Fostering Belonging
If you belong, you stay. CEHHS A&E offers a list of resources about fostering belonging as part of the 2024 CEHHS A&E Summit. This guide emphasizes the importance of understanding diverse experiences to foster emotional, social, and cognitive development, ultimately contributing to a cohesive and vibrant community. These resources are available through the UT Library and online.
Defining Belonging
belonging noun
a feeling of being happy or comfortable as part of a particular group and having a good relationship with the other members of the group because they welcome you and accept you (Cambridge Dictionary)
How Do Others Define Belonging?
- Belonging: a review of conceptual issues, an integrative framework, and directions for future research | Scholarly Journal Article – Kelly-Ann Allen and colleagues
- Belonging Is Not About Fitting In | Video (TEDx Talks) – Lola Adeyemo
- The Essential Power of Belonging | Video (TEDx Talks) – Caroline Clarke
- Sense of Belonging | Webpage (Cornell University)
- The Value of Belonging at Work | Article (Harvard Business Review) – Evan W. Carr and colleagues
Voices on Fostering Belonging
The resources below feature voices speaking about fostering belonging both through theory and through practice.
General Resources
- Building Mentorship Networks to Support Black Women | E-Book – Bridget T. Kelly & Sharon Fries-Britt (Eds.)
- College Students’ Sense of Belonging: A National Perspective | Scholarly Journal Article – Maithreyi Gopalan & Shannon T. Brady
- Socialization in Higher Education and the Early Career | E-Book – John C. Weidman & Linda T. DeAngelo (Eds.)
- Understanding higher education students’ sense of belonging: a qualitative meta-ethnographic analysis | Scholarly Journal Article – Gulsah Dost & Laura Mazzoli Smith
Essays & Memoirs
- How to Say Babylon | Memoir – Safiya Sinclair
- Poetry Collection: Belonging | Poetry (Bosten Review) – Meghana Mysore (Ed.)
- Stories from Quarantine | Essays – The New York Times
- there’s more | Poetry- Uchechukwu Peter Umezurike
- What Drowns the Flowers in Your Mouth: A Memoir of Brotherhood | Memoir – Rigoberto González
Movies, Documentaries & Videos
- Belonging Through Connection | Video – bell hooks & john a. Powell
- Coco | Movie – Disney/Pixar
- The Impact of Sense of Belonging in College | Video – Stylus Publishing
- Lady Bird | Movie – Swank Motion Pictures
- Moonlight | Movie – A24
Multimedia Resources
- Academic Belonging | Scholarly Blog Post – MIT: Teaching & Learning Lab
- Cultivating a Sense of Belonging in First-Generation Students | Digital Toolkit – ACUE
- A 5-part toolkit for fostering worker well-being | Digital Toolkit – Meredith Somers (MIT: Sloan School of Management)
- Fostering a Culture of Belonging | Digital Toolkit – ACUE
- A NSSE Data User’s Guide: Sense of Belonging | Data Interface – Evidence-Based Improvement in Higher Education
Physical & E-Books
- Belonging: A Culture of Place | E-Book – bell hooks
- On Belonging: Finding Connecting in an Age of Isolation | E-Book – Kim Samuel
- Community: The Structure of Belonging | E-Book – Peter Block
- The Night Watchman | Physical Book – Louise Erdrich
- Transcendent Kingdom | Physical Book – Yaa Gyasi
Podcasts
- The Belonging Project | Podcast Series – Belonging Project
- Creating a Culture of Belonging in the Workplace | Podcast Episode – Engaging People Podcast
- Fostering a Sense of Belonging | Podcast Episode – Teaching in Higher Ed.
- Imagine Belonging at Work | Podcast Series – Rhodes Perry
Created April 2024 by Miranda N. Rutan, Doctoral Candidate, CEHHS A&E, UT Knoxville