I Will Always Write Back

Use these questions or activities to help gauge students’ familiarity with and spark their interest in the context of the work, giving them an entry point into the text itself.

Short Answer

1. When we talk about power and control in society, the word “privilege” often arises. How would you define “privilege” as a social science concept? What are the different types of privilege? What are some examples of how certain groups advance in life as the result of their privilege?

Teaching Suggestion: Students will likely have encountered the concept of “privilege” not only in their classes, but also in their everyday lives. For students who may have varied ideas on what it means, this prompt could be taken as an opportunity to create a shared understanding in order to better connect with the theme of Overcoming Privilege throughout the text. Students might display their definitions on the board to compare ideas and work on a collective description.

• This article from Arizona State University offers checklists designed to help students identify the types of privileges that confer power in society.
• This article from Dartmouth provides working definitions of thematically related concepts, including social identity, power, privilege, and social justice.