Acknowledgements

This textbook was created as part of a government-funded open educational resources (OER) initiative aimed at reducing textbook costs and increasing equitable access to learning. The project supports faculty across four institutions in adapting or creating open texts for high-enrollment courses, with the explicit aim of integrating diversity, equity, inclusion, and anti-racism (DEIA) principles into course materials. Our participation in this initiative enabled us to align the textbook with three core goals: (1) eliminating or significantly reducing textbook costs for students; (2) embedding DEIA principles and social justice into high-enrollment course content; and (3) building interdisciplinary capacity among faculty to design and implement high-quality OER.

We would like to thank the Loyola Marymount University grant team (Karna Younger and Theresa Huff), whose training and support were instrumental throughout this process. Their expertise helped shape the justice framing of the text, as the parameters they set reminded us of the importance of approaching content development with intentionality. In particular, their guidance prompted us to engage with a broader range of perspectives and to apply redistributive justice, recognitive justice, and representational justice. The team’s ongoing support also connected us with resources in instructional design, open licensing, and inclusive curriculum development. Finally, we are grateful to our own Saint Mary’s College of California library liaison to the grant, Swetta Abeyta, for her guidance throughout the process.

Funding Acknowledgment

The contents of this book were developed under a grant from the Fund for the Improvement of Postsecondary Education, (FIPSE), U.S. Department of Education. However, those contents do not necessarily represent the policy of the Department of Education, and you should not assume endorsement by the Federal Government. For more information about OER for Social Justice, ⁠visit our project website.