An assumption made about the social assignment or designation of a person’s gender, usually on the basis of perceived sex.

The idea that gender exists in two forms: masculine and feminine. This binary is created by social systems or cultural beliefs.

The idea that policies, language, and other social institutions (social structures, gender roles, or gender identity) should avoid distinguishing roles according to people’s sex or gender.
Example: Instead of saying, “ladies and gentlemen,” say, “everyone”. Instead of saying, “boyfriend,” or “girlfriend,” say, “partner.”

The belief that abilities and traits can be developed through strategic efforts and hard work, and are not simply innate or fixed.

The sudden eruption of tension and conflict in classroom discussion. Hot moments can occur when a well-intentioned student says something that is politically charged and personally offensive to some members of the class or the instructor.

Also known as unconscious bias, implicit bias is the way that stereotypes and attitudes we are not aware of shape our behavior; thoughts and feelings outside of conscious awareness and control.

Imposter syndrome exists when individuals self doubt, diminish their accomplishments, or are in fear that they don’t belong in a certain academic or professional setting, expecting to be called out as a fraud.

Inclusive Teaching involves deliberately cultivating a learning environment where all students are treated equitably, have equal access to learning, and feel welcomed, valued, and supported in their learning. Such teaching attends to social identities and seeks to change the way systemic inequities shape dynamics in teaching-learning spaces, affect individuals’ experiences of those spaces, and influence course and curriculum design.
Source – University of Michigan Center for Research on Learning & Teaching

Internalized racism is defined as, “acceptance by members of the stigmatized races of the negative messages about their own abilities and intrinsic worth.” Internalized racism can be caused by institutional and personally mediated racism. This level of racism is made manifest in an individual embracing “whiteness”, self-devaluing themselves, and feelings of resignation, helplessness, and hopelessness. Stereotype threat can be a result of internalized racism, as individuals feel pressure of fulfilling stereotypes about a particular identity they possess. For Black individuals, internalized racism can show up during the Pre-Encounter stage of one’s racial identity development. At this stage, internalized messages of “white is right” and “Black is wrong” can be prominent (Tatum, 1992).
Source – Tatum, B.D. (1992). Talking about Race, Learning about Racism: The Application of Racial Identity Development Theory in the Classroom. Harvard Educational Review Vol. 62, No. 1, 1-24. https://doi.org/10.17763/haer.62.1.146k5v980r703023

The ways aspects of identity (gender, race, religion, sexual orientation) intersect to create specific experiences, needs, privileges, and oppressions.

A gender-neutral term, replacing Latino or Latina.

Abbreviation for lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, queer (or questioning).

A comment or action that subtly and often unconsciously or unintentionally expresses a prejudiced or hostile attitude toward a member of a marginalized group.

Non-binary is the descriptor for someone whose gender identity is not exclusively male or female.

Term to describe people who are non-white, with an emphasis on the common experience of systemic racism.
A note on this term from Racial Equity Tools: It is important whenever possible to identify people through their own racial/ethnic group, as each has its own distinct experience and meaning and may be appropriate.

Perfectly Logical Explanations is away for an individual, who voices a dominant narrative, to simultaneously provide context to justify their perspectives.
Example: “I’m not racist or anything; this is just the experience I had growing up”

When most people think of racism, they think about personally mediated racism. This level of racism includes prejudice and discrimination. Personally mediated racism includes intentional and unintentional acts such as micro-aggressions. Personally mediated racism is made manifest through a lack of respect, suspicion, devaluation, scapegoating, and dehumanization. An example of the dehumanization of personally mediated racism is found in the ongoing police brutality against Black individuals and communities.
Source – Jones, C. P. (2000, August). Levels of Racism: A Theoretic Framework and a Gardener’s Tale. American Journal of Public Health Vol. 90, No. 8, 1212-1215. https://doi.org/10.2105/AJPH.90.8.1212

The way one’s social location or position is assigned and negotiated as the result of combining various social factors or identities (e.g., race, sex, class, gender, ability, sexual orientation).
Source – Columbia Center for Teaching and Learning

Privilege are societally granted, unearned advantages accorded to some people and not others. These systemic or structural advantages impact people based on identity factors such as race, gender, sex, religion, nationality, disability, sexuality, class, and body type.

The fusion of institutional and systemic discrimination, personal bias, bigotry, and social prejudice against Black people, Indigenous people and People of Color in a complex web of relationships and structures that shade most aspects of life, and serves the function of upholding White supremacy. Racism limits the life chances and opportunities of BIPOC people, creates and maintains the hierarchical structure of Whiteness, and supports the internalization of beliefs of group dominance of White people and subordination of BIPOC people.

The risk that people who fall into identity groups that are often negatively stereotyped may underperform in evaluative settings such as the classroom, as a result of feeling the pressure of the stereotype. Example: A woman underperforms in a math course due to a perceived sense of not belonging in the classroom and a fear of confirming the stereotype that men are better than women at math.

In the U.S., this is the normalization and legitimization of an array of dynamics – historical, cultural, institutional and interpersonal – that routinely advantage whites while producing cumulative and chronic adverse outcomes for people of color. It is a system of hierarchy and inequity, primarily characterized by white supremacy – the preferential treatment, privilege and power for white people at the expense of Black, Latinx, Asian, Pacific Islander, Native American, Middle Eastern/North African and other racially oppressed people.

The university as an institution has its own political geographies that are interconnected with other political geographies and wherein we must work to see structural racism as the legitimation and codification of white supremacist ideas and behaviors into a system of network of policies, practices, and norms that work to routinely advantage White people and disadvantage BIPOC.

A participant in a dialogue or conversation that has less social power than the Agent Group. The Target Group’s perspective and/or experience is typically not in agreement with the Dominant Narrative.

Transgender: People who were assigned a sex and gender at birth that is not in agreement with their self-designated gender identity or expression.

Trigger Warning: A specific variety of content warning that attempt to forewarn audiences of content that may cause intense physiological and psychological symptoms for people with Post Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD) and other anxiety disorders.

See: Implicit Bias

Describes a specific population that holds a smaller percentage within a subgroup than the population holds in the general population.
Example: Compared to their share of the U.S. population, women, persons with disabilities, and underrepresented minority groups are underrepresented in STEM education and employment. Learn more here.

The collective unearned advantages, both historical and current, given to people based solely on their racial identification as white. These unearned advantages undergird White peoples’ access to a range of rights, benefits, favor, and immunity, which results in their preferential treatment over People of Color.
Source: LSA Anti-Racism Task Force

The belief that the those who identify as white are inherently superior to other races, including the social, economic, and political systems that collectively enable white people to exploit, oppress, and maintain power over people of other races.

Gender-inclusive pronouns that disrupt the culture of making assumptions about one’s gender identity/expression.