2nd Annual Diversity Institute: Understanding the Intersections of Identity
Facilitated by Paul Gorski, Ph.D.

Sponsored by the Office of Intercultural & International Life

Saturday, January 14, 2012
Weitz 236
9:00 a.m.- 4:30 p.m.

At the second annual Diversity Institute we will draw on intersectionality and critical race theory's insistence that race and racism ultimately cannot be understood fully outside the context of other identities and oppressions.  We will explore how these complexities lead into conversations about identity and oppression in ways that bolster, rather than redirect, anti-racist consciousness and action.

Martin Luther King, Jr., often noted that his biggest obstacle in struggling for racial and economic justice was the well-intentioned complicity of white liberals. The trouble, he believed, was a gap among people who wanted to see themselves as "progressive" between their stated commitments to justice and their action, or lack of action, toward that justice. In this institute we will consider some of the critical questions and complexities related to this phenomenon, propelling us to consider our own commitments to social justice. We will explore, for instance, the relationship between "liberal" forms of activism that mitigate injustice (such as service or volunteerism) and those that have the potential to eliminate injustice. We also will examine some of the popular frameworks for "diversity" learning that hamper our abilities to understand justice and injustice in its fullest complexity, such as the tendency to talk about identities and oppressions in a vaccuum rather than seeing them as overlapping and intersectional. Our ultimate goal will be to position ourselves, cognitively and actively, in a position to be agents of deeper, more transformative, change.

About the facilitator:

Paul C. Gorski is an assistant professor in New Century College, George Mason University. Gorski’s work and passion is social justice activism. His areas of scholarly focus include anti-poverty activism and education, critical race theory and anti-racism education, and critical theories pertaining to women’s rights, LGBT rights, labor rights, immigrant rights, and anti-imperialism. Gorski is an active consultant and speaker, working with community and educational organizations around the world—such as in Colombia, Australia, India, and Mexico—on equity and social justice concerns.

Gorski founded EdChange (http://www.EdChange.org), a coalition of educators and activists who develop free social justice resources for educators and activists. Gorski is President-Elect of the National Association for Multicultural Education (NAME) and serves on the board of directors of the International Association for Intercultural Education. He is Associate Editor, Technology, for NAME’s journal, Multicultural Perspectives, and Associate Editor, Multicultural Literature and Reviews, for Multicultural Education and serves on the editorial boards of Praxis, The International Journal of Multicultural Education, and several other publications. Gorski has published three books and more than thirty articles on topics ranging from digital equity to critical anti-poverty education.

 
Registration Information:

• The institute is a full-day experience, and will be held in Weitz 236 on Saturday, January 14 from 9:00 a.m. – 4:30 p.m.  For the respect of all participants and facilitators, it is required that if you choose to join us that you are willing to stay for the duration of the time.
   
• A light breakfast will be provided from 9:00 – 9:30 a.m. before the institute.  Lunch will also be provided from 12:00 p.m. – 1:00 p.m.
  

• Registration Deadline: Thursday, January  12^th, 5:00 p.m.
  
  

Please Click Here to Register!