What, the So What, and the Now What of Social Justice Education

Warren J. Blumenfeld is former Associate Professor in the School of Education at Iowa State University and current Lecturer in the College of Education at the University of Massachusetts, Amherst. He is the author of Warren’s Words: Smart Commentary on Social Justice, editor of Homophobia: How We All Pay the Price, co-editor of Readings for Diversity and Social Justice and Investigating Christian Privilege and Religious Oppression in the United States, and co-author of Looking at Gay and Lesbian Life.

“Dr. Blumenfeld’s new book is borne of his passion for social justice and multicultural understanding of today’s society. Blumenfeld brings the topic into the realm of the familiar by sharing his own personal journey. It almost feels as if the reader is sitting with Dr. Blumenfeld, a friend, and yet this is a powerful educational text. Blumenfeld uses a unique presentation method and grounding of information through the concept of What, So What, and Now What in each section as he investigates and addresses complex and multidimensional questions. This process offers a consistency in Dr. Blumenfeld’s presentation. The book is an excellent teaching tool for every level of social justice education from high school to doctoral work.”Ronni Sanlo, Director of and Professor in UCLA Master of Education in Student Affairs Program and Director Emerita, UCLA Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, and Transgender Center

• Figures and Tables – Acknowledgments – Part I: Terminology – Introduction to Social Justice –Culture and Identity – Social Construction of Identities and Other Forms of "Difference" – Socialization – Binaries – Oppression – What Causes Prejudice and Discrimination? – Elements, Characteristics, and "Faces" of Oppression – The Many Spokes on the Wheel of Oppression – Backlash – The Social Production of "Knowledge(s)" – Part II: Social Justice Education – Connections between Social Justice Education and Multicultural Education – Dimensions and Characteristics of Multicultural Education – Part III: Liberatory Praxis – Liberation – #NeverAgain Youth-Led Firearms Safety Movement: A Study in Activism– Visioning Social Justice and Liberation – Part IV: Liberatory Praxis Appendices – Appendix A: Multiple Identities Essay – Appendix B: Critical Consciousness: Reflecting, Thinking, Observing, Reading, Researching, and Writing Through a Critical Lens – Appendix C: Meritocracy Activities – Appendix D: Raising Issues of Religious Pluralism in Schools – Appendix E: Making Universities Welcoming for Students, Staff, Faculty, and Administrators of All Sexual Identities and Gender Identities and Expressions – Appendix F: Immigration as Official U.S. "Racial" Policy: A Brief History – Appendix G: Religious Imperialism: A Case in Point – Appendix H: Investigating Gender Roles Classroom Exercise – Appendix I: A Civics Course on the Second Amendment – Bibliography – Index.