What Is Title IX? Toward a Campus-Based Pedagogy to Study Inequality

Abstract

In this article, we propose a campus-based pedagogy to teach sociology. We offer the example of a project designed to critically assess university Title IX policy and situate it within existing sociological research on gender-based inequalities and violence. Students engage in sociological research regarding issues such as sexual harassment and assault, intimate partner violence, consent, and rape culture, among others, and develop a tool to create greater awareness among the student body of university policy in these areas. Drawing surveys and focus group interviews with students who completed the project, we found that students acquire a historical and sociological understanding of gender-based violence and institutional sexism and consequently adopt a critical lens toward university Title IX policy regarding these issues. By situating students as central to the process of analyzing and critiquing university policy, this exercise fosters an intellectual efficacy among students to embark on sociologically informed interventions in their university’s campus culture.