- In order for me to start expanding the canon on my own, I decided to look more into the themes of the previous works that we as a class were reading. After isolating these themes that I picked out from our blog, I went immediately to the Syracuse library database to enter them into google search. The themes I chose were diversity in the workplace, diversity in organizations, unconscious bias, intent vs impact, etc. These topics were all aspects of the previous articles that I wanted to explore further. The particular article I enjoyed the most so far has been the Kaplan and Donovan excerpt from chapter three of their book The Inclusion Dividend. Therefore, I think that those themes are going to be the ones I explore the most. Personally, I find this aspect of the class a bit difficult because I am not the biggest fan of sifting through various articles trying to find the ones that correspond the best to my argument. I tend more towards picking the first articles I see and forming my argument around those main ideas instead of having my articles back up my thesis.
3. The project that Mark Kaplan and Mason Donovan are working towards in chapter three of their book The Inclusion Dividend is to create more aware workplaces, especially in reference to inclusion of all outsider groups. These outsider groups are mentioned within the book as the minority age, ethnicity, gender, sexual orientation, or on education level, class, or geography. The authors, through their text, are spreading the ways in which executives and other people in the insider groups in workplaces hinder growth from a diversity standpoint. To execute their project, Kaplan and Donovan give examples of how companies can be exclusive through the use of a day-to-day storyline of a supervisor. I enjoyed this set up because it actually showed me the whole picture of how places can inadvertently be exclusive. Throughout the scenario there was not one part of the day when I could easily say that the executive was being intentionally biased; but when I took a step back it became obvious how elitist the department was.
Caitlin,
I enjoyed reading your post on The Inclusion Dividend and creating more awareness in workplaces, especially in reference to inclusion of all outsider groups. This made me think of the insider-outsider patterns that I have encountered throughout my life. I remember as a high school student, the ESL (English Second Language) students would always sit together in class…usually in the back of the classroom. They would talk quietly amongst themselves and although friendly definitely were perceived as an outsider group.
At a science conference I was at there were more male attendees than females. The women sat near each other and chatted during breaks. It was clear that the women were an outsider group (even in 2021- well this was pre-COVID). The presenters were also predominately white, males which I’m sure enhanced the feeling of being outsiders.
It’s clear that all of us at any point can be insiders or outsiders and we need to be aware of the privileges being an insider grants all of us.
Hi Caitlin,
I can relate to the way you approached your research to expand the canon. Sometimes I just want to select the first good article I see and go with it to save time, because I tend to go on never-ending quests to find the perfect sources. I always worry when doing research like this that my whole topic will be shaped by whatever algorithm creates the search results. When I do keyword searches, I wonder does the order of the words make a difference, or would a synonym give me different results? You can spend many hours scrolling through results but the perfect source might be just one more click away.
I enjoyed reading your Kaplan and Donovan summary. I agree that the authors did a great job illustrating the issues by using the example of a busy, stressed-out supervisor. Like you say, the article helps readers step back and view the key situations from a new perspective. The article also did a great job of showing what unconscious bias really is. It’s such an abstract concept. The authors do a great job showing you can have good intentions and still be doing harm through certain habits and behaviors.
Hi Caitlin,
I think you are off to a great start with your research. I like how you have identified reoccurring themes and key words regarding out topics of diversity and inclusion. I also enjoyed the Kaplan and Donavon reading the most. I think it did the best job highlighting important issues such as intent and impact. This article is a great segue for expanding the canon into deeper conversations about actions that can have unintended consequences that are hurtful and harmful.
Hey Caitlin,
I often find myself in a similar position when it comes to writing research papers. Finding articles and then forming your claim can be advantageous when you do not have a objective point of view/ understanding of a topic. However, based on your choice in subject matter in addition to your understanding of the Kaplan and Donovan text, I believe you would have an easier time focusing on some of the key phrases you would like to include in your writing and using them in the Syracuse University Library search engine. I am sure you will do an excellent job on your project and am excited to see the final result.
Yeah, research requires a lot of patience, and you’re not alone in feeling frustration with it. It can often feel like a giant scavenger hunt where you only know part of the list of things you’re looking for. Starting with broad topics and keywords can turn up a lot of fascinating material, but it can take a really long time to sift though all that.
I encourage you all to think about how subject searching can help to streamline this work. When you find an article that is pretty interesting to you, take note in the bibliographic citation of the source’s subjects (sometimes called “subject headings”). This portion of the entry tells you how that particular database catalogs sources like that. (In other words, the subjects are like the labels on the “buckets” into which sources are sorted). When you determine what section headings are in use, you can add that to your Advanced Search and thereby locate other similar texts. That lets you leapfrog through the big bundle of options to find the ones that are most closely related to what you’re interested in.