Like many high school students, Jane Bolgatz (PhD ’01) didn’t like studying history. But a profound sense of social justice transformed the disgruntled high school history student into an impassioned social studies teacher in Cedar Rapids, Iowa, and eventually into an assistant professor of social studies education at Fordham University.

“I’m interested in multiculturalism,” Bolgatz said, “which really means issues of power in society. And, of course, one of the ways to create social change is through understanding history.”

Bolgatz taught language arts and social studies for five years at Cedar Rapids Metro High School while working on her doctoral degree at Iowa. Metro is an alternative school for students who, Bolgatz says, “either drop out or are kicked out” of the mainstream schools.

Bolgatz wanted to better understand how teachers and students wrestle with questions of race in the classroom. What she found through her teaching experience and research was that when the students and their teacher talked about racism, they spoke about it as if it were an artifact of history. “They believed that since racism didn’t seem to be increasing, it was a thing of the past,” she said. “And although they felt they were not racists as individuals, they also failed to see that institutional racism exists.”

Because effective teachers are sensitive to the nuances of power and racism as they play out in a classroom, Bolgatz has focused her research on the verbal dynamics of the classroom. Through a continuing project, she works with teachers to develop a sensitivity and a useful and healthy vocabulary to discuss issues about race and power, and articulate the difference between institutional oppression and personal prejudice.

Associate Professor Bruce Fehn says his former student is unwilling to settle for the easy answer. “Jane has extremely refined analytic skills,” he said. “She showed that even people of good will and people of color struggle with issues of racism in the context of classroom interactions.”

Bolgatz’ colleagues at Fordham have welcomed her commitment to grapple with difficult issues.

“Jane thinks deeply and with great enthusiasm,” said Fordham’s Social Studies Education Professor and Chair Joanna Uhry. “She encourages both her students and her peers to face the issue of diversity and other challenging topics. She is our conscience.” –by Jean Florman