Teaching Anthropology in Polarizing Times: The Potential for “Weaponized Aggrievement” and Impacts on Minoritized Faculty

Abstract

In this article, I describe how teaching anthropology in polarizing times can potentially impact instructors. Using Florida as an example, I show how polarizing political contexts can embolden students to challenge faculty and coursework they view as ideologically incompatible with their own perspectives. These scenarios may result in some students engaging in what I refer to as “weaponized aggrievement”: leveraging the sentiment of feeling “wronged” for personal benefit and to maintain a sense of moral superiority. I describe how faculty whose identities are minoritized may be particularly vulnerable to weaponized aggrievement and offer suggestions for institutional support.