UC Santa Cruz

Within transformative learning theory, as theorized by its founder Jack Mezirow, the transformation of perspective is triggered by a disorienting dilemma. This disorienting dilemma leads toward a phase of self-examination whereby the individual attempts to make sense of the dilemma; the individual then builds new behavior that addresses the impact of the dilemma on their perceived sense of reality.1 As two early-career, tenure-track librarians, our disorienting dilemma was and continues to be two-fold: a worldwide pandemic and continued violence toward BIPOC communities, both often characterized as “collective traumas.” In this chapter, we outline the context in which we undertook self-examination to understand the impact of the dual disorienting dilemmas not only on ourselves but also on the students we work with. Finally, we will delve into how we have integrated our learning toward building new behavior, more specifically, by intentionally integrating trauma-informed approaches to build an increasingly inclusive instructional experience.