'Sex', 'race' and multiculturalism: critical consumption and the politics of course evaluations

This paper calls attention to the difficulties of broaching issues of 'race' and 'sex' in the classroom in the context of nation-wide institutional calls for multiculturalism. I argue that critical multicultural al objectives can only be successful if: (I) faculty who take curricular and pedagogical risks are able to count on strong support fi om colleagues, departmental chairs and university, administrators; (2) classroom realities of homophohia, sexism and racism are acknowledged at an institutional structural level to De societal in reach and global in scale; (3) we engage in evaluative strategies that are Educative about the learning process; anti (4),ve stress to students the emotional realities and practical skills involved in learning about, and working through, social conflict and difference.