Chapter 15: Unpacking the Pedagogy of Vulnerability in Three Contexts: Lecture, Intergroup Dialogue, and Study Abroad

Developing educational settings where vulnerability is a norm creates learning experiences that would otherwise be surface-level “textbook tourism.” For educators committed to social justice, employing a pedagogy of vulnerability draws out personal histories and motivations to foster group cohesion and intergroup empathy. This chapter will detail engaging activities and settings in which my students and I share our personal lives, emotions, and relationships; as well as convey my own positionality as a scholar of color and a cultural “broker” who has developed relationships with survivors of ethnic cleansing and included their voices and participation in both study abroad coursework in Germany and Poland, and a Fulbright scholarship in Croatia.