Abstract
This paper details our department's efforts to provide students with more opportunities to concentrate attention on the structural nature of discrimination and its sprawling effects. It begins with an exploration of the real challenges political science faces on this front. Next, it describes the process through which we developed our new Power and Identity course designation and details the learning objectives that unify these courses. Finally, it delineates the committee-based process we developed for encouraging and assisting the design and implementation of such courses. To date, this initiative has led to the creation or revision of 12 courses that help students 1) understand how power and identity interact to shape politics, 2) analyze how political institutions and culture create and maintain power inequalities, and 3) explore diverse perspectives on the relationship between power and identity. The paper’s appendix includes sample syllabi, feedback forms, and our instrument for assessing learning outcomes.