Introduction

Attending college is about much more than just earning credentials–college is also an opportunity to undergo personal development that will allow you to become a more aware, informed, and engaged participant in the personal, professional, and community spaces where you interact with others. In this chapter, we will explore our own cultural lenses to get a deeper understanding of the origins of our perspectives and gain appreciation for the value of being able to consider the world through the perspectives of others, which will require each of us to consider how their viewpoints have developed from aspects of their backgrounds and experiences that may be different from our own. We hope to guide your through some information and activities that will allow you to continue to develop your capacity to operate with more critical awareness of the identities and perspectives of all members of your community and how to work together to create safe and empowering spaces for democratic dialogues as we work together toward equity on our campus and in society.

In this chapter, we have designed learning experiences to help you:

• Examine our backgrounds and experiences to understand the origins of our perspectives
• Consider how others’ perspectives developed from their backgrounds and experiences
• Identify the value of increasing awareness of diverse perspectives through dialogue
• Deepen our understanding of how diverse perspectives support democratic spaces