on newsprint or board.
ICEBREAKER (5-10 minutes)
Facilitator’s Choice (see Appendix on pages 4-11 for ideas)
Main Activities
Adapted From:
The Program on Intergroup Relations
University of Michigan, 2007
14
CYCLE OF SOCIALIZATION (20 minutes) -- (Adapted from Multiversity Research
Curriculum)
Distribute the “Cycle of Socialization” Handout.
Facilitators should briefly model how they have been affected by the cycle of
socialization and in the process encourage a natural dialogue within the group about how
to make sense of what our social identities mean. Each facilitator can help bring the
cycle to life by linking core experiences to different parts of the cycle. Take care to do
this in no more than 5 minutes.
Have participants get into four equal size (predetermined mixed identity) groups. Assign
each group a portion of the cycle (first socialization, institutional and cultural
socialization, enforcements, and results). Ask each group to brainstorm some of the ways
that they have been socialized around issues related to the dialogue topic (e.g., race,
gender, sexual orientation) for 5-7 minutes. Write examples for each cycle on newsprint.
Put up newsprint on wall for sharing with larger group. Then, a member from each group
should take one or two minutes to report out to the larger group some of their experiences
and insights from their discussions.
The large group debriefing should allow participants to think about their socialization
process vis-à-vis the entire Cycle. Facilitators should focus on similarities and
differences of how people were socialized around these various identities. Where
possible, encourage direct links to the readings and to testimonials.
TRANSITION
We are noticing from the Cycle of Socialization that various social identities have
different meanings in our society. We would like to further explore this issue...
POWER SHUFFLE/PRIVILEGE WALK (15 minutes)
[NOTE: it is important not to mention the title of this exercise before it happens. Let
participants come up with their own ideas about the meaning and significance of this
experience].
Facilitator explains: “To begin, please form a straight line in the middle of the room
facing XXX wall. We will read a series of statements asking you to take a step backward
or forward, depending on your experience with the statement. We ask that you do this
exercise in silence, helping to maintain a reflective atmosphere for all participants.”
Facilitators should then read a series of statements (e.g., “If you grew up with enough
food to eat, take one step forward.” “If you can legally marry the person you love, take a
step forward.” “If you can buy a full range of nylons, make-up, and hair care products at
any department store in town, take a step forward.”). The statements should pertain to
the focus of your dialogue (e.g., Race/Ethnicity should read statements related to race
Adapted From:
The Program on Intergroup Relations
University of Michigan, 2007
15
privilege). For a list of sample statements, see the Appendix on pages 15-19. You may
also want to come up with your own statements pertaining to your dialogue.
Process Ending Statement: “Standing where you are, take a minute to look around the
room. Notice where you are standing, notice where others are standing, and notice how
you feel.” (Pause). Everyone quietly return to your seats.
DEBRIEFING (35 minutes)
At first, it is important to focus on participants’ experiences during this exercise. People
will have different reactions to moving backwards and forwards as well as to the ending
statement. The content of the statements may also illicit strong reactions from
participants. After participants’ experiences in the exercise are acknowledged, it is
important to relate these experiences to situations in society such as the invisibility of
privilege and oppression, the motivation of the disadvantaged, and the feelings often
associated with different positions in a social hierarchy. It is also important to
acknowledge that we all have multiple identities -- some which are privileged and others
that are not privileged -- within U.S. society. The statements read in this activity,
however, only focused on the dialogue topic.
As emotions will probably be running high, it would be a good idea to begin to debrief
the privilege walk/power shuffle in three small groups before returning to the large group.
To form the small groups, ask participants to divide up based on their position in the line.
For example:
 Group A: Participants who ended up in the back of the line
 Group B: Participants who ended up in the middle of the line
 Group C: Participants who ended up in the front of the line
Debriefing in Small Groups
In the small groups, participants should consider the following for about 15 minutes:
 What is this activity about?
 What are your initial reactions/feeling about the activity?
 How did it feel to take steps backward and forward?
 How did it feel to look around the room at the end of the exercise?
 How do you feel about where you ended up in relation to where others were at the
end of the exercise?
 Have you ever thought about your place in this system? If no, why? If yes, what
have you been thinking about? Please be specific.
Debriefing in the Large Group
Then, have the three small groups reconvene into the large group. The small groups can
begin by sharing some of their responses to the questions asked (above). Other potential
debriefing questions for the large group include:
 What is this activity about?
 What did you learn about your fellow classmates during this activity?
 What did you hear that surprised you? What didn’t you hear?
Adapted From:
The Program on Intergroup Relations
University of Michigan, 2007
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Were there any privileges read that you didn’t understand or didn’t agree with?
How did it feel to think about these issues?
Why did we do this activity?
What does this demonstration mean for you in this society?
Is the system in which we live fair?
Should society be ashamed of the gap between the person at the front and the
person at the back of the room? When is there an opportunity to close that gap?
What can be done? Individually? Collectively?
Why did we talk about the Cycle of Socialization before doing the privilege walk?
Do you see any connections between this activity and the course and/or readings?
o In the readings, “We’re in Trouble” and “The Trouble We’re In,” what
does Johnson say about the trouble we are in? How does this exercise
relate to Johnson’s discussion? What unearned privileges do you hold
because of your social identities? (Please ask students to think about their
responses from Journal 4).
See Appendix on pages 20-21 for additional notes on how to debrief the privilege walk.
ICP GROUP MEETING (15 minutes) -- (Adapted from Multiversity Research
Curriculum)
In this session we make time for participants to meet one another and begin discussions
about how they will work across difference and form alliances as they collaborate on a
project important to all.

ICP First Meeting Agenda
o Introductions
o Review of the ICP Assignment
o Hopes and Fears for the ICP
o Generation of Project Ideas
o Schedule Next Meeting
In preparation for this meeting, please do the following:
 Alert students to the notion that we are now going to have their first Intergroup
Collaboration Project (ICP) team meeting…which means that they will now learn
who their teammates are for this assignment.
 Note that the facilitators tried to take great care and consideration in the
construction of these teams. The team assignments were also made to create as
diverse groups as possible, based on the folks in this dialogue…as the title
implies, we are looking to create a space for you all to work on a project across
group differences.
 Reveal the assignments on the Newsprint and read them off.
 Distribute and review handouts about the ICP assignment
 Post the “ICP First Meeting Agenda” Newsprint.
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

Invite the ICP groups to circle up in the room and ask them to discuss the five
points listed on the agenda.
While the groups meet, indicate that you will be available for questions. Students
may have lots of questions. It may be necessary to take these outside of class, as
students may also want to avoid relationship building at this point.
o If the group energy is around answering some specific questions, do so.
o Eventually stop answering questions, and invite them to contact you if
they have further questions. Invite the group to begin their meeting by
following the outline.
o Also invite them to focus on relationship building and the generation of
ideas, but to not leave before scheduling their second meeting.
o Remind participants that Part II of the ICP assignment requires them to
meet with their ICP group outside of class to continue brainstorming ideas.
After finalizing their ICP plans, they must write up a two-paged typed
proposal describing what they want to accomplish and what steps they will
take to accomplish their goal(s) (due next session -- Session 6).
Offering support to the ICP Groups
In order to support the work of the ICP groups, each facilitator should identify
themselves as a resource to them (in a casual way) while the groups are wrapping up their
discussion.
 Decide with your co-facilitator which groups you will “connect” with (you both
will know best how to choose).
 During the last 5 minutes or so, approach each of your groups while they are still
meeting.
 Share with the group that if they need one of the facilitators to be a resource -- for
whatever reason, to call upon you (e.g., “My contact info is on the syllabus…”).
 Ask the group if they have their next meeting scheduled yet (if no, invite them to
do so now; if yes, praise accordingly!)
 Quickly move to your next group(s) and do the same…
Hopefully, students will take advantage of this, somewhat, personal invitation of support,
should they need it.
Closing Activities
CLOSING ROUND (5 minutes)
Describe how you feel right now after today’s session.
ASSIGNMENTS (2 minutes)
Go over assignments due at the beginning of class the following week:
Readings
See Syllabus
Journal
• Reflect on the activity in class todayAdapted From:
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University of Michigan, 2007
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• Why did we do this activity?
• What does this demonstration mean for you in this society?
• Is the system in which we live fair?
• Why did we talk about the Cycle of Socialization before doing the activtiy?
• Do you see any connections between this activity and the course and/or readings?
ICP Proposals
Each ICP group should submit a two-paged typed proposal describing what they want to
accomplish, what steps they will take to accomplish their goal(s), and a timetable for
implementing their project. In the proposal, describe individual, institutional, and
structural discrimination and discuss how the chosen ICP project tackles one or more of
these forms of oppression. Please relate the discussion to at least 2 readings for this week
(e.g., Pincus, Blumenfeld & Raymond).
Helpful Hints:
In session 5, you should collect the ICP proposals from the group. In preparation for
session 6, you need to read the submitted ICP proposals and provide written feedback to
the groups. Time will be set-aside in Practicum during session 6 to talk about the
proposal ideas and how to provide appropriate feedback.
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University of Michigan, 2007
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STAGE TWO: Identity, Social Relations, and Conflict
SESSION 5: Caucus Groups
GOALS:
TO HELP PARTICIPANTS:
 Explore the dynamics of inter-group relations in the classroom.
 Explore membership in own social identity group in the dialogue.
 Understand individual and group identity within sanctum of own group.
 Reflect and articulate experiences that impact the current self-identity.
RATIONALE:
This session bridges the transition from learning about one’s own group, to beginning to
learn about the experiences of the other group. The students will complete some work in
caucus groups and then begin to talk across groups with the goal of beginning to identify
similarities and differences in their experiences across social group identities.
Students may resist working in like identity groups, as their purpose in coming to the
dialogue was to talk with the other group. However, continuing the caucus groups can
help the participants at later stages in the dialogue understand the complexities of social
identity and multiple identities by exploring in their own groups first. Often this can
create a safer space in which to talk about early socialization experiences and reach some
common ground while exploring differences within their own group in ways that may not
come out in the larger dialogue.
MATERIALS NEEDED:
 Newsprint
 Markers
 Web of Oppression and Identity Cards (Gender/Race)
 Facilitator Binders
AGENDA:
Opening Activities
WELCOME & INTRODUCTIONS (5 minutes)
Agenda should be posted on newsprint or board.
WEB OF OPPRESSION/PRIVILEGE (30 minutes)
Adapted from Arizona State University IRC curriculum, 2000; Zúñiga, Birgham
& Kiem, 2005; Zúñiga & Cytron-Walker, 2003.
Helpful Hints:
Participants may feel hopeless, angry, guilty, and drained at the end of this exercise, since
discussion has indicated that it’s difficult if not impossible to escape the system(s)
entirely. Ask about, and acknowledge these feelings.
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The readings are easily applied –but be creative and consider ways to incorporate other
readings as well. Their messages are vital to the health of the discussion.
Rationale:
This activity is designed to illustrate the systemic nature of discrimination, derogation,
and oppression against some social identity groups and of consequent privilege for others
in modern U.S. society (as opposed to individual acts). It will also help to illustrate the
consequences and impact of being an ally.
The web helps demonstrate how different social groups are
served/privileged or disempowered/targeted based on their social
and cultural status in society. It also depicts the inherent
interconnectedness of people and social institutions/systems of
advantages. And it demonstrates that we are all implicated and that
the cost of oppression affects all of us.
Procedure:
1. Spread the Web on the floor in the center of the room, and
have participants form a circle around it.
2. Have a participant take hold of loose end and pick up the
Web. (If too few participants they can hold multiple ends;
if too many participants, they should share or watch).
3. Ask participants what the rope reminds them of (e.g., web,
net, grid, etc.)
4. Ask each holder to choose an attached label, and read it
aloud. Hand each the corresponding card, and have
him/her read its example aloud.
5. Repeat around the web until all labels and matching
example cards have been read.
6. Ask what these examples are about (e.g., racism against
people of color).
7. Ask whether they have heard these examples before.
Whether these examples exist and are “out there” in
society – not to say we support them, just that they're "out
there." Can they think of other examples that target people
of color around these label groups?
Debriefing:
While most people will admit they’ve heard these or something
similar, resistance will show immediately as someone talks about
how some have changed, and/or how there are jokes, etc. against
white people too. It is important to acknowledge that some things
are changing, in some places, in some ways – but even if they
merely recognize the individual items, they still exist in some
form. It is also important to acknowledge that there are “white
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University of Michigan, 2007
General Notes…
Facilitators should keep the definition of the
following words in mind as they proceed
with the web:
Discrimination; Individual
discrimination; Institutional
discrimination; Prejudice; and
Oppression
Below are several points you can make to
address the feelings that arise during the
class–select those related to the class
character and comments.
- If previous discussions have included
introduction of levels of
prejudice/oppression (individual, intergroup,
institutional, societal/systemic), discuss how
different examples are parts of different
levels. For example, jokes may be
interpersonal, while laws are institutional.
Yet all support the larger, integrated
system. How do the articles help you with
this question? Discuss individual,
institutional, and structural discrimination.
What are these and how do all three apply
to the web of oppression/privilege?
-The intersection of our multiple identities
complicates our treatment/contribution to
the various systems. For example, a
woman of color has a different experience
than whites (men and women) and men of
color; a lesbian has a different experience
with systems of sex and sexual orientation
oppression than does a gay man. Our
multiplicity of identities means that our
experience will vary from those who
do/don’t share our constellation of identities
(social positions in the systems).
-So we see how a person of color and a
white person might experience that system
differently but how about a man of color and
a woman of color? Or a gay white man and
a straight man of color? Etc. How do our
readings help us understand these
interconnecting systems, particularly racism
and sexism?
21
trash” jokes, etc.; however, use these points to transition into discussion:









Why are these examples presented in this format? Why a web? How are they
connected? They add up to bring/keep people of color down and to bring/keep
white people up.
Discuss how the individual pieces connect. (For example, whites can also be
targets of mistreatment, particularly at the individual and interpersonal level, but
when we look at the broad systemic nature of the problem, “whites as a social
group” are not subject to the same treatment as “people of color as a social
group.”)
If people of color are the target/object of each of these pieces, what affect does the
web/system have on them? (Demonstrate how it literally prevents someone from
moving freely.)
Who supports this system? White people and people of color. (Discuss how
whites are traditionally blamed for racism and how people of color also collude in
the system too).
How can we stop supporting it? Let go of the system. Stop participating in jokes,
media, etc.
o Ask participants what is different about, for example, a black person making
jokes about a white person, as opposed to the other way around (that is, a
white person, or at least white people as a group, have a historical and
continuing power to actually harm people of color on a broad scale, whereas
the reverse is not the case). Also, point out the role of intersections. There are
jokes about poor white trash because of classism, not because they’re white.
And, point out the different purposes jokes serve. Sometimes they function to
put other people down. Other times they function to relieve the stress and
hopelessness of oppression. For example, there are plenty of derogatory jokes
about the President, but that doesn’t make him an oppressed minority, it
makes him a powerful and scary person who we make jokes about because we
don’t know what else to do.
Let’s say one or two of us stop participating (or let go), what happens to the
system? Weaker, but still supported by many.
What happens to those who resist? Are criticized by those still in it. Ostracized.
Their own racial identity is questioned.
What are some specific examples of how white people and people of color will
receive pressure to conform (enticement to return and/or punishment for letting
go)?
Are there costs for white people (or other agent/privileges groups)? Yes: white
people have a harder time having authentic relationship with people of color, they
may be afraid of how people of color view them, etc. HOWEVER, these are costs
of the greater privileges and freedoms – NOT equivalent/equal to oppression.
The web/system is one of both oppression (against target group) and privilege (for
dominant/ agent group); that it serves different groups differently is important to show
the inequity of it. AND, it also shows that we all have costs and responsibilities to
challenge.
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Transition:
At the same time, what does the constructed/piecemeal nature of the systems tell us about
resisting or changing it? Since they are constructed by individual, institutional and other
acts, they can be de- and re-constructed by the actions of individuals, groups and
organizations. The small change of the individual is still important, and stresses the need
to build cooperative resistance through co/alliances.
Main Activities
DEFINITIONS: INDIVIDUAL, INSTITUTIONAL, STRUCTURAL (15 minutes) -(Adapted from Multiversity Research Curriculum)
Clarifying terminology is essential for effective dialogue as it helps participants
acknowledge the different ways to understand terms and may reduce future
misunderstandings.
For this activity, place participants in three groups. Drawing from their journal
assignments and this week’s readings (e.g., Pincus), each group will be asked to define
one of the following: individual, institutional, or structural discrimination. The groups
should be given 8-10 minutes to discuss the term and arrive at a list of descriptors for the
term and concrete examples they will present to the larger group. Each group will have 2
minutes to share their definition and examples. After each group has presented
facilitators should clarify the terms (if necessary) and invite a questions or comments
from the entire group. Facilitators should link this discussion back to the in/out group
activity and then transition to the next activity: caucus groups.
Helpful Hints:
To link the definitions exercise to the in/out group exercise, you may say something like:
“By themselves in/out group are morally neutral, however because we tend to favor our
own group and some groups have more power than others, this results in a system where
individual, institutional, and structural discrimination can and does occur.”
TRANSITION (2 minutes) -- (Adapted from Multiversity Research Curriculum)
Explain that in the next exercise, the group divides into caucus groups to explore the
personal impact of power, privilege, and oppression in a more intimate environment.
Acknowledge that this is a unique opportunity for each social identity group to grapple
with questions, concerns, and issues related to the dialogue. Acknowledge that this
arrangement may seem contradictory to our larger purpose of dialoguing across
difference and that some people may feel uncomfortable dividing into groups.
Participants are often resistant to breaking into caucus groups. They may be thinking and
feeling, “we’re in this class to get to know each other, why are we being split up?”
Validate participants’ feelings and explain that during and after the experience there will
be opportunities to talk about their feelings and the usefulness of this exercise. Explain
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how the next section will help to prepare them to deepen the conversation both in caucus
groups and in the large group dialogues to come. Assure them that we will come together
during the next class and rejoin the larger group so that there can be some positive
experiences and learning by being with one’s own group. Also let them know that
intragroup discussions are appropriate, even necessary for effective intergroup action.
CAUCUS GROUPS (45 minutes) -- (Zúñiga, Cytron-Walker, & Kachwaha, 2004)
Inform participants that we will now be spending time in caucus groups -- small groups
based on target/agent status (e.g., people of color/white people, women/men,
LBGQ/straight), to explore the experiences particular to that group.
 Invite people who identify as the agent group (e.g., white, men, heterosexual) to
go to room “#” with the assigned facilitator. [NOTE: The privileged group should
be asked to leave the room].
 Caucus groups will have about 40 minutes for this discussion. Five to seven
minutes before the end of the caucus group, invite participants to free-write about
their reactions to the discussion, and to identify something they would like to
report back to the large group the following week.
 Begin all caucus group discussions with “here and now” questions, capturing the
responses on newsprint (have each question pre-printed on newsprint to facilitate
the process and save time):
o How does it feel to be identified as a member of this group?
o How do you feel about dividing up into caucus groups based on social
identities (especially after debriefing the in/out group exercise earlier
in this session)?
Each caucus group should discuss the questions listed below (as appropriate):
 How does it feel to be identified as a member of this group?
 How do you feel about dividing up into caucus groups?
 What messages were you taught about being a member of this group growing up
(e.g., family, school, neighborhood, places of worship, media)? What has been
the impact of that socialization on your life? Consider some of the costs and
benefits.
 What do you like about being a member of this group? If that is a difficult
question to answer, share why.
 Are there any questions you would like to ask other people in this group about
what it is like for them to be a member of this group?
 When have you felt good or proud to be a member of this group?
 What is easy/difficult about being a member of this group in this society or on
campus?
 How can we use our common and different experiences and awareness to resist or
challenge the systems of oppression?
 What benefits and costs can you associate with resistance?
At the conclusion of the caucus groups, reconvene as a large group for the closing round
and announcement of the assignments for next week.
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Helpful Hints:
Be sure to remind the participants that they will have the opportunity to debrief the
caucus groups next week.
Closing Activities
CLOSING ROUND (5 minutes)
In one word, describe how you feel right now after today’s session.
ASSIGNMENTS (5 minutes)
Go over assignments due at the beginning of class the following week:
Readings
See Syllabus.
Journal
To be assigned by facilitators.
Suggestion (Adapted from Multiversity Research Curriculum):
 How did it feel to break into caucus groups by social identity group lines and why
do you think you felt this way? What are some of the differences in attitudes,
experiences, and feelings you noted between people of your own identity group?
How has this caucus group experience influenced or changed the way you think
about your own identity group and other identity groups?
 While you were listening to experiences of others in your group, what was one
thing they said that stayed with you and made you think more about privilege or
oppression? How have you personally and members of your identity group been
affected by privilege or oppression at the interpersonal and institutional level
(e.g., family, schools, neighborhood, workplace, college campus, media, legal
system, etc.)? Please be sure to refer to at least 2 coursepack readings.
Issues of Social Justice/Hot Topics Assignment -- (Adapted from Multiversity
Research Curriculum)
In Sessions 7 through 9 we will be applying our dialogue skills and concepts to discuss
everyday, real life, controversial issues. As participants, your input on the topics that are
important, interesting, and relevant for you is critical. Therefore, we’d like to ask you
each to suggest four “hot topics” relating to our dialogue topic that you’d like the group
to dialogue about.
Participants should email/Post to discussion group the facilitators four hot topics
suggestions in the next three days. Think about such things as:
 Issues you haven’t asked questions about
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



Issues you have been reluctant to talk about in the presence of the other group
members thus far
Subjects we haven’t talked about yet
Issues you and your friends talk about
Hot issues on campus and in the community, in the news, etc.
Topic suggestions should focus on and include the following two areas: (1)
personal/interpersonal issues, and (2) institutional/structural issues. Some examples
might include: racial profiling, affirmative action, Title IX, immigration policies, gay
marriage, interracial dating, and so on.
See Appendix on pages 34-35 for more information about how to prepare for hot topics.
Helpful Hints:
Remember, you should have collected the ICP proposals from the group in this session 5.
In preparation for session 6, you need to read the submitted ICP proposals and provide
written feedback to the groups.
In addition to the ICP proposals, remember that you need to begin preparing for Hot
Topics occurring in sessions 7-9.
Adapted From:
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University of Michigan, 2007
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STAGE TWO: Identity, Social Relations, and Conflict
SESSION 6: Fishbowls
GOALS:
TO HELP PARTICIPANTS (Adapted from Multiversity Research Curriculum):
 Continue exploring the meaning and impact of social group identity on self and
others.
 Identify similarities and differences within and across social identity groups.
 Actively listen and take the perspective of others.
 Ask questions.
RATIONALE (Adapted from Multiversity Research Curriculum):
Fishbowls are opportunities for honest, reflective speaking and listening. In a fishbowl
structure each social identity group alternates sitting in the inner and outer circle.
Participants often feel that this activity sets the stage for open discussion on hot topics.
This activity can be considered a high risk yet, if structured well, it can provide a
wonderful structure for active listening across racial lines. This session can also highlight
and integrate important intergroup dynamics.
MATERIALS NEEDED:
 Any Necessary Materials for Icebreaker
 Newsprint with Fishbowl Questions
 ICP proposals with Written Feedback
 Facilitator Binders
AGENDA:
Opening Activities
WELCOME & INTRODUCTION (5 minutes)
Agenda should be posted on newsprint or board.
ICEBREAKER (5 minutes)
Facilitator’s Choice (see Appendix on pages 4-11 for ideas)
Main Activities
REVISIT CAUCUS GROUPS (15 minutes) -- (Adapted from Multiversity Research
Curriculum)
Get into caucus groups to briefly revisit last week’s discussion. Explain the fishbowl
procedure and ask the group to identify highlights from last week’s conversation they
would like to share in the fishbowl. You may start by asking them to share any
reflections that came up for them as they did their reflective journal assignment. If
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participants feel a bit anxious, you may also want to share with them “general” fishbowl
questions that you and your co-facilitator have developed for this session.
FISHBOWLS (40 minutes) -- (Zúñiga, Cytron-Walker, & Kachwaha, 2004)
Post the fishbowl questions which might include:
 What was hard/easy about meeting in caucus groups?
 What are some highlights of your caucus group conversation that you would like
to share with other social identity group?
 Are there any after-thoughts you would also want to share with your group and
the other group?
 As you think/feel about what it is like to be a member of your social identity
group:
o When have you felt proud about being a member of your own social
identity group?
o How are you being hurt or benefiting from racism (or sexism,
heterosexism, etc.)?
o What are some of the costs/benefits (advantages/disadvantages) of being a
member of your social identity group?
Fishbowl Directions:
 Each group will alternate sitting in the inner circle and the outer circle.
 In the first round, one social identity group will sit in a circle, facing inwards so
that they can see other members of their identity group. The “outer” group
consisting of members of the other social identity group will be seated around the
inner circle where they can see and hear the discussion in the inner circle.
 To begin, ask people whose social identity corresponds to the agent group (e.g.,
white, male, heterosexual) to move to the inner circle. (The privileged group
often has the opportunity for the “last word” on many issues. To reverse the
prevailing social dynamics, the agent people should typically go first. However,
it is always helpful to take into account what is going on in your particular
dialogue before making this final decision). The same-identity co-facilitator
should move to the center with the participants and facilitate the process. The
facilitator in the inner circle asks the questions of the group.
 Each group will have about 20 minutes to address questions among themselves.
 The outer circle remains silent.
 When time is up, the facilitator in the outer circle will ask members of the outer
circle to verbally acknowledge one thing they heard from the inner circle (but not
make further comment or response). Clarify that these statements should be a
paraphrase (repeat of what was said), not an interpretation of what was said or a
response to what was said.
 Have groups switch places and repeat the exercise.
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LARGE GROUP DEBRIEFING (25 minutes) -- (Adapted from Multiversity Research
Curriculum)
After both rounds are complete, bring the whole group back together, and ask:
 What were your reactions to this activity?
 What was it like to be in the inner circle? Outer circle?
 What did you learn from this activity?
 How are we doing as a group?
 What are some ways we have implemented dialogue skills?
 How did your social identities impact this dialogue session?
 Were there any particular dynamics or tensions during this session or previous
sessions that are affecting your ability to participate fully?
 Be sure to link the fishbowl activity to the readings selected
ICP GROUP MEETING (20 minutes)
During this check-in, provide written feedback to the groups about their ICP proposals
and allow participants to create a plan for implementing their ICP. Remind them that the
entire ICP project (Parts I-IV) is due by session 11 and the journal assignment and 1 page
ICP summary also due on session 11 need to be written after the ICP is completed.
In order to continue to support the ICP groups, it may be helpful to “poke your head” into
the groups while they start to do a quick process check. This is intended to be a quick
check in, but if there are more dynamics that require your attention, instruct the group
that you’d like to quickly check in with the other group and that you will be “right back.”
Ask the group:
 How are things are going?
 Are all members of their ICP group participating in the completion of the project?
Are they working on a plan to collectively complete the 1 page summary?
 Do they have their next meeting scheduled yet? (If no, invite them to do so now;
if yes, praise accordingly!)
 Quickly move to your next group(s) and do the same…
Hopefully, the groups will be doing well…but be prepared to spend some time with the
group if they need assistance. It may be necessary to reconnect with the group at the
conclusion of this session.
CLOSING ROUND (5 minutes) -- (Adapted from Multiversity Research Curriculum)
Facilitator’s Choice: One possibility is to have participants name one challenge they
faced and one insight they gained through today’s discussion.
ASSIGNMENTS (2 minutes)
Go over assignments due at the beginning of class the following week:
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Readings
To be assigned by facilitators. The following session, session 7, begins Stage Three,
Issues of Social Justice/Hot Topics. The first issues session should focus in some way on
the interpersonal interactions and relationships.
 Tell participants that the topic for next week is __________
 Provide them with copies of the readings
Journal (Adapted from Multiversity Research Curriculum):
How did it feel to share your caucus group experience in the fishbowl/large group today?
Why do you think you felt this way?
 What are some of the differences and similarities you noted during the large
group dialogue between your identity group and people of the other identity
group? How do you make meaning of these similarities/differences? Please
make connections between the privilege walk, cycle of socialization, caucus
groups, and at least 2 readings.
 Write one additional paragraph on your experience with your ICP and your ICP
Group: How is your planning for the ICP going? What are your feelings/thoughts
about your overall group process thus far? What is going well? What isn’t? How
are your and your groups’ social identities affecting how you interact with one
another? How do the readings due in the course thus far relate to or exemplify the
dynamics of your experience planning for the ICP with your group members?
ICP Group Work
Remind participants that they should be continuing to work on the ICP assignment.
Helpful Hints:
Remember that you need to continue preparing for the upcoming Hot Topics sessions.
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STAGE THREE: Issues of Social Justice/Hot Topics
SESSIONS 7-8: Overview (Specific Instructions to Follow)
Linking Students’ Experience on Campus to Intergroup and Institutional
Structures
Stage Three shifts the dialogue focus from group building and awareness-raising
around concepts and issues, to sustained inquiry of and dialogue about recurring topics of
intergroup conflict. This is the time to address the issues that have come up during the
first half of the term. What issues interest your participants? What topics have come
from their testimonials and past experience with this intergroup conflict? What current
events in the past few months have shed light on the focus of your dialogue? The goal
here is to link students’ experiences with the social events and structures in the world
around them. What is changing in society? What isn’t? What do these events imply for
the groups included in your dialogue? We are shifting from the skill-building and
knowledge-gaining of previous sessions, to a more intentional focus on the practice of
dialogue skills.
The content outcomes are not ignored during this stage, as participants engage in
open dialogues about conflicting social issues that commonly cause controversy in
conversations about these social identities. The selected “hot topics” encourage
participants to develop an increased understanding about the impact of cultural
differences, social norms, institutional policies, and unequal access to resources (Adapted
from Multiversity Research Curriculum).
While facilitators and participants collectively generate the specific topics for
each session, focus on the following broad categories is recommended: the interpersonal
issues across identities (session 7) and the institutional (session8).(Adapted from
Multiversity Research Curriculum).
GOALS:
TO HELP PARTICIPANTS (Adapted from Multiversity Research Curriculum):
 To examine how personal/group socialization influences our perspective, feelings,
and behaviors regarding real life issues.
 To discuss real life, controversial topics.
 Learn how to stay in dialogue even when groups differ.
 To learn how to use conflict in a way that deepens understanding.
RATIONALE:
The previous three sessions in the dialogue have been opportunities for participants to get
to know each other personally and as members of different social identity groups. The
exercises and assignments have allowed for them to grapple with the issues of personal
and group identity, and explore some of the differences in their experiences of advantages
and disadvantages in society. Some of these are also translated to their lives as students
on this campus.
Stage Three of the intergroup dialogue process is a transition point in many respects.
First, it moves from sharing perspectives and listening to others’ to a critical analysis of
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specific issues as manifestations of the intergroup relationship, and the roles we play visà-vis these issues. It will involve substantial dialogue, asking questions, clarifying issues,
questioning oneself and others, understanding and re-defining perspectives in a sociohistorical context. The intergroup nature of the dialogue will also become more visible
in large group/mixed group discussions. Second, whereas previously there has been
some exploration of group differences and experiences, this stage attempts to show how
these differences are linked to power and privilege. Each issue under discussion shows
ways in which these group differences translate to systems of oppression. Third, the role
of the facilitator is more developed in this stage. Whereas in previous stages a substantial
time was spent in structured learning activities for participants, facilitators in this stage
will be working with more intergroup dialogue and discussion, and also some education
by providing information around the pertinent issues.
Therefore, in addition to setting up and running the activities, facilitators will have to be
in tune with participants’ needs for information and clarification of issues. They will also
play a crucial role of observer, noting emergent patterns in the group around
communication, information about issues, emotional impact of issues, and so on. A key
skill and educational resource for facilitators will be to name these patterns and link them
to the issues and social arrangements. Facilitators must also begin to work across identity
lines, that is work with members of the other group.
Stage Three of the intergroup dialogue process is a concerted effort to link students’
experiences on campus to institutional and social structures such as the family, legal,
political and economic systems, religion, education among others. They will examine
how these social structures in fact create reward and punishment systems; sanction right
and wrong; give power, access and privileges to members of certain groups at the
expense of others; and how differences between groups are set up in a hierarchy of what
is valued in society.
Instead of having abstract discussions of power and justice, sessions 8 through 10 take on
specific issues that are pertinent to the intergroup relationship. These issues have
historical, sociological, economic, psychological, and political influences and
implications. Linking discussion of these topics closely to the readings of historical
perspectives, statistical information, and other data is the focus of Stage Three. There are
two other links that will enrich the dialogue process: one, linking the feelings to the facts;
and two, linking the content of these issues to the processes that emerge in the dialogue.
Stage Three is divided into three different sessions. These sessions all share some overall
goals and objectives, and have others that are unique to each session. We state here the
shared goals. The unique goals may vary depending on the dialogue group and the issue.
Our overall goal is to have participants examine the influence of forces outside the
dialogue group on their lives and the intergroup relationship (how social structures and
institutions can have an effect on individuals and groups), and also on the processes and
patterns that emerge in the dialogue such as intergroup communication patterns.
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Furthermore, we hope the dialogue can be a space for constructive confrontation of these
issues and for identifying ways in which members of both target and non-target groups
can engage in individual, intergroup, and social change actions. As such, we hope the
dialogue can provide them with an alternative vision of how things can be, or at least how
participants can work toward challenging social inequalities.
Since this stage of the dialogue is concerned with making issues of social justice and
inequality real for participants, there will likely be a high level of conflict in the group.
Additionally, participants may struggle with their roles as perpetrators and victims of the
oppressive system. It is, thus, important to clarify and unpack these conflicts, emotions
and issues. These issues are difficult to discuss. Discussing them in an intergroup
situation is unusual. Sometimes we don't know what we are allowed to say and how our
views about certain issues will affect other dialogue participants. This stage is crucial in
participants’ trusting the dialogue process. It has to allow them space to be confused and
challenged, yet supported and safe in the dialogue environment. Each issue will highlight
some divisions or separations between the groups. An open dialogue about the issues and
the conflicts can also allow for identifying or practicing ways of building bridges across
these divisions.
Participants can explore how to be allies in the bridging process. At the end of each
session in this stage, therefore, we ask the facilitators to leave some time for processing
the dialogue. Sharing feelings and observations about group processes--feelings of
comfort, ability to take risks, level of conflict, participation, safety--is a way of
immediately understanding the impact of dialogue on participants. It will also model and
encourage open feedback to the whole group.
The shared objectives converge in the discussion of issues. Think about these as you plan
your sessions. For each issue, we are trying to map out the relationship of the issue to the
following domains:
 Relevance to the participant groups.
 The influence of social institutions (e.g., family, media, schools, religions) and
systems of privilege and oppression (e.g. sexism, racism, anti-Semitism,
heterosexism) upon how participants experience, understand, and define the issue.
 Statistical and historical data about the issue through coursepack readings and fact
sheets which attempt to provide a more representative picture.
 Complexities (including contradictions) involved in working with the issue for
target and non-target group members.
 Patterns emerging in the group as data for understanding some of the barriers to
dialogue about the issue across social group boundaries.
 Taking action on the issue in order to work in alliance both in the intergroup
dialogue and outside of the dialogue.
 Possible next steps for group members to work in alliance and/or coalition around
the issue in order to reduce oppression.
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STAGE THREE: Issues of Social Justice/Hot Topics
SESSION 7: Interpersonal Interactions & Relationships
In the selection of today’s topic from those brainstormed by participants, facilitators
should have selected or combined topics dealing with interpersonal interactions and
relationships. It is important to be clear on these groupings with participants, so that they
not focus on institutional or societal levels; today is about person-to-person interactions.
Specifically important for today’s topic is being clear that relationship is more than
heterosexual romantic relationships (what many people mean by the term “relationship”).
While such relationships are one example, there are also same-sex romantic relationships,
and many other types of relationships and interactions: parent-child, sibling, larger
family; teacher/participant, classmate; platonic friendships; supervisor/supervised,
colleague/co-worker; etc. In our dialogue, we want to explore how our identities and
social systems impact our interaction in a variety of relationships. The topic should be
framed in and facilitators should model this broad range of human interactions (Adapted
from Multiversity Research Curriculum).
MATERIALS NEEDED:
 Any Necessary Supplies for the Chosen Icebreaker & Activities
 Facilitator Binders
AGENDA:
Opening Activities (suggestions)
WELCOME & INTRODUCTIONS (5 minutes) -- (Adapted from Multiversity Research
Curriculum)
Agenda should be posted on newsprint or board.
 Remind participants that today is the start of our dialogue on hot topics, where we
will explore some of the topics that we find most difficult to talk about, either
because we have never talked about them before, or we haven’t had very good
experiences when we have tried to have these types of conversations.
 Introduce the overall topic for today, reminding participants that they suggested
the topic/theme themselves, that everyone read the same readings, and that
whatever our opinion on the issues, we all have experience to share today
ICEBREAKER (10 minutes)
Facilitator’s Choice (see Appendix on pages 4-11 for ideas)
Main Activities (suggestions)
LARGE GROUP DIALOGUE (65 minutes)
Before engaging in a large group dialogue about the hot topic, you may want to first
begin with an interactive activity (e.g., Gallery Walk, Take a Stand, (Un)Common
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Ground, etc.) to get participants thinking about the hot topic and to spark discussion.
Detailed descriptions of various interactive activities are listed in the Appendix on pages
22-30.
DIALOGUE ABOUT THE DIALOGUE (15 minutes)
Helpful Hints:
The purpose of the “dialogue about the dialogue” is to allow the group to reflect on the
process (rather than the content) of the dialogue. This should be a time to reflect on how
the group interacted with one another and to explore if the group was able to effectively
employ some of the dialogue skills learned earlier in the semester.
You should use this first “dialogue about the dialogue” as a stepping point for the group.
For example, if the dialogue seemed flat, you may ask: What is going on? If the
participants did not seem to be very forthcoming or open in their responses, you may ask:
Why? If the dynamics of the group were good, you may ask: What has allowed for us to
have a good, in-depth dialogue around this hot topic?
In the large group, process-related questions could include (Adapted from Multiversity
Research Curriculum):
 How are we doing as a group? What are your criteria for answering this
question? Is “doing well” being comfortable, or being honest, or...?
 What are some ways we have implemented our dialogue skills? What are some of
the ways in which we have failed to use our dialogue skills?
 What were some of the challenges you specifically or we as a group faced in
engaging these issues in a dialogue format? Temptation is to debate. Our
opinions/conclusions/positions can have strong emotions attached; staying in
“common understanding” mode can be difficult when those positions are
challenged, and the attached emotions surface.
 How did your differing social identities impact your participation in the dialogue?
 Were there any particular dynamics or tensions during this session or previous
sessions that are affecting your ability to participate fully?
 What, if anything, created conflict within the group today? How did you feel
about that and how did you handle that? What learning opportunities did the
conflict provide, and did you take advantage of them? How comfortable were
you with the conflict? Help them to recognize that comfort may come differently
around conflict for different people, and discomfort connects to learning and
growing (e.g., learning edges, comfort zones from Stage One).
 What if anything created internal conflict or tension for you?
 How would this discussion have been different in our caucus groups or our
fishbowls as opposed to in the full group?
 How has your work with your ICP group impacted how you participated in this
dialogue? Are you more comfortable sharing? More silent? Why?
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Closing Activities (suggestions)
CLOSING ROUND (5-10 minutes) -- (Adapted from Multiversity Research Curriculum)
Facilitator’s Choice: One possibility is to have participants name one challenge they
faced and one insight they gained through today’s discussion.
ASSIGNMENTS (2 minutes)
Go over assignments due at the beginning of class the following week:
Readings:
To be assigned by facilitators. The second issues session should focus in some way on
institutional issues.
 Tell participants that the topic for next week is __________
 Provide them with copies of the readings
ICP assignment: a 1-2 page typed progress report from your group is due session 8
focusing on both the development of your project since the proposal stage and how you
are working as a team.
Journal
1. What moments were most rewarding for you during this week’s dialogue, and
what specific emotions did you feel? What moments were most difficult for you
during this dialogue, and what specific emotions did you feel? Be as specific as
you can, and share why you felt as you did.
2. How did the group engage with the topic? Did you notice any differences by race?
How were feelings and emotions expressed? Does this expression of emotions
and feelings, especially those related to conflicts or disagreements, help or hinder
intergroup dialogue?
3. How did the dialogue about this particular topic affect or not affect your
understanding of the topic? Did it expand your understanding, and how? If not,
why?
4. Have you shared your thoughts about this topic with people outside of your
intergroup dialogue? What have these discussions been like? What more would
you like to know about this particular topic?
5. In our next session, we will have some time to discuss issues that have been
remaining or go deeper into some issues. In just a few sentences, are there any
issues (either topics or dynamics of our dialogue process thus far) you would like
us to address in the open time for our next session?
We will also be spending some time in ICP groups next week, so give some thought to
your project before then, to make the most of that time.
Helpful Hints:
Remember that next week will be the final Hot Topics session. During session 8, there
will also be time for participants to prepare for their ICP presentations that will occur in
session 9.
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STAGE THREE: Issues of Social Justice/Hot Topics
SESSION 8: Institutional Issues
Helpful Hints:
Before or after class, facilitators should informally check-in with participants to make
sure the ICPs are progressing in accordance with the timetable.
MATERIALS NEEDED:
 Newsprint
 Markers
 Any Necessary Supplies for the Chosen Icebreaker & Activities
 Facilitator Binders
AGENDA:
Opening Activities (suggestions)
WELCOME & INTRODUCTIONS (5 minutes) -- (Adapted from Multiversity Research
Curriculum)
Agenda should be posted on newsprint or board.
 Remind participants that today we are continuing our dialogue of the hot topics,
where we will explore some of the topics that we find most difficult to talk about,
either because we have never talked about them before, or we haven’t had very
good experiences when we have tried to have these types of conversations.
 Introduce the overall topic for today, reminding participants that they suggested
the topic/theme themselves, that everyone read the same readings, and that
whatever our opinion on the issues, we all have experience to share today.
ICEBREAKER (10-15 minutes)
Facilitator’s Choice (see Appendix on pages 4-11 for ideas)
Main Activities (suggestions)
LARGE GROUP DIALOGUE (60 minutes)
See Appendix on pages 22-30 for interactive activity ideas.
ICP GROUP MEETING (25 minutes)
Distribute and review ICP presentation guide. Answer any questions that the participants
may have and then allow time for the ICP groups to finalize their presentation plans for
next week (session 11). If the presentation planning is not completed during class, the
groups should meet outside the class to finish.
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
ICP Presentation Guide Handout: Groups are free to present whatever and
however they want as long as the following questions and concepts are a part of
the presentation. Your group will have about 10-12 minutes for your in-class
presentation.
Please think about:
o 2-3 critical ideas you want to share
o How to present your project in an informative, creative way involving all
members
o How to present both the step(s) you took and your learning
Your presentation should include the following:
o What did your group do?
o How did each of you react to the actual project that your team did?
o How did the people around you react (friends, family, strangers, people
who were affected by the project, and others in your ICP group)?
o What were the choices you made as a group -- “safe” choices and “risktaking” choices?
o What were the rewards and risks of your project?
o What was your process of working together in a diverse group?
Did you detect any effects of target/agent status in the way that
people worked, led, cooperated or held back in the group?
o What are the lessons you derived in working as a team?
ASSIGNMENTS (2 minutes)
Go over assignments due at the beginning of class the following week:
Readings
See Syllabus
Journal
1. How was the last intergroup dialogue session for you? What were you struck
by the issues raised in the dialogue? How did the session affect your sense of
the group?
2. The next dialogue session will involve presentations about the Intergroup
Collaborative Project (ICP). We would like you to reflect on your group
project. Please draw upon the readings for Session 9 to exemplify the
dynamics of your experience planning for the Intergroup Collaboration
Project (ICP) with your group members.
3. How do you feel about the action project you have implemented?
4. How do you feel about how your small group has engaged in working
together on the project? How would you characterize your contributions to
this overall project? How would you characterize the contributions of your
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38
team members to this overall project? What factors hindered or supported
your ICP group efforts? Be concrete in your examples.
5. What were the salient group dynamics in your ICP group? Any dynamics
specific to working across different social identity groups? How about
dynamics between people of the same social identity group (like your own, for
example)? Do you see any similarities and/or differences between your ICP
group and the dialogue group as a whole?.
ICP Group Work
Remind participants that they should be continuing to work on the ICP assignment and
that their project should be complete by the next session 9.
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University of Michigan, 2007
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STAGE FOUR: Alliances and Other Next Steps
SESSION 9: ICP Presentations
GOALS (Adapted from Multiversity Research Curriculum):
TO HELP PARTICIPANTS
 To reflect on our collective experiences engaging in the ICP.
 To share your project and what you learned from it (individually and
collectively).
 To examine group dynamics and how identity influences “real-life” collaboration
on this project.
 To apply the words and concepts from the readings to their ICP work.
RATIONALE (Adapted from Multiversity Research Curriculum):
This week begins addressing the linking of dialogue to next steps. Specifically, this
session will draw upon the students’ presentations of their Intergroup Collaboration
Projects (ICP). The Cycle of Liberation as a conceptual framework can help ground the
session by illustrating the process by which people learn to interrupt their Cycle of
Socialization and begin exploring alliances and other next steps.
MATERIALS NEEDED:
 Cycle of Socialization & Cycle of Liberation (Handouts)
 Facilitator Copies of Coursepacks
AGENDA:
Opening Activities (suggestions)
WELCOME & INTRODUCTIONS (5 minutes)
Agenda should be posted on newsprint or board.
ICEBREAKER (5-10 minutes)
A rose and a thorn: Participants share one good thing and one bad thing in their life since
last dialogue.
Main Activities
CYCLE OF SOCIALIZATION / LIBERATION (10 minutes)
Re-visit the readings by Bobbie Harro: the cycles of socialization and liberation. These
will help participants understand the need for agency in moving towards empowerment
and social justice. Without taking an active role in learning about the world and working
to change it, we fall into a cycle of socialization where we simply accept things that we
have been taught since birth. Unconscious of this cycle, we remain unable to change it.
By realizing our autonomy in discovering and creating our own understanding of the
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world, as well as creating the kind of world that we want to live in, we free ourselves
from this cycle, fostering a liberating and empowering way of life.
ICP PRESENTATIONS (40-45 minutes) -- (Adapted from Multiversity Research
Curriculum)
Each group will have approximately 10-12 minutes to present their project to the large
group. If necessary, use your time keeping device here. Ask each group to share what
they did for their ICP:
 What did your group do?
 How did each of you react to the actual project that your team did?
 How did the people around you react (friends, family, strangers, people who were
affected by the project, and others in your ICP group)?
 What were the choices you made as a group -- “safe” choices and “risk-taking”
choices?
 What were the rewards and risks of your project?
 What was your process of working together in a diverse group? Did you detect
any effects of target/agent status in the way that people worked, led, cooperated or
held back in the group?
 What are the lessons you derived in working as a team?
Repeat above for all of the groups. (This initial presentation portion of the ICP
processing should last approximately 40-45 minutes. The quicker this initial presentation
phase happens, the more time to dialogue and debrief below). Invite any clarifying
questions after the ICP groups share their projects.
Helpful Hints…
Additional Talking Points:
 The session is about sharing and dialoging about the Intergroup Collaboration
Project (ICP), and carrying our learning further.
 The group will therefore spend time reflecting on their learning and showing each
other appreciation.
ICP GROUP DEBRIEFING (10-15 minutes)
Before the large group discussion, ask the ICP groups to come together again to briefly
process their group work. Some questions for the ICP groups could include:
 How effective were you as a group in communicating with one another?
 Did you stay in dialogue mode? If so, how? If not, why not?
 What did you learn from this group effort about yourself? Others? Intergroup
collaboration?
 How did your social identities impact the interaction you had in the group?
 What did you learn from the members of your group about their identities?
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41
LARGE GROUP DEBRIEFING (30 minutes) -- (Adapted from Multiversity Research
Curriculum)

General Debriefing: After the ICP group debriefing is complete, return to the
large group to discuss the following questions:
o After completing the task for the project, what sort of emotions and
thoughts did you have?
o What would have happened if you hadn’t taken on the project -- for
yourself, for others?
o What did you learn from listening to other’s projects?
o Would you do this project again? If so, how would you change it in the
future?
o Thinking beyond this particular project, what are the advantages and
disadvantages of interrupting different forms of oppression?
o What are your next steps as revealed in this project to becoming an
effective bridge builder, ally, or advocate for social change?

Reading Reflection:
o Ask students to now recall what, specifically, they saw in the presentation
that reflected some of the concepts in the readings for this week and last
week. [NOTE: In the debriefing, please tie the ICP projects to the
“Working Across Difference” readings from the dialogue-specific
coursepack selected for this week.]
o Specifically ask them to reflect on: (a) alliance building, (b) next steps,
and (c) how the Cycle of Socialization & Liberation is demonstrated in
their work.

More Specific Debriefing: Debrief specifically about being allies and working
across differences.
o What commitments, if any, can we make to each other to continue our
work and support each other after the IGR dialogues are complete?
o How can the agent group be allies to the target group? How can the target
group support the agent group in doing anti-racist, anti-sexist, antiheterosexist, etc. work?
o How can the agent group support anti-racism, anti-sexism, antiheterosexism, etc. among other agent group members?
o How can target group members work to support each other in interrupting
horizontal oppression and internalized oppression?
o How can the target and agent group members work together in ways that
do not replicate oppressive dynamics in society?
o How do we use our learning about this social identity of our dialogue, and
extend it to other forms of oppression, such as racism, sexism,
heterosexism, able-ism, ageism, classism, and others?
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University of Michigan, 2007
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Closing Activities
CLOSING ROUND (5-10 minutes)
Suggestion: Advise participants to speak spontaneously since this encourages honest
reflection and active listening, and invite each participant to share:
 One feeling or thought about today.
 One question you will continue to think about.
 One thing you learned that really touched you or made you think today.
ASSIGNMENTS
Readings
See Syllabus
Journal
This week’s journal assignment differs a bit from past assignments: we ask you to compose a letter to
yourself. Like writing your own testimonials earlier in the dialogue, this letter serves as a testimonial
of your learning in intergroup dialogue and identifies some personal goals or hopes beyond
dialogue. This is a letter to yourself and can be private if you wish. Of course, you will be welcome to
share anything that you want from your letter with the class during our last dialogue session. Like the
other journals, this letter (including both parts below) should also be about 2-3 pages in length.
Since the letter is to you from you, we hope you will be creative and honest with it. There are two
parts to the letter.
o Part 1: The first part is a personal reflection on your most important learning in the dialogues
so far. We invite you to look back to where you were at the beginning of the intergroup
dialogue and think about where you are now. What stands out for you? Describe 1-2 learning
points or lessons from the intergroup dialogue that you do not want to forget. What made
them important to you? What do you hope people have learned from or about you? You are
welcome to use your previous journals to remind yourself of your important learning points.
o Part 2: The second part, is a look into the future, What are some ways in which you see
yourself applying your learning to your life on campus and the larger community? What
specific events, conversations, or relationships have inspired you to continue to work (or not)
toward liberation? How would you like to sustain your learning?
Bring the letter and a self-addressed, stamped envelope to class on Session 10. Your facilitators will
collect all the letters, and mail them to you in about 3-6 months.
Final Paper
Remind class that final paper is due on date in the syllabus.
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University of Michigan, 2007
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STAGE FOUR: Alliances and Other Next Steps
SESSION 10: Carrying the dialogue experience outside of the classroom
GOALS:
TO HELP PARTICIPANTS:
 Find ways to continue personal growth.
 Carry the technique of dialogue outside of the classroom.
 Recognize the value of alliances and next steps and how these tie into their
experience in the dialogue.
RATIONALE:
This session involves an exploration of how to continue the experience of dialogue
outside of the classroom. There are many facets of this experience that participants may
wish to continue, among them: the techniques and process of dialogue, learning about
social identity, and working towards alliance building or social justice. We would like
participants to see how their work in dialogue has helped them move in all of these
directions simultaneously. We would also like to share with them opportunities to
continue this work at the university, in local communities, and in our everyday lives.
Many participants enjoy the dialogue experience but do not consider it a form of “social
action”. Likening this experience to a process of social action may help participants feel
more comfortable taking further steps towards social justice. Demonstrating dialogue’s
many applications will encourage participants to bring dialogue techniques into different
arenas. Part of empowerment is being able to deal with controversy and conflict in a
productive fashion and dialogue provides tools to do this. It helps us learn from
situations as they arise and continue this learning throughout our lives.
MATERIALS NEEDED:
 Any Necessary Materials for the Icebreaker
 Newsprint
 Markers
 Post-it notes
 “Action Continuum” (Handout in Appendix 6C in Teaching for Diversity and
Social Justice)
 Spheres of Influence (Handout)
 “Next Steps” (Handout)
 Becoming an Ally / Characteristics of an Ally (Handout in Appendix 6B from
Teaching for Diversity and Social Justice)
 Facilitator Binders
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University of Michigan, 2007
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AGENDA:
Opening Activities
WELCOME & INTRODUCTIONS (5 minutes)
Agenda should be posted on newsprint or board.
ICEBREAKER (5-10 minutes)
Facilitator’s Choice (see Appendix on pages 4-11 for ideas)
Main Activities
ACTION - WHAT I’VE DONE AND WHAT I WANT TO DO (40 minutes)
After the ICP projects, we have some idea of how to plan, implement, and raise
awareness about a social justice issue. Now, we want to think more concretely about:
Where do we go from here? What are realistic next steps?
Before beginning the exercise, distribute and review the following handouts:

Action Continuum
Helpful Hints…
 To facilitate this, you may want to explain the Action Continuum and then ask
participants to place the dialogue experience and themselves on the continuum to
help them see the varieties of developmental stages in social justice work; to help
them be realistic about where they are and where they may wish to go.

Spheres of Influence: Briefly introduce the notion of the Spheres of Influence
model as a metaphor that we will be visiting and revisiting throughout today’s
session. The Spheres of Influence depicts a number of levels where we have
choices and the abilities to make social change, it moves from the very local and
very specific to larger systems and social infrastructures. We would like to invite
you to join us in envisioning what can be...
Helpful Hints…
 To facilitate this, you may want to explain the Spheres of Influence and then ask
participants to divide into ICP groups and briefly discuss where their project falls
on the map.
After you have reviewed the Action Continuum and Spheres of Influence Handouts,
proceed with the main activity: “What I’ve Done and What I Want to Do.” This exercise
helps participants reflect on actions they have taken and want to take at the following
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University of Michigan, 2007
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levels: (1) to grow personally, (2) to influence others on an interpersonal level, and (3) to
influence institutions. For each of these levels, write up two newsprints: “Actions I’ve
Taken” and “Actions I Want to Take.” You should end up with six sheets of newsprint.
Give participants a pile of post-its to write on. Each person should write on separate
post-its all the actions they have taken or want to take and post them on the newsprint and
place them on the appropriate sheets. They should write their names on them, so they can
identify whom the post-its belong to. Ask the participants to write down even those
things they think may be small actions (e.g., interrupted a joke, read an article or essay
about a topic I didn’t know anything about, took a dialogue, etc.). The more people put
down, the more ideas others will get for actions they may want to take. After everyone
has finished make sure all have had a chance to read the newsprints.
Helpful Hints:
As facilitators, watch for patterns among the levels: Did some people write more for
personal versus institutional? Of the things people want to do, what can realistically be
done? What do they need to be able to take this kind of action?
BEYOND THE CLASSROOM (10 minutes)
The use of dialogue and multicultural awareness are not limited to classroom experience.
Public policy, foreign affairs, psychological counseling, business management, social
work, and community organizing are just some of the arenas that have benefited from the
this process.
Facilitators should have information about specific opportunities on campus to practice
dialogue techniques, continue learning about social identity, and working for social
justice. You may wish to share your experience as a facilitator and offer this opportunity
to participants.
Participants may have ideas about how to be active interpersonally (e.g., in friendships
and families, etc.) but they may have difficulty seeing opportunities to work for
institutional and structural change. It is important to be able to offer concrete strategies
for both.
Distribute the “Next Steps” handout that lists opportunities for involvement in academic
courses/departments (e.g., become an IGR facilitator, become an RA), organizations, and
activities pertaining to social justice.
TRANSITION (10 minutes)
Reflect on the journal assignment for this week. Turn to a partner and share some of the
ideas you came up with. What difficult, but doable action ideas did you write about?
Have your ideas changed after our conversation today? What support do you need from
others in order to achieve these goals? What role can allies play in helping you to
achieve your goals?
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The Program on Intergroup Relations
University of Michigan, 2007
ALLIES (30 minutes) -- (Adapted from Teaching for Diversity and Social Justice, p. 10)
Begin this activity by reviewing the definition of an ally (Teaching for Diversity and
Social Justice Appendix 6B; also see the readings for this week: Washington & Evans
and Brandyberry). To build on this definition and make it more concrete ask participants
to form pairs, and discuss a time when each of them experienced someone acting as an
ally. This example may or may not be related to the identity of focus in the dialogue.
Their discussion should focus on what that person did that made him or her a good ally,
how others responded to the actions of the ally, and what participants can learn from this
person’s actions that they can apply to being an ally to different groups.
After the pairs have been together for about 10-15 minutes, ask participants to report out
on some of the characteristics of good allies. Record these characteristics on newsprint
as they are called out and post them on the wall for reference during the remainder of the
course. In this activity, encourage participants to think of being allies to both oppressed
groups and other privileged individuals who help these groups.
Closing Activities
CLOSING ROUND (5-10 minutes)
What is your most memorable moment from dialogue or the most important lesson you
learned during the semester?.
ASSIGNMENTS (2 minutes)
Go over assignments due at the beginning of class the following week:
Readings
None
Final Paper
Remind class that final paper is due on date in the syllabus.
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University of Michigan, 2007
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REFERENCES
Adams, M., L.A. Bell, and P. Griffin. 1997. "Teaching for Diversity and Social Justice: A
Sourcebook." New York: Routledge.
Adams, M., W.J. Blumenfeld, R. Castaneda, H.W. Hackman, M.L. Peters, and X. Zuniga.
2000. "Readings for Diversity and Social Justice: An Anthology on Racism,
Antisemitism, Sexism, Heterosexism, Ableism, and Classism." New York:
Routledge.
Multiversity Research Curriculum.
Ximena references.
Adapted From:
The Program on Intergroup Relations
University of Michigan, 2007
48