Implications of Race and Racism in Student Evaluations of Teaching

In a bold and daring book, Dr. LaVada Taylor embarks on a phenomenon that is considered to be one of the primary culprits in creating feelings of isolation along the lines of race, class, gender, and (dis)ability in the academy. Her unapologetic inquiry into the ways that white supremacy permeates teaching evaluations is a wake-up call for those who say they are intentional about dismantling the rules, regulations and conventions of the ivory tower. -- David Stovall, University of Illinois at Chicago Implications of Race and Racism in Students' Evaluations of Teaching: The Hate U Give moves beyond the usual quantitative analyses to offer a more intimate reading of how race and racism impact course evaluations, particularly in courses taught by faculty of color and in courses that address issues of racial inequity and oppression. The authors put forward compelling counterstories/counter-analyses that unsettle the traditional logic behind students' evaluations of teaching and show how they often risk further marginalizing faculty of color and reinforcing students' refusal to acknowledge race-power while at the same time deploying it in the process, implicitly and explicitly. A welcomed highlight in this text is that it also provides some insight and discussion on alternative methods of evaluation, less sensitive to the racial dynamics that haunt current protocols. -- Denise Taliaferro Baszile, Miami University Dr. LaVada U. Taylor assembles and works alongside an all-star cast of scholar-activists illuminating ways in which student evaluations of teaching (SETs) become weapons of racialization used too often against BIPOC faculty. This timely volume investigates the intersection of structural racism, individual bias, and SETs at a time when higher education relies heavily upon them to inform promotion and tenure, merit pay, and contract renewal. It provides evidence of SETs as one of the most studied topics in higher education, and yet unveils racial disparities within them that remain deemphasized and undertheorized in a vast array of scholarship. Drawing upon Tupac Shakur's THUG-LIFE acronym, the hate you give little infants, F's everybody, this volume is a must-read guide for readers looking to: (a) understand more deeply, the transgenerational and ecological phenomenon of anti-BIPOC disproportionality as related to SETs, (b) problematize systemic higher education practices that emphasize the relevance of SETs, while either dismissing or deemphasizing potential influences of structural racism and individual bias, and (c) engage a critical examination of academic leadership at home to identify any inadequacies and dysconscious responses to racialized student evaluations of BIPOC teaching toward developing more equitable practices. -- Sherick Hughes, professor of education, University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill Implications of Race and Racism in Student Evaluations of Teaching: The Hate U Give is tailor-made for this historical moment, when the study of racism as a systemic problem is life-and-death important. Dr. Lavada Taylor's collection addresses a long-standing problem for faculty whose teaching disrupts the status quo, the ways in which white students weaponize teaching evaluations. A stellar set of BIPOC faculty in higher education think through the consequences of this evaluative violence on their humanity as well as their careers, when tenure and promotion decisions hinge on students' ratings. These first-person accounts from a diverse group of faculty are interwoven with accessible theory and robust analysis and help faculty and administrators alike rethink whose voices matter most in universities. -- Nichole A. Guillory, Kennesaw State University