CFP: “Race and Pedagogy” Conference (due March 8)

The University of Puget Sound is hosting its second “Race and Pedagogy” Conference October 28-30 in Tacoma, Washington.  The call for proposals’ deadline is quickly approaching on March 8th.

This year the conference theme is “Teaching and Learning for Justice: Danger and Opportunity in Our Critical Moment”:

This Conference is conceptualized and planned through the Race and Pedagogy Initiative, a collaboration of the university and the South Sound community, particularly the Initiative’s Community Partners Forum.

We invite proposals for papers, panels, and other presentation formats, including, but not limited to, round tables, posters and performances, and visual art and interactive sessions from a multidisciplinary, multi-institutional, and diverse range of participants, including scholars, teachers, students, and administrators in higher education and K-12 education, along with those involved in educational practices in a variety of civic, artistic, and community-based organizations. All proposals shall be refereed and shall probe the overarching Conference theme along the lines of one or a combination of the following subthemes:

1. Understanding the Critical Moments of Possibilities and Pitfalls in Education, the Arts and Society
2. Innovations in Partnerships for Educational Justice
3. Dilemmas and New Directions in Pedagogy about Race

Read the full call on the conference website.

Academic Development Day Speaker Confirmed

Based on the enthusiastic recommendation of Professor Anne Mattina (Communication), we have invited Dr. Ron Jackson to be our keynote speaker at this spring’s Academic Development Day, scheduled for the morning of April 22nd.

Dr. Jackson’s keynote is titled “When Will We All Matter: A Frank Discussion about Progressive Pedagogy” and will kick off a morning of sessions meant to engage faculty in conversations about how we can better reach and teach all of our students — both in the classroom and across campus.

Resources for teaching about white privilege

In light of the number of speakers coming to campus this spring to talk about white privilege, I’ve put together some resources for faculty who are interested in discussing privilege with their students.  

The following are resources related specifically to the invited speakers, and I’ve also listed some more general resources on the CTL’s website.

 

Tim Wise (speaking on Wednesday, February 11, 2009)

Wise’s website (http://www.timwise.org/) is a good place to start researching his work.  There you can find numerous links to his essays and blog posts.  Some recent posts of his — which reflect on the implications of Obama’s election — may provide interesting texts for class discussion:

• “In Search of Post-Racial America” (a satirical critique of commentators who saw Obama’s election as marking the end of racism in the US) 
• “Explaining White Privilege to the Deniers and the Haters” (written in response to comments he received on his post, “The is Your Nation on Privilege”) 
• Tim Wise: On White Privilege is a DVD (now available at Stonehill’s library) of a lecture Wise gave at Mt. Holyoke College in 2007.  You can also see an excerpt of this video on YouTube.

Video: Students with Asperger Syndrome

Dick Grant passed along this link to a short (12 minute) video meant to introduce faculty to what life is like for college students with Asperger Syndrome.  It explains the variety of ways Asperger manifests itself as well as provides tips for faculty who are working with a student with Asperger Syndrome.  You can download the video here.  Or watch it below:

The second half of the video is posted below.

Creating a Safe Classroom for GLBTQ Students

In a recent Faculty Focus email from Magna Publications, they reprint an article on “Creating A Safe Classroom for Gay, Lesbian, Bisexual, Transgender, and Questioning Students” by Columbia College professor Kevin Christophersen.

Citing the large number of queer youth who are at risk for suicide, Christophersen argues for all faculty to make more deliberate efforts to create welcoming classrooms from students of all sexual orientations.  Christophersen suggests faculty educate themselves about the particular situations of GLBTQ youth and strive to use inclusive language in their classrooms (for example, by using “partner” instead of boyfriend, girlfriend, husband, or wife).  He also suggests that faculty incorporate queer issues into the curriculum and include GLBTQ service learning opportunities when appropriate.

Read the full article here.