Foundational Courses:

ECHO: My Role in Equity and Diversity Work

If “diversity is everybody’s everyday work,” then what is my role? This foundational course introduces learners to the core concepts around equity, diversity, and social justice. Key topics include foundational terminology, understanding our own identities, exploring bias and oppression, and how to work to be an ally and advocate in this work. 

ECHO: Navigating Challenging Conversations 

This course addresses one of the most significant aspects of equity and diversity work: navigating challenging conversations. In each of our ongoing developmental paths around equity, diversity, and social justice, we will find ourselves in more situations that call for self-reflection, careful listening, nuanced language, and thoughtful questions. This course introduces skills in the following areas: noticing and naming our own triggers and activation, developing nuance in our understanding of our intentions, and developing empathy and active listening skills when we impact others.

ECHO: Addressing Implicit Bias and Microaggressions

The University of Minnesota is committed to increasing equity and diversity among its staff, faculty, and students. This includes supporting people of color, people who identify as women, people with disabilities, 2SLGBTQIA+ communities, and other identities across campus. It is essential to recognize and address the presence of implicit bias and microaggressions in our everyday lives. This course exposes learners to the concept of implicit bias and how it produces microaggressions that can impact the classroom, work, and social environments.

ECHO: Removing Barriers and Creating Access

Growing out of efforts to increase access for marginalized people with disabilities in social justice organizing, the term "collective access" refers to an approach toward inclusion that envisions a world where everyone's needs are understood as valid. Whether it's captioning, gender-neutral restrooms, rooms for silent prayer, curb cuts, or inclusive language, the work of equity and diversity involves paying attention to how we design our classrooms, labs, offices, residence halls, work, curricula, and events to be as welcoming and inclusive as possible. In this course, learners learn critical concepts of collective access and are given opportunities to assess the inclusivity of their own spaces, products, and communities.

Identity-Based Courses:

ECHO: Ableism & Disability Justice 

Ableism and discrimination towards people with disabilities and disabled communities play out on the individual, cultural, and institutional levels in the U.S. and worldwide. In this course, learners will be introduced to the foundational frames and the nuance involved in fighting ableism and working for disability justice.

ECHO: Challenging Classism 

The impact of classism in our society leads to many barriers on our campus and in the broader community. Exploring classism is an essential part of understanding how wealth, status, and income are intertwined with social, cultural, and historical issues in the United States. Class and classism intersect with our identities and experiences, and challenging assumptions and biases about class is an essential step in creating positive change at the University.

ECHO: Gender, Gender Identity, and Sexuality (Formerly: 2SLGBTQIA+ Identities and Communities)

In discussions of “diversity,” not everyone recognizes that gender identity, gender expression, and sexual orientation are important points of cultural difference that merit recognition and voice. Individuals who are two-spirit, gay, lesbian, bisexual, transgender, intersex, asexual, nonbinary, and/or queer often face isolation, silence, and invisibility. This course offers an opportunity for learners to be introduced to 2SLGBTQIA+ (Two-Spirit, Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, Transgender, Queer, Intersex, Asexual+) identities and communities and identify strategies they can employ to create a more open and welcoming climate.

ECHO: Race, Racism, and White Supremacy 

This course provides education about the concepts of race, racism, and white supremacy, historical and current facts, figures, and insight on resistance movements. This course also addresses the importance of talking about white privilege, white dominance, and white fragility as a way for white people to understand their own socialization and participation in systemic racism.

ECHO: Religious and Spiritual Identities 

For many people, religion and spirituality are deeply personal and create values that offer a sense of purpose and community. However, religion may be seen as either impolite to talk about or as dangerously divisive in the public sphere. This course will explore how religious, spiritual, and humanist identities interact with other social identities and the power and privilege within historical and modern contexts. We will address the complexity of balancing religious and spiritual expression in the public sphere where church and state are separated.

ECHO: Understanding and Addressing Gender-Based Oppression 

The media makes it sound gender equity has been achieved. What's the truth? In this interactive course, increase your knowledge of gender-based oppression and discuss how gender justice benefits everyone.