Abstract
This article examines attitudes toward diversity at an academic institution. Research participants indicated their support for various forms of diversity in response to closed-ended questions and then described what the word 'diversity' meant to them. By comparing numerical data with open-ended definitions, we highlight the particulars of how our respondents interpret diversity. Specifically, we show that for about one-third of our sample, diversity programs are equated with 'oneness', 'equality', and 'color-blindness'. We analyze this interpretation of diversity as a discursive construction that enables respondents to profess progressive views while at the same time upholding traditional American values of assimilation. We end the article with a critique of this emerging diversity regime and consider alternative models of promoting diversity.
Original language | English (US) |
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Pages (from-to) | 631-650 |
Number of pages | 20 |
Journal | Critical Sociology |
Volume | 37 |
Issue number | 5 |
DOIs | |
State | Published - Sep 1 2011 |
All Science Journal Classification (ASJC) codes
- Sociology and Political Science