Diversity without Dogma

Change yourself and change the world. This course teaches change leadership, with a focus on decreasing prejudice. This is a fresh approach to DEI (diversity, equity and inclusion) based on reliable social science. Organized by the author's most recent book, Diversity without Dogma, the student is provided a practical theoretical foundation which can be applied immediately to DEI education and action, as well as to leading any kind of change. Dogmatic approaches to diversity have the opposite effect of inclusion, and add fuel to already persistent resistance to progress towards a truly equitable and democratic society. Whether leading in organizations or towards social change, forcing solutions seldom leads to successful or sustainable change. When groups are organized for dialogue and action, change implementation has a much higher rate of success. The foundation for the course, Kurt Lewin's social science, also affirms that the locus of change needs to be local, with the people actually facing the problem thinking for themselves, and generating and implementing their own solutions. Moralizing about how people should think, act, and what words they should use, predictably results in the same reactions that we all had as kids when we thought we were being talked down to. Instead each person must be allowed to start where they are and be in charge of their own exploration, with collaborative inquiry and action leading to change, in contrast to the narrow focus on insight alone of much of the DEI movement. The time is now for a more scientific and effective approach.

New in 2026! The Organization Developement Network (ODN) Article of the Year award winner, Before DEIB and Beyond, by Gilmore Crosby, has been added to the curriculum!