Our May 7 book discussion event is quickly approaching, and we hope many of you will be able to participate. Attached is our promotional flyer; newjimcrowevent.
DATE: Tuesday, May 7, 2013 TIME: 11:30 AM – 1 PM LOCATION: Furman 303
Please bring a friend and your lunch.
If you have not yet read the book – The New Jim Crow: Mass Incarceration in the Age of Colorblindness by Michelle Alexander– we have some copies available in Furman 104. Please contact Lynda Thomas about borrowing one: lynda.thomas@oregonstate.edu or 541-737-4661.
If we run out of books and/or you run out of time before the event, we encourage you to look at one of Alexander’s recent lectures online and come participate anyway: Michelle Alexander’s Oregon Humanities Center Lecture.
It may not seem readily apparent from the title that this book is directly related to our work as an educational community. As you read it, you’ll discover that it is about basic civil and human rights, the formation and perpetuation of racial stereotypes, the importance of paying attention to cultural and individual silences, the unconscious bias in our expectations of youth, the pitfalls of a personal responsibility credo, the marginalization and dismantling of families/communities, etc. It is a powerful read.
The College of Education and the College of Liberal Arts invites you to attend one of three screenings of the documentaryFrom the Fields: An American Journey by American University Professor Carolyn Brown. This 30-minute documentary follows the life of Damian Trujillo: from farmworker in the Salinas Valley to San Jose State University to the NBC Newsroom. From the Fields: An American Journey has been aired on NBC stations around the country and has won has won a Gracie for Outstanding Director, the California Film Award Orson Welles Grand Award and the CreaTV Award- Excellence in Directing
Please join us for a screening on campus: 3:00 p.m. – May 3, OSU Film Screening (in conjunction with TCE 576 ESOL class), Furman 101
Everyone is welcome to attend one or more of the above screenings.
All screenings will be followed by an open Question and Answer session with the filmmaker. Questions can be submitted in advance to RSVP@oregonstate.edu.
We are inviting other campus groups to join us on Tuesday, March 19 at 12:00 PM in Furman 303 for a discussion about potential partnerships and ways to support each other’s work in social justice and educational equity. We’ll provide light snacks, and you are welcome to bring a lunch.
Our second book discussion event will be on Tuesday, May 7 at 11:30 AM – 1:00 PM. We’re reading Michelle Alexander’s The New Jim Crow: Mass Incarceration in the Age of Colorblindness. Lynda Thomas (lynda.thomas@oregonstate.edu) has copies available to lend in Furman 104.
“The New Jim Crow is essential reading for anyone who cares about justice, humanity, and the future of our democracy.”—California Lawyer, as cited onhttp://newjimcrow.com.
Join us for popcorn and a discussion on Wednesday, February 27 at 12:00-1:00 PM in Furman Hall 303. Bring a lunch and a friend.
As part of our continuing professional development, the College of Education’s Cultural and Linguistic Diversity Work Group is hosting a chat for any interested students, staff, and faculty. We’ll watch and discuss the educational implications of Chimamanda Adichie’s powerful TED talk: The Danger of a Single Story.
We have a date for our Popcorn and a Video event: Wednesday, February 27 at 12:00 PM in Furman 303.
Our campus partner discussion is tentatively set for Tuesday, March 19.
The Office of Equity and Inclusion is accepting applications for 9-week “Intergroup Dialogues” this spring for staff, faculty, and students: http://oregonstate.edu/oei/igd.
Our lives, our cultures, are composed of many overlapping stories. Novelist Chimamanda Adichie tells the story of how she found her authentic cultural voice — and warns that if we hear only a single story about another person or country, we risk a critical misunderstanding. http://blog.ted.com/2009/10/07/the_danger_of_a/
The link below provides the latest development in the battle for ethnic studies in Arizona. Many of you may be familiar with this as a result of last fall’s visit to OSU by the producer of the film Precious Knowledge and one of the teachers in Tucson Unified School District’s Mexican American Studies program.
The legal document attached is the product of a long-standing desegregation case and impacts the recent law that led to the dissolution of Mexican American Studies in k-12 schools in Tucson. It is the Unitary Status Plan as written by the Special Master to the court (a court appointed advisor to the parties in the law suit and the court). While the document is long and addresses other concerns including schooling of ELLs, it also includes two (what I believe to be) important issues (among many!).
First, noted on p. 5 under “Legal Standard,” is that schools must “eliminate the vestiges of the prior de jure segregation … “ This seems to expand the conversation of desegregation of schools well beyond the presence of “diverse” racial/ethnic bodies in schools, to include all that went on inside once segregated schools to include curriculum and instruction.
The second important issue builds on the first and, as discussed on p. 36 of the document, calls for the implementation of “culturally relevant courses of instruction designed to reflect the history, experiences, and culture of African American and Mexican American communities.” This would appear to call for the district to reinstate Mex Am courses that were cancelled earlier as a result of state law.
A judge will now review the plan and announce a decision. At that point the decision will become a precedent for similarly situated school issues.
Ideally, everyone attending one of our book events in Furman Hall next week (Tuesday, January 15 at 12-1:30 PM and Wednesday, January 16 at 4-5:30 PM) will have read all of Whistling Vivaldi ahead of time. If you don’t finish reading the book in time…
(A) read the first couple chapters and the last couple chapters and/or
(B) watch one of the following Claude Steele lectures:
It’s January, and our Whistling Vivaldi book discussion is just around the corner. College of Education students, staff, and faulty are invited to participate in either event: Tuesday, January 15 at 12-1:30 PM or Wednesday, January 16 at 4-5:30 PM. Both events will follow the same format – a short whole-group welcome and small breakout discussion groups – in Furman Hall with free pizza provided. Check out our poster: whistling vivaldi poster. Bring a friend.
Our May 7 book discussion event is quickly approaching, and we hope many of you will be able to participate. Attached is our promotional flyer; newjimcrowevent.