ABSTRACT
This introduction presents an overview of the key concepts discussed in the subsequent chapters of this book. The book offers more accurate constructs that account for and better interpret the contemporary patterns of exclusionary and other discriminatory actions that substantially alter the life and career trajectories of members of non-dominant groups inside and outside of higher education. It focuses on an in-depth critique of contemporary analytical ideas such as implicit and unconscious bias and the ways in which the prevalent emphasis on them can be problematic by overlooking and minimizing explicit racial framing, blatant discrimination, and macro-inequalities. The book provides specific examples of how implicit bias has gained wide currency in higher education such as in faculty search committee briefings and diversity education programs. It also presents an overview of important individual and small-group costs, coping, and resistance strategies based upon research findings and narratives of those who have faced persistent racial and/or gender-based macroaggressions in college and university environments.
