According
to the Perception Institute, “most Americans believe in racial and gender
equality and reject discrimination in any form. Yet, stereotypes embedded in
our brains, shaped over time by history and culture, can lead us to view the
world through a biased lens and behave contrary to our deeply held egalitarian
values.” We are increasingly faced with the realities of the impact that biases
have in society, but have we been reflective enough about the role that
implicit bias plays in our lives as legal educators? How do implicit biases
affect our teaching, and affect us as advocates for justice? How are we
addressing the challenges inherent in the effect of biases on our individual
and institutional interactions? How do these implicit biases affect students’
perceptions of justice and the law? Where is the line between personal bias and
ideology? This session will explore the influence of implicit bias on legal
educators: what are our respective biases, and how do they impact our teaching
and advocacy; how do they affect students and their ability to challenge them;
can we promote our sense of justice without asserting our own biases; and how
can we control for implicit bias in our teaching.