Teaching Privileged Students about Gender, Race, and Class Oppression

This paper offers suggestions about using the concept of oppression to teach about gender, race, and class in an introductory social psychology course. We argue that a comprehensive discussion of oppression, in social psychology or other courses, needs to address both its institutional and individual aspects. We summarize how we present these aspects of oppression to students; discuss the intersections between gender, class, and race; and end with suggestions about how issues surrounding oppression can be integrated throughout an introductory social psychology course. Our approach is geared primarily towards teaching white, middle-class students who often have difficulties accepting or comprehending the existence of oppression in our society. We consider this paper a step towards a more inclusive sociology curriculum.