Upward Mobility, Ethical Costs, and Inclusive Teaching: A Two-Part Conversation for Graduate Students (Part 1)

On Friday, January 22, the Women in STEM Leadership Council hosted a presentation by Dr. Jennifer Morton ’02 (UNC Chapel Hill) as Part 1 of our January/February event on inclusive teaching. In discussing her recent book, Moving Up Without Losing Your Way: The Ethical Costs of Upward Mobility (Princeton University Press, 2019), Dr. Morton highlighted the ethical and emotional costs paid by “strivers”—students from disadvantaged backgrounds seeking upward mobility through college education—and urged us as educators to take part in constructing a new narrative of upward mobility that contends honestly with such costs in historical and economic contexts, thereby empowering strivers to make informed decisions. The engaging presentation was followed by a robust Q&A with the over 60 graduate students in attendance.

We look forward to continuing the conversation in Part 2 of our event on February 5.

We thank the Access, Diversity, and Inclusion team at the Graduate School for generously providing copies of Dr. Morton’s book to our attendees.