With regard to teaching in the US... One of the problems I have is, quite frankly, that I am intimidated by the Horowitz movement against academic freedom. There are times, for instance, when I want to teach, or refer to Marx's prescient remarks about globalization, and the generally destructive nature of capitalism. I get around it by citing Jeffrey Sachs, who explained that Marx was right about capitalism, and point to his (Sach's) reference to capitalism's "bloody triumph". The point I make is that if profit maximisation is important than the bloody destruction may mean very little - and vice versa.
When I introduce the concept of "othering" to explain colonialism, imperialism, sexism etc... i point out that when Notherners come to the South, the "other" the folks down here... they think of Southerners as backward, or inbred, or white trash... when they recognise THAT, I explain how black folk are othered, and them move to dark skinned people in the Middle East, Africa, Latin America etc.
In general it takes some genius (not that I have much) to teach them to be Critical and Reflexive, and to embed and emancipatory impluse into their thinking.
One of the issues I am confronted with, and which is befuddling, is seeing students (ROTC types) in class dressed in military uniform/fatigues. Columbia, SC is the home of Fort Jackson (http://www.jackson.army.mil/Area/aboutFtJ.htm) so when I discuss dominance, abuse of power or what I have come to describe as global vigilantism, I simply use another country's military aggression. I also point out that during earlier epochs the British, Dutch, Spain dominated. When I want to be especially critical of US aggression I cite Roosevelt who said that wars against indigenous Americans were "noble" because they were wars against savages. I preface that with similar sentences by the British. That way they get a sense patterns of oppression that are broader and more historical. By the time we get to Abu Ghraib, or Gitmo that have a context - and I feel less threatened by the Horowitz thing. Actually, I would have done this anyway, as I don't believe that
Roosevelt's sentiments were any different from the British, or Belgians in Africa!
The ONE thing I avoid is commenting on domestic US politics - won't even say I hate McDonalds, lest I be accused of hating the troops or freedom.
My great opening line in all courses/classes is the Hobbesian aphorism that we, humans, always consider our knowledge and intellect to be superior to that of others - because we have first hand knowledge of it.
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